History Books

Book SynopsisExplore the wonders of the past in this stunning collection of over 160 historical artefacts, from Ancient Rome to the dynasties of China. Welcome to the museum.This rich and informative cabinet of curiosities beautifully displays objects of the ancient past. Wander from room to room to explore the magnificence of what civilisations have left behind over thousands of years of human history.With text written by expert Jo Nelson and stunning illustrations by Richard Wilkinson, this updated edition also features a foreword by Sir Tony Robinson.

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Book SynopsisA Spectator and Prospect Book of the YearWinner of the American Library in Paris Book Award'Ceaselessly interesting, knowledgeable and evocative' - Spectator'A fresh way to write history' - Alan Johnson'An amused, erudite homage to France . . . ambitious and original' - The Times_____Original, knowledgeable and endlessly entertaining, France: An Adventure History is an unforgettable journey through France from the first century BC to the present day.Drawn from countless new discoveries and thirty years of exploring France on foot, in the library and across 30,000 miles on the author’s beloved bike, it begins with Gaulish and Roman times and ends in the age of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, the Gilets Jaunes and Covid-19.From the plains of Provence to the slums and boulevards of Paris, events and themes of French history may be familiar – Louis XIV, the French Revolution, the French Resistance, the Tour de France – but all are presented in a shining new light by Graham Robb.Frequently hilarious, always surprising, this is a a vivid, living history of one of the world’s most fascinating nations, it will make even seasoned Francophiles wonder if they really know that terra incognita which is currently referred to as ‘France’._____‘Packed full of discoveries’ - The Sunday Times'A gorgeous tapestry of insights, stories and surprises' - Fintan O'Toole'A rich and vibrant narrative . . . clear-eyed but imaginative storytelling' - Financial Times'Full of life' - ProspectTrade ReviewA stunning history of France... Graham Robb deserves to be a national treasure. * Spectator *A quirky chronicle of our neighbour . . . a witty, free-ranging homage to the French people. * The Times *Robb's concise and fast-paced writing pedals along with never a dull paragraph . . . a dazzling and moving contribution to a long tradition. * Sunday Times *Traverses the ages from Gaul to the gilets jaunes and the pandemic . . . a compelling guide. * Times Literary Supplement *History on two wheels and in four dimensions. * Wall Street Journal *A rich and vibrant narrative. * Financial Times *Some books seem to spring from a whole lifetime and Graham Robb's France is one of those special creations... Robb's sparkling prose, sly wit and intellectual exuberance make for a gorgeous tapestry of insights, stories and surprises. * Fintan O'Toole *With joy, curiosity and more than a dash of ambition, Robb brings 2,000 years of French history to life. * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1979, the Usborne Book of the Future is a fondly-remembered book from a time when people dreamed of the future as a place filled with wonder and amazing new technology. After more than 40 years of science fiction focussing on dystopias and doom, it's time to remind readers young and old that, in fact, the Future is STILL a place that holds hope and excitement.The book is built in three sections. The first explores all kinds of robots, the jobs they will do on land, sea and in space, and where they will get power from.The second is all about cities of the future, and how people will live, what new buildings they will build, how computers will change the world, and what people will do for fun.The final section is about the future of travel, from planes, trains and cars on Earth, to Space shuttles and journeys to colonise other planets.This re-issued book retains the original text and stunning artwork, but now comes with a foreword by renowned BBC Futurologist Tom Cheesewright, who was inspired into his career by the original edition of the book. From outlining the internet to asteroid mines to 3D printers and robot helpers, you'll be surprised by how accurately this book predicted life in the 21st Century.Long out of print, copies of the original printing of this book fetch three figures on auction sites. Now at last people who remember this book from their childhood can find it again, and share it with the next generation, at normal bookshop prices!

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Book Synopsis'We all know about Queen Victoria, Edward VIII and Queen Elizabeth II, but how much do we really know about other monarchs? Yes, we know William the Conqueror beat King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. We know George III was mad, but what else do we know about his 60 year long reign? We know Henry VIII famously had six wives, but do we know much more about him, other than he was very fat?'The British monarchy is one of the oldest in the world - dating so far back that even its origins are the subject of debate. Was William the Conqueror the first king of England, or was it Alfred the Great? In this third instalment of the series that began with The Prime Ministers and The Presidents, Iain Dale charts this long history of the English and British monarchy, with 64 essays by journalists, historians and politicians on every individual to have sat on the throne, as well as some who didn't.From Alfred the Great to Charles III, each essay examines the monarch, their role and what they tell us about British history. Why has the British monarchy, unlike so many others, endured? Kings and Queens will attempt to answer this question, and many others, providing valuable insight into British history and how Britain is ruled today.Trade Review'Entertaining, well-researched and eminently readable.' * Entertainment Focus *

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Book SynopsisThe first book to tell the full story of American isolationism, from the founding era through the Trump presidency.In his Farewell Address of 1796, President George Washington admonished the young nation to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. Isolationism thereafter became one of the most influential political trends in American history. From the founding era until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States shunned strategic commitments abroad, making only brief detours during the Spanish-American War and World War I. Amid World War II and the Cold War, Americans abandoned isolationism; they tried to run the world rather than run away from it. But isolationism is making a comeback as Americans tire of foreign entanglement. In this definitive and magisterial analysis-the first book to tell the fascinating story of isolationism across the arc of American history-Charles Kupchan explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience. He also refurbishes isolationism''s reputation, arguing that it constituted dangerous delusion during the 1930s, but afforded the nation clear strategic advantages during its ascent.Kupchan traces isolationism''s staying power to the ideology of American exceptionalism. Strategic detachment from the outside world was to protect the nation''s unique experiment in liberty, which America would then share with others through the power of example. Since 1941, the United States has taken a much more interventionist approach to changing the world. But it has overreached, prompting Americans to rediscover the allure of nonentanglement and an America First foreign policy. The United States is hardly destined to return to isolationism, yet a strategic pullback is inevitable. Americans now need to find the middle ground between doing too much and doing too little.Trade ReviewIn this excellent account, Kupchan, a former policy maker, traces the history of American foreign policy from the French and Indian War to the Trump presidency, organizing his work around the nation's isolationist tradition. * J. D. Doenecke, CHOICE *...so comprehensive. It goes through the entire American history of foreign policy through the lens of isolationism. It's such an impressive work. * Justin Kempf, Democracy Paradox *With this well-written and interesting book on a traditionally important subject isolationism in American history and as an ongoing issue Prof. Kupchan has made a significant contribution to the literature on international affairs. * Alexander J. Groth, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *Comprehensive and objective, Kupchan's Isolationism is a useful contribution to the history and contemporary understanding of American isolationism. * Henry Kissinger, former United States Secretary of State *Isolationism is a carefully researched, clearly presented study of American foreign policy that demonstrates the enduring power of American skepticism about open-ended International commitments while making the case for continued American engagement. By grounding his policy arguments in a careful review of American history, Kupchan not only strengthens his case but sets an example which other policymakers would be wise to follow. * Walter Russell Mead, Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship, Hudson Institute; Professor of Foreign Affairs, Bard College; and Global View Columnist, The Wall Street Journal *This is a significant book. Kupchan has produced the first comprehensive study of American isolationism. He is totally fair-minded and unfailingly insightful in telling the story of isolationism from its origins at the founding of the Republic down to its resurgence at the outset of this new century. This is a book that everyone who cares about the past and present of American foreign policy should read. * John M. Cooper, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison *At a time when the way forward in US foreign relations seems more uncertain than ever, Kupchan takes a timely, detailed, and unsparing look at the role of isolationism in the broad sweep of US history. The general reader, scholar, and policymaker can all profit from this compelling account. * Mary E. Sarotte, author of The Collapse *The battle for the future of America's foreign policy rages all around us. This learned, wise, and deeply engaged history of US isolationist impulses from the founding up to today is a much-needed book, and the selective commitments and judicious retrenchments it calls for are recipes for good policymaking. * Odd Arne Westad, Professor of History and Global Affairs, Yale University; author of The Cold War: A World History *At a time when many are urging America to retreat internationally, Kupchan's illuminating history of US foreign policy reminds us of isolationism's pitfalls as well as its continuing allure. Scholars and policy makers alike will benefit from this book's trenchant analysis of America's past and wise counsel about how to forge a more balanced, realistic, and enduring foreign policy going forward. * Peter Trubowitz, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics *Charles Kupchan reminds us that a globally assertive foreign policy is more the exception than the norm in American history. Even those who do not fully agree with his arguments will find this book sharply argued, provocative, and engaging. * Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) *In this timely, judicious, and thoughtful book, Kupchan adds depth and dimension to our understanding of the United States' foreign relations and the strategic choices now facing it. In tracing isolationism's origins to the earliest days of the Republic and showing its iterations in successive generations, he reminds us of how powerful a force it has been * and remains. Essential reading both for those who are going to be in charge in the next years and for anyone who cares about the US and the world.Margaret MacMillan, Professor of History, University of Toronto *Astute political history. * Kirkus *An erudite and evenhanded study of the isolationist impulse in American foreign policy. * Publishers Weekly *Isolationism is a deeply researched, fascinating look at how an urge to keep the world at bay has largely defined the United States and its foreign policy since the country's founding. * Foreign Policy *[A] valuable volume... compellingly demonstrates that the notion of American exceptionalism was as closely tied to isolationism-the 'city on a hill,' standing above and apart from a quarrelsome world-as it later would be to the country's postwar internationalism. * Foreign Affairs *Isolationism arrives at a prescient moment. * Financial Times *Isolationism has many merits. It comprehensively describes the arc of American diplomatic history from George Washington's 'Farewell Address' to Donald Trump's redux of 'America First.' It is also eminently fair-minded, not only to the liberal internationalists and deep engagers whom Kupchan thinks have set America up for our post-Cold War fall but especially to the alternative grand strategic tradition that Kupchan fears has gotten a bad rap since World War II. * American Conservative *It is only now, with this book, that someone has treated the full scope of isolationism with true insight and understanding. Charles Kupchan has told for the first time the entire history of this foreign policy phenomenon from its inception at the founding of the American republic down to the present time. * H-Diplo *Taken in all, Kupchan has produced a first-rate account. The style is readable, the research thorough, manifesting a superior mastery of primary sources and the scholarly literature. By and large, Kupchan's treatment is masterful, essential reading for policymakers and a public that is prone to cliché thinking. Professors of American diplomatic history would do well to assign this work; at the very least, they should update their lecture notes. Hopefully, this work will force Americans to leave the world of polemics for that of reflection and responsible analysis. * H-Diplo *Table of ContentsPreface 1. American Isolationism: Past as Prelude? 2. An Anatomy of Isolationism Part I - The Era of Isolationism, 1789-1898 3. The Revolutionary Era: Contemplating Nonentanglement 4. From the French Revolution to the War of 1812: Isolationism as Doctrine 5. Westward Expansion and the Monroe Doctrine: The Limits of Hemispheric Ambition 6. The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Rise of American Power: Restraint Amid Ascent Part II - The Defeat of Realist and Idealist Internationalism, 1898-1941 7. The Spanish-American War and the Onset of Imperial Ambition 8. Republican Imperialism and the Isolationist Backlash 9. Wilsonian Idealism and the Isolationist Backlash 10. The 1920s: Influence without Responsibility 11. From the Great Depression to Pearl Harbor: Delusions of Strategic Immunity Part III - The Rise and Fall of Liberal Internationalism, 1941-2020 12. World War II and the Cold War: The Era of Liberal Internationalism 13. The End of the Cold War and the Isolationist Comeback 14. Between Isolationism and Liberal Internationalism: The Search for a Middle Ground

