History Books
University of Minnesota Press Tsuchi: Earthy Materials in Contemporary Japanese
Book SynopsisAn examination of Japanese contemporary art through the lens of ecocriticism and environmental history Collectively referred to by the word tsuchi, earthy materials such as soil and clay are prolific in Japanese contemporary art. Highlighting works of photography, ceramics, and installation art, Bert Winther-Tamaki explores the many aesthetic manifestations of tsuchi and their connection to the country’s turbulent environmental history, investigating how Japanese artists have continually sought a passionate and redemptive engagement with earth.In the seven decades following 1955, Japan has experienced severe environmental degradation as a result of natural disasters, industrial pollution, and nuclear irradiation. Artists have responded to these ongoing catastrophes through modes of “mudlarking” and “muckracking,” utilizing raw elements from nature to establish deeper contact with the primal resources of their world and expose its unfettered contamination. Providing a comparative assessment of more than seventy works of art, this study reveals Japanese artists’ engagement with a richly diverse repertoire of earthy materialities, elucidating their aesthetic properties, changing conditions, and cultural significance. By focusing on the role of tsuchi as a convergence point for a wide range of creative practices, this book offers a critical reassessment of contemporary art in Japan and its intrinsic relationship to the environment. Situating art within the context of ecology and urbanization, Tsuchi shows artists striving to explore and reprocess raw forms of earth beneath the corruptions of human activity.Trade Review "Tsuchi is a compelling and original book that brings together new insights into the relationships between environmentalism, contemporary art, and the ‘aesthetics of Japanese earth.’ Bert Winther-Tamaki’s interweaving of historical context, close visual analysis, and rich use of Japanese sources make it an outstanding book that will make a lasting impact in the field of Japanese art history and beyond."—Namiko Kunimoto, author of The Stakes of Exposure: Anxious Bodies in Postwar Japanese Art "Tsuchi is a superb key concept that allows us to dig deeper into a rich lode of world art history that is postwar Japan. In his thoughtful study, Bert Winther-Tamaki literally offers us a bottom-up view of what such radical practitioners as Shiraga Kazuo and Nakahira Takuma saw, felt, and experienced with this ubiquitous matter of our planet."—Reiko Tomii, independent scholar "Tsuchi provides an ingenious structure for understanding the visual culture surrounding the very ground we stand on. "—H-Net Reviews "Against the backdrop of the region’s urbanization and intensifying environmental issues, this rigorous text seeks to understand the earth itself as an artistic medium for critiquing the roots of these interconnected crises, and the fusion of ecology and art as a potential path forward."—Hyperallergic Table of ContentsIntroduction: Japanese Cultures of EarthI. The Postwar Silos of Tsuchi Media1. Ceramics: Earth Flavor in Fired Clay2. Photography: Soil Conditions in the Lens3. Avant-Garde Actions: Wrestling and Digging Earthy MaterialsII. Convergence and Proliferation since the 1980s4. The Bubble and Its Aftermath: Containment of Spillage and Blast5. Earth Diving before and after the Triple DisasterEpilogue: Tsuchi in the Contaminated World to ComeAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex
£26.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Rising Sun Falling Skies
Book SynopsisAuthor Jeffrey Cox conducts a thorough and compelling investigation of the Java Sea Campaign, the first major sea battle of the Pacific War, which inflicted huge costs on the Allies and set the stage for Japan's rout across the Pacific and Indian oceans.Few events have ever shaken a country in the way that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor affected the United States. The Japanese forces then continued to overwhelm the Allies, attacking Malaya with its fortress of Singapore, and taking resource-rich islands in the Pacific in their own blitzkrieg offensive. Allied losses in these early months after America's entry into the war were great, and among the most devastating were those suffered during the Java Sea Campaign, where a small group of Americans, British, Dutch, and Australians were isolated in the Far East directly in the path of the Japanese onslaught.It would be the first major sea battle of World War II in the Pacific.Table of ContentsPrologue /Chapter 1. On the Day Before /Chapter 2. Just a Little More Time /Chapter 3. Breakdown /Chapter 4. Finding Trouble /Chapter 5. Shooting at Venus /Chapter 6. Slapped Together /Chapter 7. Luck – The Battle of Balikpapan /Chapter 8. Bloody Shambles /Chapter 9. Can’t Catch a Break – The Battle of the Flores Sea /Chapter 10. A Thousand Cuts /Chapter 11. Too Clever by Half – The Battle of Badoeng Strait /Chapter 12. No Breath to Catch – Preliminaries to the Battle of the Java Sea /Chapter 13. Nerk Nerk Nerk – The Sinking of the Langley /Chapter 14. One Shell – Day Action of the Battle of the Java Sea /Chapter 15. A Turn Too Far – The Second Part of the Battle of the Java Sea /Chapter 16. A Hopeless Plan – The Escape from Java /Chapter 17. Dancing in the Dark – The Battle of Soenda Strait /Chapter 18. Nowhere to Run – The Second Battle of the Java Sea /Chapter 19. To the Winds – Escape Attempts from Java /Chapter 20. Aftermath – Not Quite Vanquished /Notes /Bibliography /Index
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The SBS in World War II
Book SynopsisThe Special Boat Squadron was Britain''s most exclusive Special Forces unit during World War II. Highly trained, totally secretive, and utterly ruthless, the SBS was established as an entity in its own right in early 1943, having previously operated under the auspices of the SAS during the war in North Africa. Unlike its sister unit, which numbered more than one thousand men, the SBS never comprised more than one hundred. Led by men such as the famed Victoria Cross recipient Anders Lassen, the SBS went from island to island in the Mediterranean, landing in the dead of night in small fishing boats and launching savage hit-and-run raids on the Germans. By the end of the war they had served in Italy, the Balkans, and mainland Greece, and following the cessation of hostilities, their deeds were airbrushed out of history by an establishment that had never warmed to their piratical exploits. Through unrivaled access to the SBS archives and interviews with the surviving members ofTable of ContentsDedication /Acknowledgements /Introduction /Chapter 1. Birth of the Boat Service /Chapter 2. From Service to Squadron /Chapter 3. Sick in Sardinia /Chapter 4. A Close Call in Crete /Chapter 5. Armistice and Uncertainty /Chapter 6. The Germans Fight Back /Chapter 7. Defeat in the Dodecanese /Chapter 8. New Recruits for a New Year /Chapter 9. Piracy on the High Seas /Chapter 10. Turkish Deceit for the SBS /Chapter 11. Caught, Questioned, Vanished /Chapter 12. Vengeance /Chapter 13. Germany on the Run /Chapter 14. Into the Balkans /Chapter 15. The Nazis’ Greek Tragedy /Chapter 16. Adriatic Offensive /Chapter 17. Andy Lassen’s Big War /Chapter 18. The End of the Odyssey /Glossary /Notes /Bibliography /Index
£11.69
Pegasus Books The War of Jenkins' Ear: The Forgotten Struggle
Book SynopsisFilled with unforgettable characters and maritime adventure, the incredible story of a forgotten war that shaped the fate of the United States—and the entire Western Hemisphere.In the early 18th century, the British and Spanish Empires were fighting for economic supremacy in the Americas. Tensions between the two powers were high, and wars blossomed like violent flowers for nearly a hundred years, from the War of Spanish Succession (sometimes known as Queen Anne's War in the Americas), culminating in the War of Jenkins' Ear. This war would lay the groundwork for the French and Indian War and, eventually, the War of the American Revolution. The War of Jenkins' Ear was a world war in the truest sense, engaging the major European powers on battlefields ranging from Europe to the Americas to the Asian subcontinent. Yet the conflict that would eventually become known as the War of Jenkins' Ear—a moniker coined by the 19th century historian Thomas Carlyle more than a century later—is barely known to us today. Yet it resulted in the invasion of Georgia and even involved members of George Washington’s own family. It would cost fifty-thousand lives, millions in treasure, and over six hundred ships. With vivid prose, Robert Gaudi takes the reader from the brackish waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the rocky shores of Tierra del Fuego. We travel around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Pacific to the Philippines and the Cantonese coast, with