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2022Superb' The TimesEngrossing and revelatory'' ObserverPowerful, compelling and meticulously researched' New StatesmanA new book from the award winning author of In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz,Do Not Disturb explores the controversial career of Paul Kagame and the legacy of the Rwandan genocideDo Not Disturb is a dramatic recasting of the modern history of Africa's Great Lakes region, an area blighted by the greatest genocide of the twentieth century. This bold retelling, vividly sourced by direct testimony from key participants, tears up the traditional script.In the old version, an idealistic group of young rebels overthrows a genocidal regime in Kigali, ushering in an era of peace and stability that makes Rwanda the donor darling of the West, winning comparisons with Switzerland and Singapore. The new version examines afresh questions which dog the recent past: Why do so many ex-rebels scoff at official explanations of who fired the missile that killTrade Review Praise for Do Not Disturb: ‘A withering assault on the murderous regime of Kagame, and a melancholy love song to the last dreams of the African Great Lakes … very driven, very impassioned’ John Le Carre ‘Superb … an epic tale of blood, bitterness and betrayal … a gripping tale’ The Times ‘She has chosen to ignore that “Do Not Disturb” sign and, in an overdue book that takes the injunction as its title, she rips off the [Rwandan] regime’s veil of respectability to expose the horrors beneath… [a] powerful, compelling and meticulously researched book’ New Statesman ‘Engrossing and revelatory … part murder mystery and part sweeping history of an extended family tragedy spread over two countries, three wars, four decades and a genocide’ Observer '[A] brave and tremendous book … [Michela Wrong] has produced a classic, her own journalistic complicity in the hollowness at the heart of power to rival Rian Malan’s My Traitor’s Heart and Gitta Sereny’s Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth’ Spectator ‘In this extremely important and profoundly disturbing book, Michela Wrong sets out all the miss-steps that were ignored, all the flagrant human rights abuses that were overlooked and all the criminality for which excuses were found, until the new horrors that have been visited upon that country were perpetrated.’ Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize ‘A damning j’accuse on many fronts. An extraordinarily brave piece of reporting’ Financial Times ‘Extraordinary and utterly gripping, an excoriating work of immense courage and commitment, one that will surely make waves’ Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive ‘One of the most far-reaching historical revisions of Kagame and his regime. Meticulously researched, with substantial new material and interviews’ Guardian

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Book SynopsisBacked by Brazil’s wealthy agribusiness groups, a growing evangelical movement, and an emboldened military and police force, Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019. Driven by the former army captain’s brand of controversial, aggressive rhetoric, the divisive presidential campaign saw fake news and misinformation shared with Bolsonaro’s tens of millions of social media followers.Bolsonaro promised simple solutions to Brazil’s rising violent crime, falling living standards and widespread corruption, but what has emerged is Latin America's most right-wing president since the military dictatorships of the 1970s. Famous for his racist, homophobic and sexist beliefs and his disregard for human rights, he has established a reputation based on his polemical, sensationalist statements. Written by a journalist with decades of experience in the field, Beef, Bible and bullets is a compelling account of the origins of Brazil's unique brand of right-wing populism.Trade ReviewOne of The Financial Times' Top 10 Politics Books of 2021 One of The Economist's essential books for understanding Latin America'So often, there is a lack of context brought to news reporting of today's Brazil. Lapper masterfully brings us that necessary context, weaving first-hand accounts from primary sources together with a rigorous chronicle of the country’s recent history and politics. One of the clearest pictures of Brazil in 2021 and how it got there. A must-read for anyone covering Latin America.'Lucinda Elliott, journalist, The Times'Finally, a book that looks beyond easy narratives to explain the real reasons for Jair Bolsonaro’s rise. One of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on Brazil, Richard Lapper shows us not just the postcard image of Rio de Janeiro, but the country of Evangelical megachurches, cattle ranches, walled-off mansions and shopping malls that elected this total outsider. Beef, Bible and bullets is the best chronicle to date of how the “Trump of the Tropics” came to power.'Brian Winter, Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly'This timely, well-researched book traces the cultural, economic and social roots of Brazil’s modern political transformation that Jair Bolsonaro captured in his unexpected path to the presidency. As such this colourful, readable book provides important insights into the social and political currents, beyond Brazil, that give rise to populism and that are shaping global politics.'Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America, Chatham House'Drawing on sharp-eyed reporting and in-depth knowledge of Brazil, Richard Lapper has written a highly readable and informative account of the rise of Jair Bolsonaro and the damage he has done to his country.'Michael Reid, author of Brazil: The Troubled Rise of a Global Power'This is the best book in English on the rise to the Brazilian presidency of the volatile and polarising figure of Jair Bolsonaro. It also focuses on the emergence of Bolsonarismo, Brazil's version of national populism, and the base of support for and changing fortunes of the Bolsonaro administration in its first two years in power. Interspersing insightful portraits of Brazilians in different regions of the country with convincing explanations of events, Beef, Bible and bullets is an indispensable aid to the understanding of a political phenomenon that sometimes seems to defy logical analysis.'Anthony W. Pereira, Professor, Brazil Institute and Department of International Development, King's College London 'Lapper’s Beef, Bible and Bullets provides an excellent guide through Brazil’s current political complexities and the man who would be Trump. It is strongly recommended.'Scott B. MacDonald, Chief Economist at Smith’s Research & Gradings, Global Americans 'This is an engrossing read explaining and assessing the significance of Brazil's Trump. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the deeper trends in Brazilian politics and the dangers and prospects for the future.'Mike Davis, Chartist -- .Table of ContentsPreface to the 2022 editionIntroduction1 The outsider2 Coming in from the cold3 The magic moment4 Dilma Rousseff and the rocky road to recession5 The foundations begin to shake6 A political implosion7 Fear and loathing in the favelas8 From utopia to dystopia9 And God told me to vote for Bolsonaro10 “Environment, environment, it’s a joke…”11 The Amazon is burning12 Tilting at windmills13 A president under pressure14 An unexpected bonanza AfterwordList of abbreviationsAcknowledgementsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE ‘A gripping reconstruction… utterly compelling reading.’ Adam Zamoyski ‘This is a grim story, thoroughly researched and brilliantly told.’ Geoffrey Alderman, Times Higher Education The Katyn Massacre of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war is a crime to which there are no witnesses. Committed in utmost secrecy in April-May 1940 by the NKVD on the direct orders of Joseph Stalin, for nearly fifty years the Soviet regime succeeded in maintaining the fiction that Katyn was a Nazi atrocity, their story unchallenged by Western governments fearful of upsetting a powerful wartime ally and Cold War adversary. Surviving Katyn explores the decades-long search for answers, focusing on the experience of those individuals with the most at stake - the few survivors of the massacre and the Polish wartime forensicTrade Review‘[Rogoyska] vividly recreates the last months of the officers – artists, scientists, engineers and poets as well as career military men – who were initially held at three special camps run by the NKVD.’ -- Sunday Times‘A gripping reconstruction of one of the most gruesome and haunting crimes of the Second World War… makes for utterly compelling reading, and lays bare its toxic legacy.’ -- Adam Zamoyski, author of Poland: A History‘This is a grim story, thoroughly researched and brilliantly told.’ * Geoffrey Alderman, Times Higher Education *‘In a riveting narrative, Rogoyska brings the victims out of the shadows, telling their stories as well as those of the people desperately searching for them. Throughout, the author’s humanity is on full display… Rogoyska is to be commended for resurrecting this heartbreaking tale. A work of significant moral clarity and elegant precision.’ -- Kirkus, starred review‘A well-researched and beautifully written narrative of the appalling fate of the Polish officers captured by the Soviets in 1939 and massacred in 1940. Through the testimony of the few survivors and the investigators, Rogoyska brings to life the suffering of the Poles which continued for decades after the war as Soviet culpability for the crime was denied across the world.’ -- Halik Kochanski, author of The Eagle Unbowed'One Second World War crime to escape judgment at the Nuremberg Trials was the massacre of thousands of Polish officers in the Katyń Forest in western Russia at the early stage of the war. The judges failed because, on their panel, they had the representatives of the perpetrator: the Soviet Union. Jane Rogoyska offers a riveting story of the crime, the cover-up and the search for the truth, which is far from over even today. In bringing the story of Katyń up to date, Rogoyska helps us understand not only the crimes of the past but also the political manipulations of the present.' * Serhii Plokhy, the author of Chernobyl and Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front: An Untold Story of World War II *'If you don't understand Katyn you don't understand the Second World War, you don't understand Europe, you don't understand crime and you don't understand lies. And you can't understand Katyn without reading this brilliant book. It is, I'm afraid, as simple as that.' * Daniel Finkelstein, Times columnist *‘Surviving Katyn is a pivotal contribution. Readers seeking to understand the plight of Poles during the Second World War, or come to terms with the duplicity and cruelty of Stalin and his NKVD, or submerge themselves in a rich and humane story of hope, suffering, and deceit, will find much of value in Surviving Katyn. With the empathy of a novelist and the precision of a historian, Rogoyska unfolds the story of Katyn.’ * American Conservative *‘Rogoyska’s study of men under extreme pressure draws out the nuances of these dilemmas, presenting us with ordinary people confronting their own doubts and fears.’ -- Times Literary Supplement‘Striking… Brought to life by the small, meticulous details, this immersive account of the Polish soldiers captured by the Soviets and how they were eventually led to their deaths is harrowing… Rogoyska’s empathy… permeates her book, ensuring that once read this story will not be easily forgotten.’ -- All About History‘A history book that makes the blood run cold.’ -- Five Books‘Within a well researched, politically challenging, and emotionally disturbing text, the author unravels and provides substantive evidence for Soviet responsibility for the heinous war crime.’ -- Love Wrexham