stops in Cartagena, Panama, and beyond. Yet even though it happened decades before American independence, The War of Jenkins' Ear reveals that this was truly an American war; a hard-fought, costly struggle that determined the fate of the Americas, and in which, for the first time, American armies participated. In this definitive work of history—the only single comprehensive volume on the subject—The War of Jenkins’ Ear explores the war that established the future of two entire continents.Trade Review“Military tactics, financial shenanigans, political infighting, even an expedition into the Pacific — all these are splendidly described and orchestrated by Gaudi. He further salts an already exciting narrative with lurid gossip about the Spanish court, quotations from many secondary sources, and detailed, You-Are-There accounts of land and sea battles. While Gaudi doesn’t hide his contempt for the popinjays and idiots who wasted the lives of good men, he is unstinting in his admiration for heroism and self-sacrifice. In short, The War of Jenkins’ Ear is a superb example of what the French call haute vulgarisation, that is, a serious nonfiction work designed to be read for pleasure. A thrilling ride.” -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *“Historian Gaudi delivers an action-packed account of a largely forgotten 18th-century conflict between Britain and Spain over trade in the Americas. Gaudi’s extensively researched narrative clarifies the historical context without sacrificing drama and color; early American history buffs will relish this comprehensive treatment of an obscure yet consequential episode.” * Publishers Weekly *“In The War of Jenkins Ear, historian Robert Gaudi gives his readers a fascinating and well-written account of this war, its causes, its battles, and its profound consequences for the Americas. With his storytelling gifts, his skills as a writer, and his knowledge, Gaudi, who is also the author of the highly acclaimed “African Kaiser,” has brought us an excellent account of a long-forgotten war.” * The Epoch Times *“Excellent storytelling, good writing, insight into human nature, wit, and a sense of the absurd: Gaudi’s The War of Jenkins’ Ear is history at its finest.” * Smoky Mountain News *“Gaudi tells the story of the war and its principal antagonists with verve, erudition, and page-turning detail… The best writers of history tell a compelling narrative of events and place those events into a broader historical context. That is what Robert Gaudi has done with The War of Jenkins’ Ear, a little remembered conflict between Great Britain and Spain that was part of a centuries-long struggle between Europe’s great powers for control of the Western Hemisphere.” * New York Journal of Books *"Mr. Gaudi devotes his most thoughtful chapters to the conflict’s sideshows. There is fascinating coverage of Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe, philanthropist founder of Georgia, who failed in 1740 to capture St. Augustine, in neighboring Spanish Florida, but two years later repulsed a counterattack upon his colony at the Battle of Bloody Marsh. Laced with sardonic humor." -- Stephen Brumwell * Wall Street Journal *
£12.34
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Last of the Presidents Men
Book SynopsisBob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation. In 46 hours of interviews with Butterfield, supported by thousands of documents, many of them original and not in the presidential archives and libraries, Woodward has uncovered new dimensions of Nixon's secrets, obsessions and deceptions. Butterfield provides the intimate details of what it was like working and living just feet from the most powerful man in the world as he sought to navigate the obligations to his president and the truth of Nixon's obsessions and deceptions.The Last of the President's Men could not be more timely and relevant as the public in America and around the world quest
£10.44
Pan Macmillan Civil War
Book SynopsisStep into the tumultuous age of Stuart England with Peter Ackroyd's enlightening Civil War. Beginning with James I, the first Scottish king of England, it tracks an era of massive upheaval, ending with the dramatic flight of his grandson, James II, into exile.Civil War transports you to the heart of the 17th-century Britain, where you meet figures like James I with his shrewd perspectives on diverse matters, and Charles I, whose inept rule ignited the flames of the English Civil War. Ackroyd offers a brilliant – warts and all – portrayal of Charles's nemesis Oliver Cromwell, Parliament's great military leader and England's only dictator, who began his career as a political liberator but ended it as much of a despot as the king he executed.Beyond this political turmoil, Ackroyd also explores the rich cultural and literary contributions of the Jacobean era. This was a world where Shakespeare's masterpieces were penne
£14.44
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Angels Tapping at the Wine-Shop’s Door: A
Book SynopsisIslam is the only major world religion that resists the juggernaut of alcohol consumption. In many Islamic countries, alcohol is banned; in others, it plays little role in social life. Yet, Muslims throughout history did drink, often to excess—whether sultans and shahs in their palaces, or commoners in taverns run by Jews or Christians. This evocative study delves into drinking’s many historic, literary and social manifestations in Islam, going beyond references to ‘hypocrisy’ or the temptations of ‘forbidden fruit’. Rudi Matthee argues that alcohol, through its ‘absence’ as much as its presence, takes us to the heart of Islam. Exploring the long history of this faith—from the eight-century Umayyad dynasty to Erdoğan’s Turkey, and from Islamic Spain to modern Pakistan—he unearths a tradition of diversity and multiplicity in which Muslims drank, and found myriad excuses to do so. They celebrated wine and used it as a poetic metaphor, even viewing alcohol as a gift from God—the key to unlocking eternal truth. Drawing on a plethora of sources in multiple languages, Matthee presents Islam not as an austere and uncompromising faith, but as a set of beliefs and practices that embrace ambivalence, allowing for ambiguity and even contradiction.Trade Review'[A] sensitive and nuanced exploration of the inner lives of people with whom, though remote in time and place from us, we would have enjoyed sharing a drink.' -- Asian Review of Books‘This evocative study delves into drinking’s many historic, literary and social manifestations in Islam.’ -- H-Net'That Islamic culture makes no room for alcohol is a myth that has long clouded views of and within Islam. Rudi Matthee debunks this myth with the deftness and authority we have come to expect from one of our most accomplished scholars of Islamic cultures. Intoxicatingly good.' -- Christopher de Bellaigue, author of 'The Islamic Enlightenment' and 'The Lion House''Matthee's fascinating study of wine and wine-drinking in the Muslim world explores not only production and consumption but a rich culture of poetic ecstasy and revelry. Erudite and yet accessible, this outstanding book will find its deserved place within a growing body of sociocultural histories.' -- Abbas Amanat, William Graham Sumner Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University, and author of 'Iran: A Modern History''An excellent and important book covering the entire history of Islam and a very large part of the Islamic world. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, it is engaging and well written throughout.' -- Devin Stewart, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences'The first comprehensive engagement with the history of alcohol in the Islamic world, from the early days of the revelation to the nuances of contemporary alcohol policy and practice in major Muslim-majority countries. A novel, timely and compelling contribution.' -- Maziyar Ghiabi, Senior Lecturer in Medical Humanities and Politics, University of Exeter
£22.50
National Maritime Museum John Harrison and the Quest for Longitude
Book SynopsisJohn Harrison and the Quest for Longitude is a fascinating account of one man driven by the need to solve one of the greatest practical problems of his time. Following one of the most intriguing and fascinating stories linked to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the book centres on the life and achievements of John Harrison - designer and builder of the first accurate marine chronometers. Inspired by the official prize offered in 1714 to anyone who could solve the problem of finding longitudinal position at sea, Harrison produced his four famous 'H' timepieces. In doing so, he helped revolutionise navigation at sea, saving many thousands of lives. This new edition contains beautiful technical drawings of the mechanisms of clocks and the technology involved in Harrison's creations, bringing to life this inspiring story.