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Book Synopsis'A brilliant personal account of China's borderlands and peoples' Francis Fukuyama'Edward Wong is about as knowledgeable a guide to China as a reader could ever hope to find' Barbara Demick'Finely crafted ... opens up the complexities of Chinese politics and Chinese life in a way that general readers will find fascinating' GuardianThe son of Chinese immigrants in Washington, DC, Edward Wong grew up among family secrets. His father toiled in restaurants and rarely spoke of his childhood during the Japanese occupation of China and his years in the People's Liberation Army under Mao. His journey as a soldier took him from Manchuria during the Korean War to Xinjiang on the Central Asian frontier. In 1962, disillusioned with the Communist Party, he planned a desperate escape to Hong Kong.When Edward Wong became the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, he investigated his father's past while assessing for himself the dream of a resurgent China. He met the citizens driving the natio

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2022 FRENCH HERITAGE SOCIETY BOOK AWARD The profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today? In answer, Agnès Poirier turns to the defining moments in Notre-Dame’s history. Beginning with the laying of the corner stone in 1163, she recounts the conversion of Henri IV to Catholicism, the coronation of Napoleon, Victor Hugo’s nineteenth-century campaign to preserve the cathedral, Baron Haussmann’s clearing of the streets in front of it, the Liberation in 1944, the 1950s film of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn, and the state funeral of Charles de Gaulle, before returning to the present. The conflict over Notre-Dame’s reconstruction promises to be fierce. Nothing short of a cultural war is already brewing between the wise and the daring, the sincere and the opportunist, historians and militants, the devout and secularists. It is here that Poirier reveals the deep malaise – gilet jaunes and all – at the heart of the France.Trade Review‘Vivid and engrossing… the opening chapter repays the cover price: a breathless, exhaustively researched and utterly unputdownable account of the drama… elegant, witty and constantly informative.’ * Observer *‘Brisk and entertaining... there is much to be learned here.’ -- Literary Review‘I doubt that any book published this year will start with a more gripping opening chapter than hers…Poirier recounts these and many other stories with terrific élan and a wry eye for eccentric details.’ -- The Times'This is not so much a history of the 850-year-old cathedral as an act of thanksgiving for its unknown medieval builders and its modern restorers. Poirier has interviewed several of those involved in the salvage operations. Their emotional involvement with the cathedral and its relics is at the heart of this engaging book.’ -- Spectator'Notre-Dame is both the soul of France, and the beating heart of Paris. I haven’t been there in a long time. This book left me aching to return.' * Catholic Herald *'A passionately recounted history, a compelling story of destruction, restoration and the rebirth of hope.' -- Michèle Roberts'Concise and erudite.' -- New European‘An elegant and razor-sharp chronicle of Our Lady of Paris.’ -- France‘Unlocks the door to the past and illuminates Notre-Dame’s role in French culture.’ -- Herald

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Book SynopsisWith a keen eye for the juicy anecdote, Thévoz tells the fascinating and entertaining story of the rise, decline and resurgence of London''s private members'' clubs, from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. In doing so he looks at cultural and political developments beyond the clubs, revealing how while the clubs may have been products of their city and country, they also exerted significant influence on London, Britain and places far beyond. This is a chronicle, as informative as it is entertaining, of the ups and downs of London clubland, and how it had an impact on parts of the world far from London. It is packed with amusing anecdotes and illustrative examples of the growth of this quirky, unique institution, which grew to spread around the world. London, though, with its four hundred clubs, was always at its heart. Thévoz reveals how everything we might have thought we knew about these clubs is wrong. They may have started out as white, male, arist

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Book SynopsisThis definitive history of the Russo-Japanese War received rave reviews in its first edition-The Economist, for one, called it A remarkably lively and enjoyable account. As the 100th anniversary of the conflict approaches, Connaughton''s fascinating study will receive renewed attention and appeal to both military enthusiasts and the wider history market. In fascinating detail, he reveals the hopeless confusion of the Russian command structure and how the Russian naval defeat at Tsushima was as farcical as it was complete. Trade ReviewA remarkably lively and enjoyable account * THE ECONOMIST *Connaughton writes well with a serving officer's unfussy grasp * INDEPENDENT *Connaughton...has done an important service by reconstructing in detail the land campaign...that presaged the horrors of the First World War to come * US NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW *

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Book SynopsisThe story of Britain's colourful maritime past seen through the changing fortunes of the Cornish port of Falmouth.Within the space of few years, during the 1560s and 1570s, a maritime revolution took place in England that would contribute more than anything to the transformation of the country from a small rebel state on the fringes of Europe into a world power. Until then, it was said, there was only one Englishman capable of sailing across the Atlantic. Yet within ten years an English ship with an English crew was circumnavigating the world.At the same time in Cornwall, in the Fal estuary, just a single building a lime kiln existed where the port of Falmouth would emerge. Yet by the end of the eighteenth century, Falmouth would be one of the busiest harbours in the world.The Levelling Sea' uses the story of Falmouth's spectacular rise and fall to explore wider questions about the sea and its place in history and imagination. Drawing on his own deep connection with Cornwall, award-wTrade Review"This is a simply splendid book… Marsden’s writing is delightfully honed as well as being profoundly well-researched. The Levelling Sea is a microcosm of British history, contained within its covers like a ship in a bottle… Marsden takes a spyglass to the past and shows us it in vivid colour. Convincing in its detail and exciting in its sweep, this portrait of a port and its people sails deep into the reader’s imagination." Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph "A swashbuckling, but not unserious exploration of bravery, politics and 'fortunes…as liquid as the sea that yielded them.'’ Financial Times "Outstanding…his pitch-perfect feel for a phrase, plus a gift as sublime as James Hamilton-Paterson or Jonathan Raban’s for describing water, lifts The Levelling Sea far above ordinary history towards a state closer to poetry. This is the best of our island’s liquid tale, told the way it should be." Bella Bathurst, Sunday Times ‘Wonderfully poetic’ Sunday Times "…Had Philip Marsden simply used his travel-writing skills to create a hymn to our surrounding seas, and had he decorated it with magical vocabulary alone, the book would have surely been a flawless triumph. But Mr Marsden has done a great deal more than that." Simon Winchester, We Love This Book "The outstanding read of the season… This is a strange, absorbing story, brilliantly told… The best non-fiction expands the particular to the general, and perpetually discovers the marvellous in the ordinary. Marsden pulls this off every time… Read for a good story and beautiful, unpretentious writing. Read it for its introduction, a brilliant essay on seagoing, or for no particular reason. But read it." Marine Quarterly ‘[The growth of Falmouth is] a way of exploring our relationship with the sea, and its place in history and imagination.’ The Countryman

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Book SynopsisAn exciting new edition of Bella Bathurst's epic story of Robert Louis Stevenson's ancestors and the building of the Scottish coastal lighthouses against impossible odds.Whenever I smell salt water, I know that I am not far from one of the works of my ancestors,' wrote Robert Louis Stevenson in 1880. When the lights come out at sundown along the shores of Scotland, I am proud to think they burn more brightly for the genius of my father!'Robert Louis Stevenson was the most famous of the Stevensons, but not by any means the most productive. The Lighthouse Stevensons, all four generations of them, built every lighthouse round Scotland, were responsible for a slew of inventions in both construction and optics, and achieved feats of engineering in conditions that would be forbidding even today. The same driven energy which Robert Louis Stevenson put into writing, his ancestors put into lighting the darkness of the seas. The Lighthouse Stevensons is a story of high endeavour, beautifully tolTrade Review‘Deeply accomplished… this splendid book preserves the memory of great deeds performed in a heroic era’Frank McLynn, Sunday Times ‘Bella Bathurst has built a lamp herself: it illuminates the work of a literary hero, a family business, a habit of mind and a Scottish period… from the summit of this first terrific book she looks to become one of the best biographers of her generation’Andrew O’Hagan, The Times ‘An enthralling story, vivaciously recounted… These were epic and scarifying adventures, indicative of an age when the taming of nature was a philosophical given, its execution a religious passion’Alan Taylor, Observer ‘This is a grand book doing for lighthouses what Dava Sobel’s Longitude did for marine chronometers, and doing it, if comparisons are to be made, with considerably more panache’Nicholas Bagnall, Sunday Telegraph

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling historian and acclaimed broadcasterA rich social history Paxman's book could hardly be more colourful, and I enjoyed each page enormously' DOMINIC SANDBROOK, SUNDAY TIMESVividly told Paxman's fine narrative powers are at their best' THE TIMESCoal is the commodity that made Britain. Dirty and polluting though it is, this black rock has acted as a midwife to genius. It drove industry, religion, politics, empire and trade. It powered the industrial revolution, turned Britain into the first urban nation and is the industry that made almost all others possible.In this brilliant social history, Jeremy Paxman tells the story of coal mining in England, Scotland and Wales from Roman times, through the birth of steam power to war, nationalisation, pea-souper smogs, industrial strife and the picket lines of the Miner's Strike.Written in the captivating style of his bestselling book The English, Paxman ranges widely across Britain to explore stories of engineers and inventorTrade Review‘[A] rich social history … Given coal’s image, a popular history might seem a foolhardy undertaking. Yet Paxman’s book could hardly be more colourful, and I enjoyed every page enormously … A mining community, as Paxman points out, was not just a place of dirt and danger. It was a “place where you slept and ate, visited the doctor, fell in love, had your children and entertained yourself” … One day soon, Paxman says, we may forget it was ever there. But his book does a fine job of bringing it alive, and deserves the widest possible readership’Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times ‘A rich seam of history … Coal made Britain top nation, but we don’t talk about it much … Much more than the story of an industry: it is a history of Britain from an unusual angle, vividly told, that throws new light on familiar features of our national landscape … Paxman’s fine narrative powers are at their best in his account of [miner’s strikes] … From its beginnings to its end, the industry that made our country what it is, for good and ill, was a brutal business. Paxman is determined that we should not forget it’Emma Duncan, The Times ‘[A] terrific history … Paxman is not afraid to call out poor behaviour … A rich seam for acerbic Paxman’Kathryn Hughes, Mail on Sunday ‘A really interesting, timely book’Steve Wright, BBC Radio 2 ‘The history of coal in Britain might not sound immediately gripping, but it was. Paxo brings it all to life – the men, women and children toiling in the dark, in conditions no one could endure today. The courage of those communities shines from every page’Conn Iggulden, Daily Express ‘Filled with fun facts … Jeremy Paxman is particularly good at explaining why coal mattered so much. He has a sharp pen, and a good eye for detail’Daily Telegraph ‘Paxman tells a good story and he doesn’t mind who knows it. Ebullient and condescending at the same time, he is particularly good on set pieces’New Statesman

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Book Synopsis Now a major film, this is a dramatic reinterpretation of the life of Mary Queen of Scots by one of the leading historians of this period. Trade Review‘A biography that reads as thrillingly as a detective story’ Miranda Seymour, Sunday Times ‘A masterpiece, full of fire and tragedy’ Amanda Foreman 'Rarely have first-class scholarship and first-class storytelling been so effectively combined' John Adamson, Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisSometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman's witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?' CAITLIN MORANFrom rivals propelling each other forwards to friends combining their talents, it's clear: often two heads are better than one.How did William and Ellen Craft work together to pull off a perilous cross-country escape from slavery? How did the queer artists Marcel Moore and Claude Cahun become icons of the surrealist movement, then heroines of the resistance in the Second World War? Why couldn't Steve Jobs have started Apple alone?Vibrant, feminist and unexpected, Cathy Newman rewrites the history books to expose this strange power of two and to ask why certain collaborators are so often left out of the narrative.Previously published as It Takes Two.Trade Review‘Sometimes, 1+1 = changing the world. Cathy Newman’s witty, warm history on the power of determined couples will make you look at your relationship and wonder, “Could we be doing more this weekend than just going to IKEA?”’ CAITLIN MORAN ‘A fascinating and illuminating insight into the relationships of extraordinary people. Cathy Newman shows us how and why (to use a familiar phrase) it takes two to tango’BRUNO TONIOLI ‘Witty and insightful, challenging and unexpected – this book is a joy’RUTH DAVIDSON ‘A fascinating look at the enduring popularity of the double act, it’s difficulties and intricacies, and just how interwoven duos are with every facet of popular culture and history. Cathy Newman takes us deeper into the relationships we’re familiar with, and lays bare the importance of these relationships in shaping our world’SARA CANNING ‘This book is chock-full of odd couples who turn out to make perfect sense – just like me and Susanna … We’re a team – and that’s the secret of a successful pairing.It Takes Two on telly – and the world stage’PIERS MORGAN ‘It’s a fascinating study of couples and collaboration, ending very often in anger and bitterness – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and so on’MICHAEL MORPURGO, The i ‘Filled with biographical anecdotes, this eclectic and hugely entertaining romp through the history of duos shows that “coupledom is a jewel with many facets”’GUARDIAN, BEST PAPERBACKS OF THE MONTH, AUGUST 2021

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Whitley Award for Best Natural History Book 2022A compelling, funny, first-hand account of Australia''s wonderfully unique mammals and how our perceptions impact their future. Think of a platypus: they lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), they produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs and they can detect electricity. Or a wombat: their teeth never stop growing, they poo cubes and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas, devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has some truly astonishing mammals with incredible, unfamiliar features. But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean for their conservation?In Platypus Matters, naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these often-misunderstood animals. Informed by his own experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousandsTrade Review‘Charming, informative … a marvellous read’ Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books ‘Ashby reveals marvellous creatures, and the mysteries and myths surrounding them’ BBC Wildlife magazine ‘Ashby’s spirited tour of the Australian bestiary is a revelation to readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of platypus biology, and unacquainted with nabarleks, dunnarts and other indigenous Australian fauna.’ Natural History ‘Building on his considerable scientific knowledge and decades of field experience, Ashby immerses readers in all things platypus … A must-read for any mammal nerd or Aussie wildlife enthusiast.’ Nature Conservancy's Cool Green Science ‘An engaging natural (and enraging colonial) history’ Washington Independent Review of Books ‘From platypuses and possums, through wombats, echidnas, devils and kangaroos, to quolls, dibblers, dunnarts and kowaris, Ashby knows them all; and he guides his readers on a tour of their lives, their evolutionary stories and the challenges they face in the modern world.’ The Well-read Naturalist ‘Fascinating … This is wonderfully dorky stuff … A persistently, defiantly upbeat book, downright infused with Ashby’s scientific exuberance’ Open Letters Review ‘Keen to overturn the warped, colonial perception that monotremes (e.g. platypuses and echidnas) and marsupials are more primitive than other mammal species, the zoologist author who runs Cambridge's Natural History Museum takes us on a tour of the fauna of Australia in all their glory …Engaging and entertaining’ Bookseller ‘This is a compelling, funny, firsthand account of our wonderfully unique mammals and how our perceptions of them impact their future.’ Australian Geographic ‘Ashby has an infectious enthusiasm for Aussie marsupials and monotremes’ West Australian ‘Written in a lively, conversational style and drawing on decades of fieldwork, this is a beguiling portrait of our unique fauna.’ Sydney Morning Herald

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Book SynopsisHuman olfaction the sense of smell enables us to appreciate food and drink, it warns us of dangers and it makes our environments more enjoyable. However, olfaction is one of our least explored sensory systems. Until now.Smells and scents are the colour that enrich our experience of life. Ask anyone to reflect on their sense of smell, and they immediately start talking. First there are discussions about food and wine, but pretty quickly they move on to personal topics: about the smells that evoke memories of childhood, dead relatives, pregnancy, love and sex. When people talk about their sense of smell, they also tell us something about themselves, their feelings, thoughts and relationships. Thus, the sense of smell not only reflects the chemical world outside us, but also bears witness to our inner world, our feelings and thoughts.The Forgotten Sense explores the unknown mind and how it shapes people: Why can smells evoke such strong memories? How much can body odors control who you fall in love with? How sensitive is the human sense of smell? In many ways these questions are on the very forefront of our understanding, but Dr Jonas Olofsson has spent years studying the least understood of our senses. And he has discovered that it is actually possible to improve and refine one's sense of smell, to develop it into a more useful tool to bring a powerful immediacy to your life.

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Book Synopsis''A magnificent achievement'' Nikolai Tolstoy, The TimesAmong the Russians is a marvellous account of a solitary journey by car from St. Petersburg and the Baltic States south to Georgia and Armenia. A gifted writer and intrepid traveller, Thubron grapples with the complexities of Russian identity and relays his extraordinary journey in characteristically lyrical style. This is an enthralling and revealing account of the habits and idiosyncrasies of a fascinating nation along with a sharp and insightful social commentary of Russian life.''Superb... one of the best books on Russia to appear in years'' New York TimesTrade ReviewThe Soviet Union is seen through a glass brightly... What makes the book so readable is Thubron's combination of an artist's aesthetic sensitivity with the literary craftsmanship to convey it. He sees things with the freshness of an innocent and the erudition of a scholar * Daily Telegraph *Superb... one of the best books on Russia to appear in years * New York Times *Travel writing has never been more provocative, profound or poetic * Time Out *The Thubron approach to travelling has an integrity that belongs to another age. And this author's way with words gives his books a value far transcending their topical interest; it is safe to predict they will be read a century hence * Irish Times *The perfect guide to one of the world’s most enigmatic cultures -- Christie Hickman * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisA gripping biography by the author of Brave New WorldIn 1634 Urbain Grandier, a handsome and dissolute priest of the parish of Loudun was tried, tortured and burnt at the stake.Trade ReviewHuxley has reconstructed with skill, learning and horror one of the most appalling incidents in the history of witch-hunting during its seventeenth-century heyday. The Devils of Loudun is fascinating, erudite, and instinct with intellectual vitality * Times Literary Supplement *Huxley's analysis of motive, his exposition of the unconscious causes of behaviour, his exposure of the perversions to which religious emotion is subject, his discursions on the witch cult, on mass hysteria, on sexual eccentricity have the brilliance that all his writing has had from the very beginning * Spectator *One of Huxley's best books * Guardian *His masterpiece, and perhaps the most enjoyable book about spirituality ever written. In telling the grotesque, bawdy and true story of a 17th-century convent of cloistered French nuns who contrived to have a priest they never met burned alive ...Huxley painlessly conveys a wealth of information about mysticism and the unconscious * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisFROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SILK ROADS ''Filled with Byzantine intrigue, in every sense this book is important, compellingly revisionist and impressive in its scholarly use of totally fresh sources'' Simon Sebag Montefiore In 1096, an expedition of extraordinary scale and ambition set off from Western Europe on a mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Three years later, after a journey which saw acute hardship, the most severe dangers and thousands of casualties, the knights of the First Crusade found themselves storming the fortifications and capturing the Holy City. Against all the odds, the expedition had returned Jerusalem to Christian hands. In ''the most significant contribution to rethinking the origins and course of the First Crusade for a generation'' (Mark Whittow, TLS), Frankopan paints a strikingly original picture of this infamous confrontation between Christianity and Islam. Focusing on ConstantTrade ReviewFrankopan has written a remarkable book that makes as strong case as the incomplete and episodic evidence permits * Literary Review *Scholarly and yet accessible, and unashamedly partisan, The First Crusade, as any vibrant history should, is bound to set a lot of feathers flying * Daily Telegraph *A dazzling book, perfectly combining deep scholarship and easy readability. The most important addition to Crusading literature since RuncimanA nuanced and often counterintuitive story of power politics, international diplomacy and war and, ultimately that very rare thing - a truly fresh interpretation of an old story * Time Out *Frankopan's qualities as a historian and writer are of a high order * BBC History Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThe five-month Monte Cassino campaign in central Italy is one of the best-known European land battles of World War Two, alongside D-Day and Stalingrad. It has a particular resonance now, because Cassino, with its multitude of participating armies - most notably the American 5th Army under the controversial General Mark Clark - was perhaps the campaign of the Second World War that most closely anticipates the coalition operations of today, with its ever-shifting cast of players stuck in inhospitable, mountainous terrain, pursuing an objective set by unknowing politicians in distant capitals, where victory is difficult to define. Monte Cassino was characterised by the destruction of its world famous Abbey: in retrospect, considered an unjustifiable act of cultural vandalism by the allies.The audit trail of decision-making to destroy an icon as well known then as the Eiffel Tower or Lincoln Memorial, is a chilling reminder that similar decisions are still being made in ITrade ReviewPeter Caddick-Adams has brought highly perceptive and much-needed fresh analysis to this new account of the Cassino battles. Both authoritative and compellingly written, his immense knowledge and understanding of the Second World War exudes off every page. It will unquestionably remain the standard text on this bloody episode of the war for many years to come * James Holland *

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Book SynopsisFor fifteen hundred King Arthur has remained a mystery. For the first time, King Arthur - The True Story discovers the historical King Arthur, his Camelot and his final resting place. The search for Arthur's Camelot leads to ancient ruins in the heart of Britain - an incredible Dark Age city recently unearthed by archaeology.