£21.25
Amberley Publishing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collectibles
Book SynopsisMatt MacNabb explores one of the most beloved and collectible franchises of all time.
£14.39
Simon & Schuster Razzle Dazzle
Book Synopsis“A vivid page-turner” (NPR) detailing the rise, fall, and redemption of Broadway—its stars, its biggest shows, its producers, and all the drama, intrigue, and power plays that happened behind the scenes.“A rich, lovely, debut history of New York theater in the 1970s and eighties” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Razzle Dazzle is a narrative account of the people and the money and the power that turned New York’s gritty back alleys and sex-shops into the glitzy, dazzling Great White Way. In the mid-1970s Times Square was the seedy symbol of New York’s economic decline. Its once shining star, the renowned Shubert Organization, was losing theaters to make way for parking lots and losing money. Bernard Jacobs and Jerry Schoenfeld, two ambitious board members, saw the crumbling company was ripe for takeover and staged a coup and staved off corporate intrigue, personal betrayals and criminal investigations. Once Trade Review“This book is a love letter to Broadway, both a splendid history of this American institution and a wonderful account of how art gets made. It made me fall for Broadway’s magic all over again: its history and its myths, its heroes and its villains, its up and its downs, its dirt and its dish, its failure and its glory.” -- Hugh Jackman“There have only been a handful of books in history that have come close to accurately depicting the energy and drive that run the business of Broadway. Michael Riedel’s Razzle Dazzle joins that very short list that includes William Goldman’s legendary The Season and Richard Maney’s classic Fanfare—and is every bit the equal of those books that those of us who love Broadway can recite by heart.” -- Scott Rudin“Razzle Dazzle is a fantastically fun book, full of high energy, anecdotes, and wit. Michael Riedel lays bare the secret history of Broadway in all its grease paint, shady dealings, and shining moments. Written with love but also a piercing eye, this is one show no one should miss.” -- Amanda ForemanRiedel brings enthusiasm and authority to this rich, lively debut history of New York theater in the 1970s and '80s…. Riedel masterfully builds suspense as he chronicles productions from idea to stage to reviews to Tony Awards. A captivating gift to theater lovers. * Kirkus (starred) *"Riedel may be known, where he is known, for his sharp wit and sharper tongue, but when it comes to Broadway as an institution, as a history, and as a legend, he’s very much a man in love." * Booklist *“Just finished RAZZLE DAZZLE, a vivid page-turner that’s basically a history of Broadway by longtime theater observer Michael Riedel. It starts with a ticket-scalping scandal that practically brought down the industry, then flashes back to the sharp-elbowed early days of the Shubert empire, and then fills in with anecdotes both well-known (to aficionados) and long-forgotten (by nearly everyone). Startling deaths, unexpected demolitions, backstage gossip, inside stories — it’s every bit as theatrical as its subject matter.” -- Bob Mondello, NPR"Michael Riedel’s new book, Razzle Dazzle, brings this gritty world [of 1970's and 80's Broadway] back to life.... Riedel unearths treasures from the recent past and contextualizes events that would otherwise be too easily forgotten." * The Washington Post *"The trouble with Razzle Dazzle, Michael Riedel's new book about Broadway, is that from the first page -- on which a man complains to the attorney general's office that "I made an investment in a play, and the producer used the money to buy a lobster boat in Montauk" -- you can't put the damn thing down.... Riedel subtitles his book "The Battle for Broadway," and he follows through by giving us a fascinating, eye-popping view of all the bloody carnage." -- Steven Suskin * Huffington Post *“This book is a love letter to Broadway, both a splendid history of this American institution and a wonderful account of how art gets made. It made me fall for Broadway’s magic all over again: its history and its myths, its heroes and its villains, its up and its downs, its dirt and its dish, its failure and its glory.” -- Hugh Jackman“There have only been a handful of books in history that have come close to accurately depicting the energy and drive that run the business of Broadway. Michael Riedel’s Razzle Dazzle joins that very short list that includes William Goldman’s legendary The Season and Richard Maney’s classic Fanfare—and is every bit the equal of those books that those of us who love Broadway can recite by heart.” -- Scott Rudin“Razzle Dazzle is a fantastically fun book, full of high energy, anecdotes, and wit. Michael Riedel lays bare the secret history of Broadway in all its grease paint, shady dealings, and shining moments. Written with love but also a piercing eye, this is one show no one should miss.” -- Amanda Foreman“If you've ever wondered how Times Square got its name, how the great New York theatres were built and who they were named after; or how on Broadway the word 'ice' can also mean corruption, Michael Riedel's revealing book on the history of the Great White Way will be a brilliant gift for any reader. It’s an epic and entertaining study of the stage and the impresarios and artists who became not just legends—but very wealthy ones at that. And while there may still be some 'ice' melting on the streets of mid-town, Riedel shows us that what the scalpers, producers and bookies, in and around Shubert Alley, were doing with kickbacks and bribes, makes the moral decay in Washington look like a badly run lemonade stand. Riedel's journey unfolds faster than a curtain going up on opening night; and his nimble choreography with language brings a full understanding and appreciation of how the artistry, decisions, and backstage shenanigans made these men and women of Broadway titans of the American theater. A must read.” -- Kevin SpaceyRiedel brings enthusiasm and authority to this rich, lively debut history of New York theater in the 1970s and '80s…. Riedel masterfully builds suspense as he chronicles productions from idea to stage to reviews to Tony Awards. A captivating gift to theater lovers. * Kirkus (starred) *"Riedel may be known, where he is known, for his sharp wit and sharper tongue, but when it comes to Broadway as an institution, as a history, and as a legend, he’s very much a man in love." * Booklist *“Just finished RAZZLE DAZZLE, a vivid page-turner that’s basically a history of Broadway by longtime theater observer Michael Riedel. It starts with a ticket-scalping scandal that practically brought down the industry, then flashes back to the sharp-elbowed early days of the Shubert empire, and then fills in with anecdotes both well-known (to aficionados) and long-forgotten (by nearly everyone). Startling deaths, unexpected demolitions, backstage gossip, inside stories — it’s every bit as theatrical as its subject matter.” -- Bob Mondello, NPR"Michael Riedel’s new book, Razzle Dazzle, brings this gritty world [of 1970's and 80's Broadway] back to life.... Riedel unearths treasures from the recent past and contextualizes events that would otherwise be too easily forgotten." * The Washington Post *"The trouble with Razzle Dazzle, Michael Riedel's new book about Broadway, is that from the first page -- on which a man complains to the attorney general's office that "I made an investment in a play, and the producer used the money to buy a lobster boat in Montauk" -- you can't put the damn thing down.... Riedel subtitles his book "The Battle for Broadway," and he follows through by giving us a fascinating, eye-popping view of all the bloody carnage." -- Steven Suskin * Huffington Post *“Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway byMichael Riedel, the New York Post's flamboyantly mischievous Broadwaycolumnist, tells the thrilling history of the larger-than-life impresarios whohelped transform the Great White Way from cultural ugly duckling in the seedy1970s to the grand billion-dollar swan it is today.”– Los Angeles Times
£12.99
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Women of the Cousins War
Book SynopsisA BRILLIANT BIOGRAPHICAL ANTHOLOGY FROM ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST HISTORICAL NOVELISTS. Beautifully illustrated with rare portraits, The Women of the Cousins' War provides an accurate account of Elizabeth Woodline (The White Queen), Margaret Beaufort (The Red Queen), and Jacquetta (Lady Rivers) - the subjects of the first three novels in Philippa's beloved Cousins' War series. In this exciting addition to the Philippa Gregory ouevre, Philippa writes revealingly about the differences between history and fiction and examines the gaps in the historical record with the help of the two leading historical experts in their field who helped Philippa to research the novels. 'An engrossing introduction to three courageous matriarchs who shaped English history.'Publisher's Weekly