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Book SynopsisCook led three famous expeditions to the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779. In voyages that ranged from the Antarctic circle to the Arctic Sea, Cook charted Australia and the whole coast of New Zealand, and brought back detailed descriptions of the natural history of the Pacific. Accounts based on Cook''s journals were issued at the time, but it was not until this century that the original journals were published in Beaglehole''s definitive edition. The JOURNALS tells the story of these voyages as Cook wanted it to be told, radiating the ambition, courage and skill which enabled him to carry out an unrivalled series of expeditions in dangerous waters.Table of ContentsList of mapsGeneral IntroductionThe First Voyage, 1768-1771Voyage MapsIntroductionJournalThe Second Voyage, 1772-1775Voyage MapsIntroductionJournalThe Third Voyage, 1776-1780Voyage MapsIntroductionJournalPostscript: The Death of CookGlossaryIndex of PersonsIndex of PlacesLocation Maps

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Book SynopsisIn 922 AD, an Arab envoy from Baghdad named Ibn Fadlan encountered a party of Viking traders on the upper reaches of the Volga River. In his subsequent report on his mission he gave a meticulous and astonishingly objective description of Viking customs, dress, table manners, religion and sexual practices, as well as the only eyewitness account ever written of a Viking ship cremation.Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, Arab travellers such as Ibn Fadlan journeyed widely and frequently into the far north, crossing territories that now include Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Their fascinating accounts describe how the numerous tribes and peoples they encountered traded furs, paid tribute and waged wars. This accessible new translation offers an illuminating insight into the world of the Arab geographers, and the medieval lands of the far north.Trade ReviewExceptional...a fascinating book, with a nugget of curious information on each page, adding up to a picture that turns preconceptions on their head...Delightful and intriguing * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisIain Sinclair is the author of numerous works of fiction, poetry non-fiction, including Lud Heat; White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings; Downriver; Radon Daughters; Lights Out for the Territory; Rodinsky's Room, with Rachel Lichtenstein; Landor's Tower; London Orbital; Dining On Stones; Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire and Ghost Milk; American Smoke and London Overground. Downriver won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Encore Award. He lives in Hackney, east London.Trade Review'It isn't often that one reads a book and is convinced that it's an instant classic, but I'm sure that LONDON ORBITAL will be read 50 years from now. This account of his walk around the M25 is on one level a journey into the heart of darkness, that terrain of golf courses, retail parks and industrial estates which is Blair's Britain. It's a fascinating snapshot of who we are, lit by Sinclair's vivid prose, and on another level a warning that the mythological England of village greens and cycling aunts has been buried under the rush of a million radial tyres' J. G. Ballard, ObserverTable of ContentsPrejudices declare; soothing the seething - up the Lea Valley with Bill Drummond (and the Unabomber); Paradise Gardens - Waltham Abbey to Shenley; Colne and Green Way - Abbots Langley to Stains; diggers and despots - cutting the corner, Staines to Epsom; salt to source - Epsom to Westerham, through the valley of vision to Dartford and the river; blood and oil - Carfax to Waltham Abbey; millennium eve.

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Book SynopsisFrom Roger Knight, established by the multi-award winning The Pursuit of Victory as ''an authority ... none of his rivals can match'' (N.A.M. Rodger), Britain Against Napoleon is the first book to explain how the British state successfully organised itself to overcome Napoleon - and how very close it came to defeatFor more than twenty years after 1793, the French army was supreme in continental Europe. How was it that despite multiple changes of government and the assassination of a Prime Minister, Britain survived and eventually won a generation-long war against a regime which at its peak in 1807 commanded many times the resources and manpower?This book looks beyond the familiar exploits (and bravery) of the army and navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It shows the degree to which, because of the magnitude and intensity of hostilities, the capacities of the whole British population were involved: industrialists, farmers, shipbuilders, gunsmiths and gunpowder manufacturers. The intelligence war was also central; but no participants were more important, Knight argues, than the bankers and international traders of the City of London, without whom the armies of Britain''s allies could not have taken the field.ROGER KNIGHT was Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum until 2000, and now teaches at the Greenwich Maritime Institute at the University of Greenwich. In 2005 he published, with Allen Lane/Penguin, The Pursuit of Victory: the life and achievement of Horatio Nelson, which won the Duke of Westminster''s Medal for Military History, the Mountbatten Award and the Anderson Medal of the Society for Nautical Research. The present book is a culmination of his life-long interest in the workings of the late eighteenth-century British state.''Superb'' - SpectatorTrade ReviewA wonderfully disorienting read ... for [Knight] the real heroes of the struggle against Napoleon are not Wellington or Nelson or Collingwood or Cochrane but the clerks and administrators and 'silent men of business' who put Britain's armies in the field and kept her ships at sea and her allies in funds and ultimately won the war ... there is scarcely a wasted sentence here, not a duff page, not a chapter ... that does not bring you very close to the realities of a total war -- David Crane * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisFrom Thomas Becket''s early life as a merchant''s son and his time as the Archbishop of Canterbury to his assassination in the Cathedral itself, this enlightening book brings to life a colossal figure of British history. ''Lively, effortlessly readable, superb. A beautifully layered portrait of one of the most complex characters in English history'' The Times ____________________This is the man, not the legend . . . Thomas Becket lived at the centre of medieval England. Son of a draper''s merchant, he was befriended and favoured by Henry II and quickly ascended the rungs of power and privilege. He led 700 knights into battle, brokered peace between warring states and advised King and Pope. Yet he lost it all defying his closest friend and King, resulting in his bloody murder and the birth of a saint. In award-winning biographer John Guy''s masterful account, the life, death and times of Thomas Becket <

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Book SynopsisWinston Churchill''s six-volume history of the cataclysm that swept the world remains the definitive history of the Second World War. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep and for its sense of personal involvement, it is universally acknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring, compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The Hinge of Fate describes how the tide of the war gradually turned for Britain and its allies from constant defeat to almost unbroken successes - Japan''s successful assault on the Pacific, Britain''s attempts to aid a beleaguered Russia and the defeat of Rommel at the Battle of Alamein.

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Book Synopsis''A riveting and illuminating tour of how nations deal with crises - which might hopefully help humanity as a whole deal with our present global crisis'' YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of SAPIENS ** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** Author of the landmark international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond has transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, at a time when crises are erupting around the world, he explores what makes certain nations resilient, and reveals the factors that influence how nations and individuals can respond to enormous challenges. In a riveting journey into the recent past, he traces how six distinctive modern nations - Finland, Chile, Indonesia, Japan, Germany and Australia - have survived defining catastrophes, and identifies patterns in their recovery. Looking ahead, he investigates the risk that the United States and other countries, faced by grave threat, are set on a course towards catastrophe. Adding a rich psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology and anthropology that underpin all of Diamond''s writing, Upheaval is epic in scope, but also his most personal book yet.''Fascinating ... I finished the book even more optimistic about our ability to solve problems than I started'' BILL GATES''Jared Diamond does it again: another rich, original and fascinating chapter in the human saga - with vital lessons for our difficult times'' STEVEN PINKERTrade ReviewFascinating... I'm a big fan of everything Jared has written, and his latest is no exception. ... I finished the book even more optimistic about our ability to solve problems than I started. -- Bill Gates, Summer Reading Recommendations 2019Upheaval is bold, wide-ranging and original ... probes large and important questions. Unlike most social scientists, Diamond can write invigorating prose that carries the reader along with its sweep ... It deserves to be widely read and pondered. -- Vernon Bogdanor * The Sunday Telegraph *A riveting and illuminating tour of how nations deal with crises-which might hopefully help humanity as a whole deal with our present global crisis. -- Yuval Noah Harari, author of 'Sapiens' and '21 Lessons for the 21st Century'Jared Diamond is an undisputed global star of comparative history... Britain could learn from this book about how other nations have dealt with turmoil... He finds intellectually stimulating and unusual examples that provide much food for thought. -- Andrew Marr * The Times *Diamond writes so well, and his frame of reference (across disciplines and languages) is so considerable, that almost everything he describes comes across as fresh. -- Douglas Murray * The Evening Standard *[Diamond] wears the mantle of a modern-day prophet . . . opens textures of historical possibility. Only the most obtuse reader of his latest book, on national resilience, could miss the signs and portents with which it is studded ... The prophet spares us chiselled commandments, but we have been warned. -- Colin Kidd, Book of the Day * The Guardian *Fascinating globe-hopping study * The Telegraph *As a meditation about a world on edge, it is well worth reading * The Economist *Persuasive . . . runs refreshingly counter to conventional wisdom * Bloomberg *Jared Diamond does it again: another rich, original, and fascinating chapter in the human saga-with vital lessons for our difficult times. -- Steven Pinker, author of 'Enlightenment Now'Upheaval is a brilliant, gripping, personal account of nations in crisis, informed by how people respond to crisis. It's an especially timely read today, when nations are stressed and have much to learn about how to survive big challenges. I urge you to read it. -- Paul Ehrlich, author of 'Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic'In Upheaval, I find eye-opening lessons about the political and psychological forces that lead to crisis and then resilience, how individuals and nations experience trauma in similar ways, and what that suggests about our future and the world's . . . wise and beautiful. -- Diane Ackerman, author of 'The Zookeeper's Wife'Jared Diamond is one of the deepest thinkers and most authoritative writers of our time-arguably of all time-and Upheaval proves his prescience in analyzing historical crises within nations at a time when national crises have erupted around the world . . . No scientist has ever won the Nobel Prize for literature. Jared Diamond should be the first. -- Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of 'Heavens on Earth'

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2022A NEW STATESMAN AND TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021''Deserves to remain the standard treatment of the subject in English for many decades to come'' Roderick Beaton, Times Literary SupplementIn the exhausted, repressive years that followed Napoleon''s defeat in 1815, there was one cause that came to galvanize countless individuals across Europe and the United States: freedom for Greece.Mark Mazower''s wonderful new book recreates one of the most compelling, unlikely and significant events in the story of modern Europe. In the face of near impossible odds, the people of the villages, valleys and islands of Greece rose up against Sultan Mahmud II and took on the might of the imperial Ottoman armed forces, its Turkish cavalrymen, Albanian foot soldiers and the fearsome Egyptians. Despite the most terrible disasters, they helTrade ReviewThe Greek Revolution offers the best and fullest explanation, to date, for a series of events whose effects would change the entire geopolitics of Europe. Written with compassion and understanding for the human cost of that achievement, it deserves to remain the standard treatment of the subject in English for many decades to come. -- Roderick Beaton * Times Literary Supplement *Exquisite detail, altogether impressive ... a cornucopia of revolution. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Compelling and disturbing, enriched by many new sources and excellent colour illustrations, and paying attention to the role of Ottomans and Albanians as well as Greeks, Mazower's book will become the standard account of this crucial revolution. -- Philip Mansel * The Spectator *An engaging combination of fast-flowing narrative and insightful analysis. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Encyclopaedic ... superbly subtle and thorough. -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *With vivid detail, impeccable scholarship and great nuance, Mazower shows how the modern idea of the nation emerges out of the complex, sometimes random and often messy interactions between a plurality of agents ... An illuminating account of both the unifying power of myths about the past, and the dangers inherent when such myths are connected to political reality. -- Lea Ypi * New Statesman *As the subtitle of Mark Mazower's new book maintains, events in Greece 200 years ago helped shape modern Europe. His elegant and rigorous account also holds lessons for modern geopolitics: about the galvanising effects of violence, the role of foreign intervention and the design flaws in dreams. * The Economist *An epic narrative, both scholarly, breathlessly page-turning and packed with hauntingly romantic characters. Few historians dig so deep or with such sympathy into what history felt like to those living through it ... anyone in search of an opera plot should scour these drama-packed pages. -- Noonie Minogue * The Tablet *Broad in scope and colorful in detail, this is a masterful portrait of a historic watershed. ... [A] sweeping history of Greece's 1821 war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. [Mazower] recounts the revolution's inception among Greek emigrés with an idealistic dream of Hellenic nationalism and its actuality as a murky, eight-year struggle fought mainly by peasants and warlords who were motivated less by patriotism than by religious hatred of Muslims, factional vendettas, and mercenary self-interest ... A lucid, elegantly written, and often gripping account. * Publishers Weekly *On the bicentennial of the Greek revolution, a prominent scholar tracks the historical detail and enormous international significance of the improbable, largely grassroots uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Mazower, a Columbia professor and winner of the Wolfson Prize for History who has written extensively about Greece and the Balkans, ably ties together the many disparate threads of this complex history of Greek independence. ... An elucidating history that is relevant to understanding the geopolitics of Greece today. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisTHE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER''Bristles with pure, crystalline intelligence, deep knowledge and human sympathy'' Richard Dawkins Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible?If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred, and irrationality. Yet Steven Pinker shows that this is an illusion - a symptom of historical amnesia and statistical fallacies. If you follow the trendlines rather than the headlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer, happier, more peaceful, more stimulating and more prosperous - not just in the West, but worldwide. Such progress is no accident: it''s the gift of a coherent and inspiring value system that many of us embrace without even realizing it. These are the values of the Enlightenment: of reason, science, humanism and progress.The challTrade ReviewMy new favourite book of all time -- Bill GatesExhilarating, magnificent, uplifting * Economist *This is the biggest story of our time. It's about the many ways in which the world is improving, and why we don't believe it -- Fraser Nelson * Spectator *Pinker is right. Not just a bit right, but completely, utterly, incontrovertibly right ... for most people, life is better, even if they don't realise it -- Dominic Sandbrook * Daily Mail *Awesome. The confidence with which Pinker tears through the issues that cause such deep anxiety today is compelling -- William Davies * Guardian *A characteristically fluent, decisive and data-rich demonstration of why, given the chance to live at any point in human history, only a stone-cold idiot would choose any time other than the present -- Sam Leith * Spectator *A new, optimistic view of the world ... Things are not as bad as your Facebook news feed makes them seem ... a cheerful, contrarian tract for dark times -- Niall Ferguson * Sunday Times *A goldmine of startling graphs and killer facts about the way we live now. Everyone should read this book and, just for once, be enthralled by what humankind has achieved -- Iain Macwhirter * Herald *Brimming with surprising data and entertaining anecdotes ... a genuinely enlightening book -- Jan-Werner Müller * Financial Times *Today we are living healthier, wealthier lives - and it's thanks to the values of the Enlightenment ... a passionate book in praise of Enlightenment values -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *In Enlightenment Now, Steven Pinker extols the amazing achievements of modernity, and demonstrates that humankind has never been so peaceful, healthy and prosperous. There is of course much to argue about, but that's what makes this book so interesting. -- Yuval Noah HarariA salutary reminder of the material progress modern science and commerce have delivered * The New York Times *Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations * Independent *Pinker is a paragon of exactly the kind of intellectual honesty and courage we need -- David Brooks * The New York Times *If 2017 was a rough year for you, look no further than Steven Pinker's engaging new book, Enlightenment Now, to cheer you up. Conceived before Donald Trump even announced his candidacy, it could not have been better timed to clarify - and, for some, refute - the habits of mind that brought Trump and the GOP to power ... Pinker's gift is to challenge us not only to update the Enlightenment, but to think beyond it * Washington Post *A valuable book ... Enlightenment Now can hardly be bettered * Boston Globe *Persuasive... Pinker's book focuses on the Enlightenment as a philosophical perspective, as a distinctive way of looking at the position of individuals within modern society. Enlightenment Now is a spirited defence of the enduring ideals of this tradition * Times Higher Education *A careful and deeply researched piece of work ... Pinker is bravely prepared to be the bearer of good news * Guardian *The most uplifting work of science I've ever read * Science *A highly topical and much-needed book * New Statesman *Pinker is ahead of his critics... [he] is in no way complacent. To accuse him of smugly sipping cocktails at the End of History café is simply to ignore his repeated calls to work for the better future that is there for the taking, but also for the losing -- Julian Baggini * Literary Review *In his new book, Enlightenment Now, cognitive scientist Steven Pinker makes a more convincing case for the sciences benefiting the arts * New Scientist *An excellent book, lucidly written, timely, rich in data and eloquent in its championing of a rational humanism that is - it turns out - really quite cool. * New York Times Book Review *It's easy to feel dour about the future of mankind. But constant, widespread doomsday prophecies are not going to help - it's only going to make matters worse. If every doomsday scenario feels possible, then people are actually disincentivized to take action, says Steven Pinker ... Things like nuclear war and climate change can, with careful and diligent work, be mitigated * CNBC *Pinker has a coherent theory of progress. * Washington Post *Shock therapy for pessimists. * Seattle Times *[Steven Pinker has] become a deep and important critic of the visceral hostility to nature and science now so sadly prevalent on the left and right, a defender of reason and the Enlightenment against the 'social justice' movements on campus, and his new book is a near-relentless defense of modernity. * New York Magazine *[ENLIGHTENMENT NOW] proves that much of the handwringing and doom-saying promulgated in the popular press, academia, and politics can't be justified on the facts. . . it's both a manifesto of ideas that [Bill] Gates himself has espoused through the years, as well as a paean to individuals, like Gates, who have committed their time and money to changing the world for the better. * Inc. *A forceful defense of the democratic, humanist institutions that [Pinker] says brought about these changes, and a declaration that reason, science and humanism can solve the problems to come. * Atlanta Journal-Constitution *Vindication has arrived in the form of Steven Pinker's latest book. ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress is remarkable, heart-warming, and long overdue. * Christian Science Monitor *Pinker offers numbers to show that the world has, on the whole, become safer, healthier and wealthier. These benefits are more pronounced in the West, but even in developing countries conditions have improved ... His optimism is resilient * The New York Times *Extremely hopeful... Steven Pinker argues that people are happier, healthier, wealthier, and safer than they've ever been ... we're living in the best moments humans have experienced yet * Business Insider *Pinker is a deep and important critic of the visceral hostility to nature and science now so sadly prevalent on the left and right, a defender of reason and the Enlightenment ... Pinker is right -- Andrew Sullivan * New York Magazine *An erudite defence * Salon *Modern life has gotten much better despite ever-present complaints. Technology has reduced the need for physical labor. Mortality rates are down. IQ scores are on the rise. Wars are less frequent and less deadly ... the Enlightenment's championing of reason, science, humanism and moral progress is a model for our own times * Washington Post *Pinker is right ... Much good news today tends to be underreported, even unreported. Human beings today lead longer, safer, healthier, wealthier and indeed happier lives than at any point in recorded history ... Pinker surveys the stupendous advancements that the human race has made in modern times according to a dizzying range of metrics * Nation *An engaging, compelling set of reasons to be cheerful ... it is a welcome antidote * Nature *The world is better than ever before. And Steven Pinker can prove it. * Vox *A substantial and wide-ranging book on the state of our world today ... In forensic detail, Pinker enumerates the myriad ways in which life is getting better ... The book is packed with statistics vaunting the gifts of progress * Irish Times *After devouring all 453 pages and 75 graphs of psychologist Steven Pinker's Enlightenment Now, I admit defeat. The defeat of defeatism. This man has done the math. Since the 18th century things have been getting better in pretty much every dimension of human wellbeing. * Big Think *Steven Pinker has a cure for your despair ... life is better than it has ever been. Pinker's case is compelling * Prospect *Useful and exciting ... Pinker doesn't declaim, he demonstrates - with dozens of graphs and charts - that humankind has spent two centuries winning the battle against entropy in all fields: from health to peace, the environment to democracy, wealth to happiness, to equality between men and women. He asks us crucial questions ... Steven Pinker is right * El Mundo (Spain) *Enlightenment Now seeks to undo, with facts and figures, the pessimism that has paralysed the world ... We must read this book and absorb its message * El Pais (Colombia) *Guys, it's really not that bad. In fact, it's the best it's ever been ... Pinker urges people to look at the bigger picture and dive into the data * New York Post *Things are not as bad as your Facebook news feed makes them seem ... a cheerful, contrarian tract for dark times -- Niall Ferguson * Boston Globe *Compelling ... At a moment when liberal Enlightenment values are under attack, from the right and the left, this is a very important contribution ... An impressive and useful accomplishment * Atlantic *