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Secret History of the Blitz
Book SynopsisThe Blitz of 1940-41 is one of the most iconic periods in modern British history - and one of the most misunderstood. The ''Blitz spirit'' is celebrated by some, whereas others dismiss it as a myth. Joshua Levine''s thrilling biography rejects the tired arguments and reveals the human truth: the Blitz was a time of extremes of experience and behaviour. People werepulling together and helping strangers, but they were also breaking rules and exploiting each other. Life during wartime, the author reveals, was complex and messy and real. From the first page readers will discover a different story to the one they thought they knew - from the sacrifices made by ordinary people to a sudden surge in the popularity of nightclubs; from secret criminal trials at the Old Bailey to a Columbine-style murder in an Oxford college. There were new working opportunities for women and the appearance of unfamiliar cultures: whilst prayers were offered up in a south London mosque, Jamaican sailors w
£10.44
Callaway Editions,U.S. Be a Scribe
Book SynopsisMichael Hoffen is the youngest-ever recipient of the annual Emerson Prize, awarded by the Concord Review for outstanding promise in history. While still in middle school he was introduced to the joys of translating ancient texts and never looked back. During the pandemic, Michael decided to embark on an ambitious project to bring ancient Egyptian literature to life outside the classroom. Be A Scribe! is Michael's first book in a series intended for young readers. When not chasing down new stories to translate or write, Michael enjoys biking, swimming, and rock climbing. He lives with his family in New York. Dr. Christian Casey is an Egyptologist who specializes in the study of ancient Egyptian languages. He obtained his PhD in Egyptology from Brown University in 2020 and now works as a researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. He is especially interested in sharing the exciting world of ancient Egypt with young people and other interested members of the public. <
£16.99
Hackett Publishing Co, Inc The Essential Homer
Book SynopsisSelections from both the Iliad and the Odyssey, made with an eye for those episodes that figure most prominently in the study of mythology.Trade Review"A good idea—its utility far outweighs qualms purists have about students not reading every last item in the catalogue of ships. The translation is vigorous and readable." —Andrew Ford, Princeton University"Not only does one get an excellent translation of both Homer's Iliad and Odyssey under one cover, but the selections included are infinitely better and longer than what one normally gets in anthologies of Greek literature. For courses in which entire texts cannot be used, this is by far the best choice available today." —Kostas Myrsiades, Westchester University"The Essential Homer fills a long-felt need for an edition that offers a sizable selection of the books and passages most likely to be used in undergraduate courses. It's a wonderful help." —Richard P. Martin, Stanford University"This is a wonderful translation—readable, lively, preserves the essential spirit. Students get caught up in it. The abridgment is a good text for general classes." —Nicolle Hirschfeld, California State University, Long Beach"A fine poetic translation that today's students can understand. The selections are very well chosen for a course in which time limitations prevent reading the whole of either epic." —Lillian Doherty, University of Maryland
£17.99
Monthly Review Press,U.S. Unity and Struggle 3 Monthly Review Press Classic
Book Synopsis
£13.46
Cooper Square Press Sulla the Fortunate Roman General and Dictator
Book SynopsisThis biography provides a redemptive view of the bloody career of Roman general and consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a fearless commander and ruthless politician wholly devoid of inhibitions, and the direct forerunner of Julius Caesar, who based his own grab for power on Sulla's methods.Trade ReviewThis impressive and informative biography relates the numerous battles Sulla and his arch rival Gaius Marius (a Roman general of great abilities) fought in Africa, Gaul, and Greece to defend the empire's borders. Highly recommended reading for all students of Roman history, Sulla the Fortunate is a marvelously presented historical record of warfare, alliances, and betrayals that brings Rome and its politics back to life. -- Thomas G. Whelan * Midwest Book Review *Baker has written a vivid, lively account of Sulla and his times, and has given a very readable study of the dictator's character and career. * Times Literary Supplement *[An] extremely entertaining and effective biography..... [The author's] interpretation of the evidence is scrupulously fair. Baker has accomplished his main business, the portrait of a salient and brilliant personality, with notable distinction * Saturday Review *
£13.49
Fordham University Press Sexagon
Book SynopsisTrade Review"In France today, sex is a matter of national identity: it provides a language to speak about those whose Frenchness is deemed problematic. Indeed, the gender and sexuality of these racialized 'Others'are the object of a proliferation of discourses. Mehammed Mack's original, rich, and precise contribution to a growing field of studies focuses on the multiplicity of cultural representations that both reflect and produce postcolonial France as a kaleidoscope of sexual obsessions - a 'sexagon.'" -- -Eric Fassin Paris-8 University Vincennes-Saint-DenisTable of ContentsIntroduction: Enter the Sexagon Manipulations of Gay-Friendliness Vocabularies of Race and Desire The Sexualization of Ethnicity, Now and Then Not Queer Enough Sexual Nationalism and the Rape of Europa The Banlieue as Laboratory An Eventful Home Life Exposing the Arab The Sexagon Chapter One: The Banlieue has a Gender: Competing Visions of Sexual Diversity Banlieue Girl Gangs and Muslima soldiers Ethnographic Obfuscation in the Homo-ghetto Capitalizing on Banlieusard Homosexualities The Banlieue as Maker, Not Cracked Mirror, of the Queer Chapter Two: Constructing the Broken Family: The Draw for Psychoanalysis The Juvenile Delinquent Mother Enablers of a Male Islam "Be Careful What You Wish For" Historical Echoes of the Colonial Delinquent The Veiled Woman The Veil, the Clandestine, and the Public/Private Distinction The Impotent Father Psychoanalysis, Assimilation, and Community Attachment Chapter Three: Uncultured yet Seductive: The Trope of the Difficult Arab Boy Sexuality, Ethnography, and Literature Sexual Informants of Bad News The Guardians of French Letters Looking Hard The Rehabilitation of Ethnic Virility Atonement for Cross-Cultural Injury The Arab Boy's Post-colonial Revenge Chapter Four: Sexual Undergrounds: Cinema, Performance, and Ethnic Surveillance Exposing the Clandestine, Intimately Homosexualization and Acceptance Rehabilitating Virility The Sexualization of Authority Big Brother is Watching You Interpenetration of Communities Sex Work, Immigrant Work, Travail d'Arabe Image Control Chapter Five: Erotic Solutions for Ethnic Tension: Fantasy, Reality, Pornography Exploiting Exploitation Stereotypes and Victimology Francois Sagat, aka, "Azzedine" The banlieue's Erotic Premises From beur to beurette, a Political Loss Domestic-Exotic Men Conclusion: The Sexagon's Border Crisis Acknowledgments Notes Index
£21.59
Ohio University Press Eight Prison Camps A Dutch Family in Japanese
Book SynopsisEldest daughter of eight children, the author grew up in Surakarta, Java, in what is now Indonesia. In the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, however, Dutch nationals were rounded up by Japanese soldiers and put in internment camps.Trade Review“Bonga’s writing style is simple and direct and her living tesitmony is uncomplicated by academic jargon, which vastly increases its power. Although brief, her account succeeds marvelously in communicating the emotional and physical trauma that she as a teenage woman and her family went through. … This is not just a good book about Indonesia or Southeast Asia or World War II, it is just a good book.” * Journal of Third World Studies *“Dieuwke Wendelaar Bonga’s memoir is important as the testimony of the survivor: it shows us how war is directed against women and children, and it tells the end of Dutch history in Indonesia.” * The Journal of Asian Studies *
£21.59
Harvard University Press The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi Islamic Thought in
Book SynopsisLiu Zhi (ca. 1670–1724) was one of the most important scholars of Islam in traditional China. His Tianfang xingli (Nature and Principle in Islam) focuses on the roots or principles of Islam. The annotations here explain Liu’s text and draw attention to parallels in Chinese-, Arabic-, and Persian-language works as well as differences.