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Book SynopsisNAMED A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE SUNDAY TIMES, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, THE TABLET AND THE LADY''This book is a terrific read ... I could not put it down'' Matthew Restall, Literary ReviewThe ''conquistadores'', the early explorers and settlers of Spanish America, have become the stuff of legends and nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation, as men who decimated the ancient civilizations of the Aztecs and the Incas, and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.In Conquistadores, Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes cuts through the layers of myth and fiction to immerse the reader in the world of the late-medieval imperialist. It is a world as unfamiliar to us as the Indigenous peoples of the New World were to the conquistadores themselves. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including diaries, letters, chronicles and treatises, Cervantes reframes the story of the Spanish conquest of the New World, set against the political and intellectual landscape from which its main actors emerged. At the heart of the story are the conquistadores, whose epic ambitions and moral contradictions defined an era.From Columbus to Cortés, Pizarro and beyond, the explorers we think we know come alive in this thought-provoking and illuminating account of a period that irrevocably altered the course of world history.''Enlightening ... Conquistadores makes for fascinating reading'' Jude Webber, Financial TimesTrade ReviewLively, complex, compelling ... Cervantes is too good a historian to try to whitewash the half-century of conquistador activities that is his focus. Atrocities accompanied conquistadores wherever they went, and Cervantes seldom shies away from detailing and condemning them ... This book is a terrific read ... I could not put it down. -- Matthew Restall * Literary Review *The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the Americas is one of the most exciting stories in history. Fernando Cervantes retells the story with learning and gusto, and is excellent on the wider context ... Blood flows at every turn, yet he persuasively argues that the conquistadors have been greatly misunderstood, and invites us to think again about one of the past's greatest turning points. -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Enlightening ... For a vivid portrayal of a clash of very different cultures, each equally astonishing to the other, and a group of men who "whatever their myriad faults and crimes ... succeeded more or less through their own agency, in fundamentally transforming Spanish and European conceptions of the world in barely half a century", Conquistadores makes for fascinating reading. -- Jude Webber * Financial Times *Superb ... Conquistadores tells the story of the discovery and conquest of the New World, and tells it very well. His portraits of Cortés, Pizarro, Hernando de Soto and the other conquistadors are as vivid as one could wish. -- Daniel Johnson * The Critic *Superlative ... subtly recasts Columbus, Cortés and Pizarro as ambiguous figures rooted in medieval ideas of holy war as much as in greed for gold. -- David Abulafia * Times Literary Supplement *Cervantes places the conquest of the Americas in Spain's political context ... a rich portrait of a period that is almost unimaginable today ... a persuasive reassessment. -- Daniel Rey * The Spectator *A superb new look at the conquistadors that puts them in their true context. -- Simon Sebag MontefioreA veritable compendium on the Spanish conquest of the Americas ... the book is welcome, and it most certainly meets its goal of presenting the colonisers as real people ... Professor Cervantes is a talented man, and his book is staggeringly thorough. -- Camilla Townsend * BBC History Magazine *Cervantes skilfully constructs a complex story, packed with disturbing nuance, which obliterates that simplistic narrative of brutal conquistadors subduing innocent indigenes. The depth of research in this book is astonishing, but even more impressive is the analytical skill Cervantes applies to his discoveries. He is equally at home in cultural, literary, linguistic, artistic, economic and political history. All this sophisticated scholarship could so easily result in an unwieldy book, easy to admire, but difficult to read. Cervantes, however, conveys complex arguments in delightfully simple language, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *I found it impossible to put down Conquistadores: A New History by Fernando Cervantes. The Spanish conquerors of the Americas, usually despised as brutal men driven only by greed for gold, are shown to be more sophisticated, often more respectful of the dignity of the indigenous people than their British equivalents. The friars, Franciscan and Dominican, play a key role in these dramatic events, with emergence of a new understanding of universal human rights. -- Timothy Radcliffe * The Tablet *One of the best crossover academic books I've read for a long time. It's approachable, but breaks new ground in its assessment of the Spanish conquerors of Latin and Central America. Cervantes pitches it perfectly, immersing readers in the mental world of these historical figures, tracing the connections between their ideas and the reality it created. -- Rory Rapple * The Tablet *Fernando Cervantes has written a superb account of a world-changing half-century, interweaving narrative and analysis to compelling effect. The conquistadors were ruthless men, and did unspeakable things, but Cervantes wants us to understand them, rather than merely condemn. His book brilliantly illuminates a world-view which was in some ways closer to that of the indigenous peoples the conquistadors overpowered than it is to ours. -- Peter Marshall, author of Heretics and Believers: A History of the English ReformationWith reason, evidence, common sense, uncompromising candour and disciplined imagination Fernando Cervantes makes the conquistadores believable. He guides us expertly through the moral labyrinth of empire, amid warts and wonders, sins and saints, crimes and creativity. -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto, author of Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came To Think ItA brilliant account of the men, from Columbus to Pizarro, who conquered and settled most of Central and South America. Fernando Cervantes tells a complex, subtle and persuasive story of their actions. It is a story not only of simple, brutal, conquest - but also of cooperation, of shifting alliances, of the infiltration of Europeans into regions which had for long been zones of almost ceaseless conflict, and of prolonged, if ultimately frustrated, attempts to build a society which would fuse European and indigenous legal, social and political systems. The entire history of European imperialism and colonization is in urgent need of complete revision. Conquistadors is an evocative, courageous, and immensely readable beginning. -- Anthony Pagden, author of The Enlightenment: And Why It Still MattersWritten with narrative flair and meticulous erudition, this splendid book strips away the stubborn fantasies and prejudices which tend to characterise accounts of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Drawing on up-to-date scholarship, it describes the late-medieval mindset of the conquistadors and analyses the sophisticated political culture of the Spanish Monarchy to show how, from the violent encounters of mutually alien peoples, there emerged multi-ethnic and culturally diverse societies which proved to be surprisingly resilient and stable over three hundred years. This is an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the historical roots of our globalized world. -- Edwin Williamson, author of The Penguin History of Latin America

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Book SynopsisA NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021''A model of research and analysis ... Townshend''s concise and intelligent book tells a painful story that is probably not yet over'' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph A compelling history of the turbulent journey to Irish independence, published for the centenary of the Partition In the aftermath of the horrors of the Irish Famine, the grim, distrustful relationship between Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom deteriorated into a generations-long argument about ''Home Rule''. The unprecedented nature of the Irish problem - with most Irish people wanting to break away from the world''s largest Empire - made it extraordinarily difficult for either side to come up with a compromise. For many years actual independence seemed inconceivable. And then, as these bitter disputes continued, it became clear that under no circumstances would the Protestants be party to any of it. The Partition is a remarkable, clear-sighted and thoughtful account of how two unthinkable events - full Irish independence and the creation of the state of Northern Ireland - came to pass. The Irish nationalist claim to leave ran into a loyalist demand to remain, increasingly centred on the north-eastern Protestant community, threatening large-scale violent resistance. Here Charles Townshend lays out what is ultimately a tragic story, as partition became the only answer to an otherwise insoluble problem. The settlement of the Irish question drew in every major politician, conjured up heroes and villains, led to civil war and finally to Ulster''s catastrophic Troubles. The hard border has always been seen as a failure of both British and Irish statecraft, but has endured now for a century. The Partition brilliantly brings to life the contingency and uncertainty that created it. ''A timely and important book ... so much of its content remains relevant to understanding contemporary preoccupations and controversies'' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish TimesTrade ReviewA model of research and analysis ... Townshend's concise and intelligent book ... tells a painful story that is probably not yet over. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *A layered and mostly fair assessment of the dynamics, deal, prejudices and delusions that created the Border in Ireland ... This is a timely and important book, not just because of the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland but because so much of its content remains relevant to understanding contemporary preoccupations and controversies. -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times *The completion of the trilogy is delivered with Townshend's characteristic scholarly panache ... he brings into unforgiving focus the carelessness, double-dealing and myopia which has bedevilled Britain's government of Ireland ... laconic but conclusive. -- Roy Foster * The Spectator *Townshend, a leading scholar of modern Irish history, has written an authoritative study of the origins of Ireland's partition. -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *An important book that provides not only a background to events one hundred years ago but is highly relevant to events that are still unfolding today ... Well written, full of insights and impressively topical. -- Taylor Downing * Aspects of History *

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Book SynopsisHow has feminism developed? What have feminists achieved? What can we learn from the global history of feminism?Feminism is the ongoing story of a profound historical transformation. Despite being repeatedly written off as a political movement that has achieved its aim of female liberation, it has been continually redefined as new generations of women campaign against the gender inequity of their age.In this absorbing book, historian Lucy Delap challenges the simplistic narrative of ''feminist waves'' - a sequence of ever more progressive updates - showing instead that feminists have been motivated by the specific concerns of their historical moment. Drawing on an extraordinary range of examples from Japan to Russia, Egypt to Germany, Delap explores different feminist projects to show that those who are part of this movement have not always agreed on a single programme. This diverse history of feminism, she argues, can help us better navigate current debates and controversies.A tour de force from an award-winning expert, Feminisms shows that a rich relationship to the past can infuse today''s activism with a sense possibility and inspiration.

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Book Synopsis''A rich history Harding writes with energy and insight, wearing a tremendous amount of learning lightly'' - Rana Mitter, Financial Times This rich and enjoyable book by the acclaimed author of Japan Story explores the many ways in which Asia has influenced Europe and North America over centuries of tangled, dynamic encountersFrom the time of the ancient Greeks onwards the West''s relationship with Asia consisted for the most part of outrageous tales of strange beasts and monsters, of silk and spices shipped over vast distances and an uneasy sense of unknowable empires fantastically far away. By the twentieth century much of Asia might have come under Western rule after centuries of warfare, but its intellectual, artistic and spiritual influence was fighting back.The Light of Asia is a wonderfully varied and entertaining history of the many ways in which Asia has shaped European and North American culture over centuries of tangled, dynamic encounters, and the central importance of this vexed, often confused relationship. From Marco Polo onwards Asia has been both a source of genuine fascination and equally genuine failures of comprehension. China, India and Japan were all acknowledged to be both great civilizations and in crude ways seen as superseded by the West. From Chicago to Calcutta, and from antiquity to the new millennium, this is a rich, involving story of misunderstandings and sincere connection, of inspiration and falsehood, of geniuses, adventurers and con-men.Christopher Harding''s captivating gallery of people and places celebrates Asia''s impact on the West in all its variety.

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Book SynopsisShould historians make value judgements about the past? Many historians think not, but Donald Bloxham contends that it is legitimate, often unavoidable, and frequently important. History and Morality illuminates how far tacit moral judgements infuse works of history, and how strange those histories would look if the judgements were removed.Trade ReviewBloxham's book is a call for nuance and self-awareness, arguing that moral judgement is not only important, but is actually inescapable. What matters is how we deploy it - and that we are conscious of doing so. * Jonathan Waterlow, H/Sz/Kult *It is all too rare that a scholarly book - the product of decades of research and careful thought - emerges at precisely the moment when it is most needed ... Masterfully spanning multiple academic disciplines, Bloxham takes us back to the very foundations of Western thinking, charting the development of our conceptions of core values like 'truth', 'justice', 'responsibility', and 'guilt' ... History and Morality will be immensely useful not only for a generation of historians wary of making value judgements about the past, but also for a new generation who, in their drive to bring morality back into the picture, are sometimes too hasty to appreciate the importance of context and the pitfalls of anachronism. * Jonathan Waterlow, H-Soz-Kult *Bloxham['s] digressions and byways are often as rich as the main thread of the argument...History and Morality ought to achieve wide readership. * Professor Daniel Woolf, Queen's University, Reviews in History *

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Book SynopsisThis book covers in breadth issues of change, continuity, and cause and consequence. It will enable you to understand and make connections between the six key questions covered in the specification including: how was Britain governed, what pressures did governments face, how did the economy change, and how did society and social policy develop?Trade Review"5*. Excellent." * Amazon review, Nov 2015 *"How good can a textbook be? It has sections dividing the A Level and AS Level and just the A Level content, so you're not studying more than you need to. Has all the sections in depth for the brand new taught from 2015 specification. Will be using this to revise from next Summer". * 5* Amazon review, Oct 2015 *

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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 all the well-loved features from the previous editions, The Making of a Superpower: USA 1865-1975 has been approved by AQA and matched to the 2015 AQA specification. With a strong focus on skills building and exam practice, this book covers in breadth issues of change, continuity, and cause and consequence in this period of American history through key questions such as how did the role of the USA in world affairs change, and how united was the USA during this period? Its aim is to enable you to understand and make connections between the six key thematic questions covered in the specification.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 wit

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Book SynopsisThis Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia 1917-1953 Revision Guide is part of the bestselling Oxford AQA History for A Level series developed by Sally Waller. Written to match the new AQA specification, this series helps you deepen your historical knowledge and develop vital analytical and evaluation skills. This revision guide offers the clearly structured revision approach of Recap, Apply, and Review to prepare you for exam success. Step-by-step exam practice strategies for all AQA question types are provided (including Source Analysis and essays linked to Key Concepts), as well as well-researched, targeted guidance based on what we now know from the new AQA examiner''s reports on Russia. Our original author team is back, offering expert advice, AS and A Level exam-style questions and Examiner Tips. Contents checklists help monitor revision progress; example student answers and suggested activity answers help you review your own work. This guide is perfect for use alongside the Studen

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Book SynopsisThomas Carlyle's history of the French Revolution, originally published in 1837, opens with the death of Louis XV in 1774 and ends in 1795 when Bonaparte quelled the insurrection of the Vendemiaire. It is a work of great narrative and descriptive power that was itself meant to be revolutionary.Trade ReviewThis edition makes the work decipherable in ways it otherwise isn't. * Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal *Excellent edition * Years Work in English Studies, 2021 *Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Text A Chronology of Thomas Carlyle Contents, iThe French Revolutionr THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Explanatory Notes Annotated Index

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Book SynopsisNetwork research has recently been adopted as one of the tools of the trade in archaeology, used to study a wide range of topics: interactions between island communities, movements through urban spaces, visibility in past landscapes, material culture similarity, exchange, and much more. This Handbook is the first authoritative reference work for archaeological network research, featuring current topical trends and covering the archaeological application of network methods and theories. This is elaborately demonstrated through substantive topics and case studies drawn from a breadth of periods and cultures in world archaeology. It highlights and further develops the unique contributions made by archaeological research to network science, especially concerning the development of spatial and material culture network methods and approaches to studying long-term network change. This is the go-to resource for students and scholars wishing to explore how network science can be applied in archTable of Contents1: Matthew A. Peeples, Jessica Munson, Barbara J. Mills, and Tom Brughmans: Introduction Part I: Archaeological Networks in Practice 2: Clara Filet and Fabrice Rossi: Network Methods and Properties 3: Matthew A. Peeples, John M. Roberts, Jr, and Yi Yin: Challenges for Network Research in Archaeology 4: Benjamin Bach and Mereke van Garderen: Beyond the Node-Link Diagram: A Fast Forward about Network Visualization for Archaeology 5: Per Östborn and Henrik Gerding: Inference from Archaeological Similarity Networks Part II: Material Culture Networks 6: Jennifer Birch: Material Networks and Culture Change 7: Elliot H. Blair: Material Culture Similarity and Co-occurrence Networks 8: Daniel Sosna: Mortuary Archaeology Networks 9: Mark Golitko: Geochemical Networks 10: Sarah M. Griffin and Florian Klimm: Networks and Museum Collections Part III: Geographical Networks 11: Diego Jiménez-Badillo: Nearest and Relative Neighbourhood Networks 12: Ray Rivers, Tim Evans, and Eleftheria Paliou: Gravity and Maximum Entropy Models 13: Irmela Herzog: Transportation Networks and Least-Cost Paths 14: Mu-Chun Wu: Space Syntax and Pedestrian Modelling 15: Zoran %Cu%ckovi'c: Visibility Networks 16: Eduardo Apolinaire and Laura Bastourre: Hydrographic Networks Part IV: Network Simulation 17: Iza Romanowska: Complexity Science and Networks in Archaeology 18: Wendy H. Cegielski: Networks, Agent-Based Modeling, and Archaeology 19: Viviana Amati: Random Graph Models Part V: Biological Networks 20: Kent M. Johnson: Biodistance Networks 21: Stefani A. Crabtree and Jennifer A. Dunne: Food Webs Part VI: Text-Based Networks 22: Claire Lemercier: Historical and Archaeological Network Data 23: Diane Harris Cline and Jessica Munson: Epigraphic Networks in Cross-Cultural Perspective 24: Valeria Vitale and Rainer Simon: Linked Data Networks: How, Why and When to Apply Network Analysis to LOD 25: Allison Mickel, Anthony Sinclair, and Tom Brughmans: Knowledge Networks 26: Vojt%ech Ka%se, Tomá%s Glomb, and Jan Fousek: Networks and Religious Transformations Part VII: Cultural Transmission and Human Evolution 27: Valéria Romano and Sergi Lozano: Perspectives on Human Behavioural Evolution from Primate Networks 28: Claudine Gravel-Miguel, and Fiona Coward: Palaeolithic Social Networks and Behavioural Modernity 29: Briggs Buchanan and Marcus J. Hamilton: Networks and Cultural Transmission in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Part VIII: Movement, Exchange, and Flows through Networks 30: Justin Leidwanger: Maritime Networks 31: Barbara J. Mills and Matthew A. Peeples: Migration and Archaeological Network Research 32: Marek Vlach: Network Modelling of the Spread of Disease 33: Shawn Graham and Damien Huffer: The Antiquities Trade and Digital Networks: Or, the Supercharging Effect of Social Media on the Rise of the Amateur Antiquities Trader Part IX: Assessing the Structural Characteristics of Networks 34: Matthew Pailes: Social Networks and Inequality 35: Erik Gjesfjeld: Networks and Catastrophes 36: Jelena Gruji'c and Miljana Radivojevi'c: Community Detection 37: Scott G. Ortman: Settlement Scaling Analysis as Social Network Analysis 38: Jacob Holland-Lulewicz: Networks and Sociopolitical Organization Part X: Looking Ahead and Beyond 39: Ulrik Brandes: Archaeological Network Science 40: John Edward Terrell: Network Models and the Past: Relational Thinking and Contingency Analysis 41: Carl Knappett and Angus Mol: Network Epistemologies in Archaeology 42: Jessica Munson, Barbara J. Mills, Tom Brughmans, and Matthew A. Peeples: Anticipating the Next Wave of Archaeological Network Research

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Book SynopsisSpanning the divide between Europe and Asia, Russia is a multi-ethnic empire with a huge territory, strategically placed and abundantly provided with natural resources. But Russia''s territory has a harsh climate, is cut off from most maritime contact with the outside world, and has open and vulnerable land frontiers. It has therefore had to devote much of its wealth to the armed forces, and the sheer size of the empire has made it difficult to mobilise resources and to govern effectively, especially given the diversity of its people. In this Very Short Introduction, Geoffrey Hosking discusses all aspects of Russian history, from the struggle by the state to control society, the transformation of the empire into a multi-ethnic empire, Russia''s relationship with the West/Europe, the Soviet experience, and the post-Soviet era. 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 ReviewHosking is a master storyteller * The Week *A beautifully written volume ... Hosking gives us significant details and real insight * Spectator *recommend[ed] to everyone who is eager to get an insight view into Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet history of the (until now) biggest country in Eurasia. * Zaur Gasimov, Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; CHRONOLOGY; FURTHER READING; GLOSSARY

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

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

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