£42.46
Rowman & Littlefield Democracy in Latin America: A History since
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£23.75
Hanover Square Press This Must Be the Place
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£24.00
University of Arkansas Press Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program
Book SynopsisThe Titan II ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) program was developed by the United States military to bolster the size, strength, and speed of the nation's strategic weapons arsenal in the 1950s and 1960s. Each missile carried a single warhead―the largest in U.S. inventory―used liquid fuel propellants, and was stored and launched from hardened underground silos. The missiles were deployed at basing facilities in Arkansas, Arizona, and Kansas and remained in active service for over twenty years. Since military deactivation in the early 1980s, the Titan II has served as a reliable satellite launch vehicle. This is the richly detailed story of the Titan II missile and the men and women who developed and operated the system. David K. Stumpf uses a wide range of sources, drawing upon interviews with and memoirs by engineers and airmen as well as recently declassified government documents and other public materials. Over 170 drawings and photographs, most of which have never been published, enhance the narrative. The three major accidents of the program are described in detail for the first time using authoritative sources. Titan II will be welcomed by librarians for its prodigious reference detail, by technology history professionals and laymen, and by the many civilian and Air Force personnel who were involved in the program―a deterrent weapons system that proved to be successful in defending America from nuclear attack.Trade ReviewThe author breaks new ground on the history of the Titan II weapon system, both from the perspective of technological achievement and from the viewpoint of human drama. . . . [A] masterpiece of scholarly research." —Rick W. Sturdevant Staff Historian, USAF"By far the most detailed account of Titan II history, the book is based on extensive research in official Air Force histories, archival sources, conference papers, personal interviews and correspondence with participants in the program, and documents provided by participants. It is lavishly illustrated and provides highly useful reference source that should be acquired by every research library. … [A]nyone interested in the history of strategic weapons or rocketry should welcome [Stumpf’s] labor of love in producing this handsome and detailed study." —J.D. Hunley, The Journal of Military History, July 2001
£39.75
Princeton University Press Southern Europe in the Age of Revolutions
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Fondazione Roma Sapienza Book Prize""Longlisted for the Runciman Award, Anglo-Hellenic League""[A] transformational account."---Abigail Green, London Review of Books"Isabella’s book resists sub-disciplinary pigeonholing. At a push, it might be described as a peculiarly richly-textured combination of social, political, intellectual, institutional and cultural history. It adds up to a genuinely new history of revolutionary cultures in post-Napoleonic Europe, and it is, in a word, brilliant."---Alex Middleton, The Critic"[A] pathbreaking book."---Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs"[A] very considerable achievement."---Roger Price, Intelligence and National Security"An impressive book. . . . Exemplary of how revolutions and revolutionary culture should be studied. . . .[The] book will no doubt become a standard work for future research on the age of (counter)revolution."---Matthijs Lok, Austrian History Yearbook"An ambitious, highly analytical study of revolutionary movements in Southern Europe during the early 19th century." * Choice Reviews *"With magisterial fairness, Isabella assesses the ultimate failure and legacy of these revolutions, showing how they were a vital checkpoint on the road to defining representative government and our democratic practices."---Ambrogio A. Caiani, Shepherd.com
£29.75
The History Press Ltd Titanic Collections Volume 1: Fragments of
Book Synopsis‘A wonderful gallery of period items related to the Titanic and Olympic, presented and shared by some of the top researchers and collectors in the field. Many of these items are quite rare or unique, and are not often seen by the general public.’ – Bill Wormstedt, co-author of Recreating the TitanicThe basic facts of the Titanic’s story are well known: in April 1912 the largest ship in the world, described as ‘practically unsinkable’, set off on her maiden trip to New York. She would never make it there. Instead she would strike an iceberg just days into her journey and sink to the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, taking nearly 1,500 people with her. She would remain there undisturbed for seventy-three years.Titanic Collections: Fragments of History is a two-part series showcasing rare and important artefacts relating to the history of RMS Titanic. Many collectors prefer to hide their treasures away, but the items presented in these beautiful books have been gathered by six well-known and respected researchers, authors, historians and collectors who want to share their acquisitions with the world.The Ship focuses on artefacts relating to the Titanic herself, ranging from carpet squares and floor tiles to crockery and bath tickets. Each beautifully photographed item brings the story of the Titanic to life, and all come together as a museum for your bookshelf.Trade ReviewA wonderful gallery of period items related to the Titanic and Olympic, presented and shared by some of the top researchers and collectors in the field. Many of these items are quite rare or unique, and are not often seen by the general public. -- Bill Wormstedt * co-author of Recreating the Titanic *In Titanic Collections: Fragments of History, the authors have shared generously from their extensive collections. We see rare objects which bring to life Titanic’s story – her brief life and its disastrous end. Highly recommended! -- Mark Chirnside * author of Olympic, Titanic, Britannic: An Illustrated History of the Olympic Class Ships *In an era where so many items disappear into private collections, never to be seen again, it is a pleasure to be able to experience the story of the brief life of Titanic in such an engaging and unique way … The esteemed group of authors behind Titanic Collections: Fragments of History has done a great service. -- Tad Fitch * co-author of On a Sea of Glass: The Life and Loss of the RMS Titanic *
£32.00
Ivan R Dee, Inc Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA
Book SynopsisFrom its founding in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency has been discovered in the midst of some of the most crucial—and most embarrassing—-episodes in United States relations with the world. Richard Nixon's 1969 presidential order that declared CIA covert operations necessary to the attainment of American foreign policy goals was an acknowledgment that secret warfare tools had a much wider application than just the cold war conflict with the Soviet Union. The question of what, exactly, these operations have contributed to U.S. policy has long been neglected in the rush to accuse the CIA of being a "rogue elephant" or merely listing its nefarious deeds. Safe for Democracy for the first time places the story of the CIA's covert operations squarely in the context of America's global quest for democratic values and institutions. National security historian John Prados offers a comprehensive history of the CIA's secret wars that is as close to a definitive account as is possible today. He draws on three decades of research to illuminate the men and women of the intelligence establishment, their resources and techniques, their triumphs and failures. In a dramatic and revealing narrative, Safe for Democracy not only relates the inside stories of covert operations but examines in meticulous detail the efforts of presidents and Congress to control the CIA and the specific choices made in the agency's secret wars. Along the way Mr. Prados offers eye-opening accounts of the covert actions themselves, from radically revised interpretations of classic operations like Iran, Guatemala, Chile, and the Bay of Pigs; to lesser-known projects like Tibet and Angola; to virtually unknown tales of the CIA in Guyana and Ghana. He supplies full accounts of Reagan-era operations in Nicaragua and Afghanistan, and brings the story up to date with accounts of more recent activities in Somalia, Bosnia, and Iraq, all the while keeping American foreign policy goals in view. Safe for Democracy<Trade ReviewThis definitive history of covert action is both timely and necessary. -- James Bamford, author of The Puzzle Palace, Body of Secrets, and A Pretext for WarPrados brings together in one colorful narrative a sweeping history of America’s covert wars. -- Kai Bird, coauthor of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert OppenheimerSafe for Democracy is history for adults—not White House spin but what really happened and why. -- Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize winner for national reporting and author of Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to Al-QaedaHighly readable, this is intelligence history, and intelligent history at its best. -- Lloyd Gardner, foreign policy specialist and authorA comprehensive and up-to-date account. -- Norman Polmar, co-author of Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of EspionagePrados... constructs factual narratives of events based on thorough research with minimal analytic interpretation interspersed. -- Bruce Miller * Blue Voice *Prados has performed a valuable service....A comprehensive and superbly researched effort that is both engrossing and disturbing. * Booklist *If you're studying the CIA's operations and routines you can't be without Safe for Democracy. * Midwest Book Review *This is the most detailed single volume on the modern history of US covert operations. * CHOICE *Prados is an extraordinarily tenacious researcher....[This book is] an impressive achievement. -- Lawrence D. Freedman * Foreign Affairs *A rare degree of success....His coverage is unusually comprehensive and objective....An authoritative, original work....Prados demonstrates his virtuosity. * Journal of American History *A well-researched, detailed, and vivid account....Prados proves a master of his subject. -- Dimitris Keridas * Poliltical Science Quarterly *Factual and capacious...if anyone writes hereafter about CIA's covert actions without consulting Prados, the result will be woefully deficient. -- Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., special assistant to President Kennedy and author of A Thousand DaysThe book has many strengths…[Prados] introduces a mountain of newly declassified documents and information from memoirs and interviews. The book thus contains much new detail about individuals involved in covert operations and project costs. * The Historian *Safe for Democracy argues its author's case very well, and it opens some very serious questions for scholarly military historians. * Military History *
£16.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Viking Siege of Paris
Book SynopsisThe Vikings' siege of Paris in 88586 was a turning point in the history of both Paris and France. In 885, a year after Charles the Fat was crowned King of the Franks, Danish Vikings sailed up the Seine demanding tribute. The Franks' refusal prompted the Vikings to lay siege to Paris, which was initially defended by only 200 men under Odo, Count of Paris, and seemingly in a poor state to defend against the Viking warriors in their fleet of hundreds of longships.Paris was centred around the medieval Île de la Cité, the natural island now in the heart of the city, fortified with bridges and towers. The Vikings attempted to break the Parisian defenders, but the city itself still held out, and after a year Charles' army arrived to lift the siege. But Charles then allowed the Vikings to sail upstream against the revolting Burgundians. Outraged at this betrayal, the Parisians refused to let the Vikings return home via the Seine, forcing them to portage their boats overland to the MTable of ContentsIntroduction Origins Initial Strategy The Plan The Siege Aftermath and Conclusion Further Reading Index
£13.49
Broadview Press Ltd Prisons And Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences
Book SynopsisPrisons and Prisoners is the autobiography of aristocratic suffragette Constance Lytton. In it, she details her militant actions in the struggle to gain the vote for women, including her masquerade and imprisonment as the working-class “Jane Warton.” As a member of a well-known political family (and grand-daughter of the famous novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton), Lytton's arrests garnered much attention at the time, but she was treated differently than other suffragettes because of her class—when other suffragettes were forcibly fed while on hunger strikes, she was released. “Jane Warton,” however, was forcibly fed, an act that permanently damaged Lytton’s health, but that also became a singular moment in the history of women’s and prisoner’s rights.This Broadview edition includes news articles, reviews, and illustrations on women’s suffrage from the periodicals of the time.Trade Review“Women’s enfranchisement and prison reform combine powerfully in Prisons and Prisoners, Constance Lytton’s 1914 memoir of brutal incarcerations for her participation in the militant Suffragette movement. The ‘pent-up feelings of indignation and revolt’ in this book first published on the eve of the First World War resonate no less provocatively nearly a century later, as questions of detention, hunger strikes, forcible feeding, and torture underwrite local and everyday challenges to global advocates for human rights and social justice. As Lytton concludes her account, ‘I hear the cry go up from all parts of the country, How long? How long?’” — Barbara Harlow, University of Texas at Austin“Jason Haslam’s edition of Prisons and Prisoners provides an excellent context for Lytton’s work. The introduction is comprehensive in its discussion of Lytton’s biography, the women's suffrage movement, and the state of penology at the time. Particularly significant is its consideration that Lytton’s goal of giving voice to female inmates raises complex issues of class and privilege. The front matter and appendices are extremely relevant and helpful. The context offered by the readings in the appendices makes the edition very appropriate for both classroom study and serious research. The bibliographies are very thoughtfully planned, offering a wealth of complementary material linking to Prisons and Prisoners from a variety of perspectives.” — Judith Scheffler, West Chester UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionConstance Lytton: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextPrisons and Prisoners: Some Personal ExperiencesAppendix A: Glossary of NamesAppendix B: Other Suffragette Writing by Constance Lytton “Woman Suffrage,” The Times (14 July 1909) From “The Prison Experiences of Lady Constance Lytton,” Votes for Women (28 January 1910) From “A Speech by Lady Constance Lytton. Delivered at the Queen’s Hall, January 31, 1910,” Votes for Women (4 February 1910) Appendix C: Suffrage Material Concerning Lytton From “The Outlook,” Votes for Women (28 January 1910) Emmeline Pethick Lawrence, “Lady Constance Lytton,” Votes for Women (28 January 1910) From “The ‘Liverpool Courier’ on ‘Jane Warton’s’ Imprisonment”; “Some Press Comments,” Votes for Women (4 February 1910) From Victor Lytton, “The House of Lords and Women’s Suffrage: Speech by The Earl of Lytton in the Debate in the House of Lords,—May 6th, 1914” (1914) Appendix D: Reviews of Prisons and Prisoners “‘Prisons and Prisoners’: Some Reviews of LadyConstance Lytton’s Book,” The Suffragette (27 March 1914) From Christabel Pankhurst, “A Prisoner’s Book,” The Suffragette (13 and 20 March 1914) “Views and Comments,” The Egoist: An Individualist Review (15 May 1914) Appendix E: Material Concerning Suffragettes and Prison “Suffragist Women Prisoners,” Home Office Papers and Memoranda 1889–1910 (1910) From Kate Lilley, Prisoners and Prison Life (1912) Appendix F: Photographs and Suffragette Cartoons and Sketches Portrait of Constance Lytton (1914) Portrait of Jane Warton (1914) “Forcible Feeding in Prison” (28 January 1910) “Suffragettes at Home” (14 April 1909) “The Suffragette that Knew Jiu-Jitsu: The Arrest” (6 July 1910) Select Bibliography
£24.26
Pan Macmillan A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth: 4.6
Book Synopsis'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer, juggling humour, precision, polemic and poetry to enrich his impossibly telescoped account . . . [making] clear sense out of very complex narratives' - The Times'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? - Everybody!' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelFor billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place – covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape by way of incessant volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again. Life has learned and adapted and continued through the billions of years that followed. It has weathered fire and ice. Slimes begat sponges, who through billions of years of complex evolution and adaptation grew a backbone, braved the unknown of pitiless shores, and sought an existence beyond the sea.From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you’ve never seen it before.Life teems through Henry Gee’s lyrical prose – colossal supercontinents drift, collide, and coalesce, fashioning the face of the planet as we know it today. Creatures are engagingly personified, from ‘gregarious’ bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period to magnificent mammals with the future in their (newly evolved) grasp. Those long extinct, almost alien early life forms are resurrected in evocative detail. Life’s evolutionary steps – from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight – are conveyed with an alluring, up-close intimacy.Trade Review'Gee's prose is so infectiously enthusiastic, and his tone so accessible, that you'll find yourself racing through as if you were reading a novel - and you'll never find yourself scrambling for a good fact to wheel out at an awkward pause in conversation again.' * Reader's Digest *Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer, juggling humour, precision, polemic and poetry to enrich his impossibly telescoped account . . . [making] clear sense out of very complex narratives * The Times *A scintillating, fast-paced waltz through four billion years of evolution, from one of our leading science writers . . . His poetic prose animates the history of life, from the first bacteria to trilobites to dinosaurs to us. -- Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh paleontologist and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the DinosaursThis is now the best book available about the huge changes in our planet and its living creatures, over the billions of years of the Earth’s existence . . . Henry Gee makes this kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? Everybody! -- Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelHenry Gee’s whistle-stop account of the story of life (and death — lots of death) on Earth is both fun and informative. Even better, it goes beyond the natural human inclination to see ourselves as special and puts us in our proper place in the cosmic scheme of things -- John GribbinDon’t miss this delightful, concise, sweeping masterpiece! Gee brilliantly condenses the entire, improbable, astonishing history of life on earth — all 5 billion years - into a charming, zippy and scientifically accurate yarn. -- Daniel E. Lieberman, Professor of Biological Sciences, Harvard University
£15.29
Amber Books Ltd Castles of the World
Book SynopsisFrom the Highlands of Scotland to the plains of northern India, Castles of the World is a beautiful examination of past worlds viewed through strongholds that continue to enrich the modern landscape. They evoke an imagined age of aristocratic warriors and noble aspirations. Presented in a handy, pocket-sized format, arranged chronologically and illustrated with more than 200 colour photographs, Castles of the World examines more than 150 fortifications from across the world, from Cathar castles and Alpine schlösser to Norman keeps and Samurai strongholds. Discover how the 13th-century Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland was destroyed during the Jacobite rebellion of 1719; learn about Turkey’s Marmaris Castle, built in 1522 by Suleiman the Magnificent to support his attack on neighbouring Rhodes; and explore the Mughal-constructed Red Fort in Delhi, home of Muslim rulers from 1648 until 1803, and today a symbol of Indian nationalism.Table of ContentsIntroduction Ancient Forts Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, Dorset, England Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, India Masada, Judea, Israel Euryalus, near Syracuse, Sicily, Italy Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi, Homs Governorate, Syria Early Medieval Castles Pembroke Castle, Pembrokeshire, Wales Château de Chillon, Lake Geneva, Switzerland Mehrangarh, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India Rayen Castle, Iran Bam Citadel, Iran Berat Citadel, Albania Alcazar Castle, Segovia, Spain Hochosterwitz Castle, Austria Blagai Castle, Bosnia Herzegovina Rabati Castle, Georgia Warwick Castle, England Corfe Castle, England Rudkhan Castle, Iran Kantara Castle, Cyprus Burg Gussing, Austria Elz Castle, Trier, Germany Edinburgh Castle, Scotland Guaita Fortress, San Marino Leeds Castle, Kent, England Crusader's citadel, Island of Pharaohs, Egypt 1100s Krak des Chevaliers, Syria Trim Castle, Ireland Nafpaktos Castle, Greece Heidelberg Castle, Germany Bran Castle, Romania Conwy Castle, Wales La Iruela, Cazoria, Spain Late Medieval Genoese Fortress, Sudak, Crimea, Ukraine Beersel Castle, Belgium Belogradchik Fortress, Bulgaria Bodiam Castle, England Castle Stalker, Scotland Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland Karlstein Castle, Czech Republic Koluvere Castle, Estonia Malbork Castle, Poland Olavinlinna, Finland Early Modern Castles and Palaces Château de Pierrefonds, Oise, France Osaka Castle, Japan Camber Castle, Rye, East Sussex, England Chateau de Chambord, France Egskov Castle, Denmark Morro Castle, Havana, Cuba Red Fort, India Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, Colombia Castle of Good Hope, South Africa Four Metal Cross, Ghana Romantic Palaces and Modern Strongholds Citadelle Henry Christophe, Haiti Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany Hohenzollern Castle, Germamy Bojnice Castle, Slovakia Palacio Da Pena, Sintra, Portugal Vajdahunyad Castle, Hungary Watchtower, Gull Bay, Torteval, Guernsey, Channel Islands Maunsell Forts, English Channel
£9.49
Simon & Schuster Dress Codes
Book SynopsisA “sharp and entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) exploration of fashion through the ages that asks what our clothing reveals about ourselves and our society.Dress codes are as old as clothing itself. For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control. Merchants dressing like princes and butchers’ wives wearing gem-encrusted crowns were public enemies in medieval societies structured by social hierarchy and defined by spectacle. In Tudor England, silk, velvet, and fur were reserved for the nobility, and ballooning pants called “trunk hose” could be considered a menace to good order. The Renaissance-era Florentine patriarch Cosimo de Medici captured the power of fashion and dress codes when he remarked, “One can make a gentleman from two yards of red cloth.” Dress codes evolved along with the social and politica
£16.99
Rowman & Littlefield The Chaco Meridian
Book SynopsisIn this return to his lively, provocative reconceptualization of the meaning of Chaco Canyon and its monumental 11th-century structures, Stephen H. Lekson expandsover time and distanceour understanding of the political and economic integration of the American Southwest.Lekson's argument that Chaco did not stand alone, but rather was the first of three capitals in a vast networked region incorporating most of the Pueblo world has gained credence over the past 15 years. Here, he marshals new evidence and new interpretations to further the case for ritual astronomical alignment of monumental structures and cities, great ceremonial roads, and the shift of the regional capital first from Chaco Canyon to the Aztec Ruins site and then to Paquimé, all located on the same longitudinal meridian. Along the line from Aztec to Paquimé, Lekson synthesizes 1000 years of Southwestern prehistoryexplaining phenomena as diverse as the Great North Road, macaw feathers, Pueblo mythology, the recycling of iTrade ReviewThis second edition is a reissue of Lekson's controversial book first published in 1999, now significantly updated with recent bibliography and discussion. He credits an early period in prehistoric Pueblo development, focusing on the architecturally elaborate Chaco Canyon, to the appearance and history of rulers (which he would call kings) shifting north, then south to northern Mexico. His ambitious and hardly widely accepted ideas have led to a rich dialogue between archaeologists involved with Chaco archaeology that continues to shape the understanding of Pueblo culture. In a discipline that claims to be scientific not historical, the author stresses that Chaco deserves a historical narrative. Given the amount of work that has been done, archaeologists must say more now than ‘it is a mystery.’ Writing in an engagingly personal style, Lekson admits his role as a gadfly, deprecatingly indicates where he has been wrong, and advocates passionately for his historical interpretation. This makes the volume one for many readers, not simply those in academic programs of archaeology and anthropology, where it is essential. It also belongs in larger libraries, making it available to the general public. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. * CHOICE *When The Chaco Meridian first appeared 15 years ago, it set off a spirited debate that triggered new thinking about Southwestern archaeology. . . .This new edition brings fresh insights to the debate over the shape and scope of Chaco Canyon and its successor centers. Challenging conventional wisdom, Lekson forces the archaeological community to seek new ways of looking at the American Southwest. * American Archaeology *In this second edition of The Chaco Meridian, Lekson doubles down on his theory by pushing the Chaco Meridian hundreds of miles north and south as well as hundreds of years back in time. . . .Lekson lays out his argument as one would a legal case. His lively prose, goofy puns and accessible language present the Chaco Meridian persuasively. . . .Fully two-thirds of this update to the 1999 classic is new material. Unlike many archaeologists working today, Lekson tackles big questions and isn’t afraid to advance a controversial theory. Extensive chapter endnotes expand and riff on the ideas presented. It’s refreshingly free of jargon and a delightful read. * The Surveyor: A Quarterly Publication of the Colorado Archaeological Society *The Chaco Meridian is a serious scholarly work, but Lekson’s clear, jargon-free prose laced with silly puns makes it accessible to casual readers. . . .Archaeologists will argue about The Chaco Meridian and students will study it for years to come. For those who want to break out of the visitor’s center and expand their understanding of the ancient Southwest, The Chaco Meridian will be a valuable reference and a delightful read. * Center for Colorado Studies *Not only does this edition contain considerable new content but the meridian itself is also expanded both geographically and temporally…. [The book is an example of] his humorous and modest, if not self-deprecating, style of writing that makes what could be a very dry treatise a thoroughly enjoyable read…. I dove into the deep end and came back up short of breath. Not so much because of the complexity of his arguments, for his clear writing style makes his positions easy to understand, but because of the sheer volume of data he provides to support them. Drawing upon a large body of published reports, with extensive endnotes accompanying each chapter, he presents his case in a lawyer-like fashion with a preponderance of evidence leading me to agree with him that there must be something more to this meridian thing than mere chance… So even if you have read the first edition, you will come away from reading this second one with a more complete and expanded argument in support of this concept and its underlying meaning. And if you have not read the first edition, fasten your seat belt because you are in for a wild ride. * Southwestern Lore *Steve Lekson rocked the archaeological world in 1999 with a general theory for Chaco Canyon that answered most of the problems that have puzzled its explorers for a century. In this new edition, he presents copious new evidence and insights to bolster that theory. This book is certain to set the parameters of the debate on Chaco Canyon for years to come. -- Mark Michel, President of The Archaeological ConservancyThis is vintage Steve Lekson: delightfully entertaining while presenting deeply insightful but highly controversial ideas about the ancient past. If you are fascinated with the iconic masonry ruins of Chaco Canyon and the prehistory of the American Southwest, you will love this book. -- David R. Abbott, Arizona State UniversityTable of ContentsList of Figures Foreword in Three Movements Ruth M. Van Dyke, Phillip Tuwaletstiwa, and Severin Fowles Acknowledgments, Apologies Preface to the Second Edition 1. Pourparlers The Argument in Brief Plan of the Book It’s Complicated . . . 2. Mondo Chaco The Emerald City? The (Social) Dynamics of Chaco Prehistory The Regional System Out on the Edges Redistribution Revisited Chaco Hegemony Prestige Deflated Pax Chaco: Peace with an Edge and a Bite Lords of the Great House Chaco and Mimbres Life after Mimbres 3. Meridian Nexus Down the Yellow Brick Road Uniquity and Mobius Logic Three Southwestern Cities Regional Integration A Millennium on the Meridian 4. A Beautiful Fact Killed by an Ugly Theory Means: “They Do Things Differently There” Means (Continued): “Can’t Get There from Here” Motive (1): “Roads through Time” Motive (2): Direction and Distance Opportunity: “How Can You Be in Two Places at Once . . . ?” Closing Arguments: “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” 5. Conclusions? The Four-Point Problem, without References But Wait . . . There’s More! So What? New Methods Needed: Apply Within Chaco Meridian Appendix A: Chaco as Altepetl Appendix B: Dating Casas Grandes Appendix C: Alto, Far View, and Chimney Rock References Index About the Author
£33.30
Rowman & Littlefield Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War
Book SynopsisIn Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War, accomplished foreign relations historian David F. Shmitz provides students of US history and the Vietnam era with an up-to-date analysis of Nixon's Vietnam policy in a brief and accessible book that addresses the main controversies of the Nixon years. President Richard Nixon's first presidential term oversaw the definitive crucible of the Vietnam War. Nixon came into office seeking the kind of decisive victory that had eluded President Johnson, and went about expanding the war, overtly and covertly, in order to uphold a policy of containment, protect America's credibility, and defy the left's antiwar movement at home. Tactically, politically, Nixon's moves made sense. However, by 1971 the president was forced to significantly de-escalate the American presence and seek a negotiated end to the war, which is now accepted as an American defeat, and a resounding failure of American foreign relations. Schmitz addresses the main controversies of Nixon's VTrade ReviewDrawing on recently declassified documents and recordings from Nixon administration, historian Schmitz provides a revealing analysis of the 37th President’s handling of the Vietnam War. Schmitz’s findings illustrate that victory was imperative for Nixon, who didn’t wish to become the only president to lose a war. With the objectives of containing communism, and preserving American credibility among the nations of the world, Nixon was willing to do anything to insure South Vietnam ended the war as an independent democracy, including carrying out covert missions and bombings, deceiving the American people, and even feigning insanity. Direct quotations from speeches, publications, and behind-closed-doors conversations are juxtaposed with the events that occurred at the time, providing a startling contrast that emphasizes just how often Nixon said one thing and did another. Schmitz concisely lays out Nixon’s war strategy while pinpointing the controversial twists in the foreign policy from the years 1971 to 1973, and draws finely tuned conclusions about the larger impact on years to come. This strong, scholarly study will find its readership among both academics and American history buffs. * Publishers Weekly *Schmitz has written extensively on US foreign relations, e.g. The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1965-1989 . His most recent book focuses on Richard Nixon’s foreign policy with respect to the Vietnam War, especially Nixon’s first three years in office (1969–71), noting that this period has received little attention in the historiography of the conflict. The author argues that during his first two years in office, Nixon attempted to achieve a conventional military victory on the battlefield to preserve US credibility and power. Contrary to what Nixon and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger argued, the administration never seriously attempted to extricate US forces from Vietnam and pursue détente until 1971, after it became apparent that military victory was unattainable. Schmitz chastises Nixon’s militarily aggressive policy during the first part of his administration, since it needlessly prolonged the war and led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and Vietnamese. Relying on a wealth of primary sources and newly declassified documents, he challenges the view of Nixon as a shrewd practitioner of international relations and argues that there never was any 'grand design for détente that guided all of his decisions.' Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. * CHOICE *Citing declassified documents to bolster his premise, Schmitz presents Richard Nixon as fighting not one but two failed Vietnam wars during his presidency. From 1969 to 1971, Nixon sought a military victory and a permanent noncommunist government in South Vietnam. From 1971 to 1973, he fought an increasingly desperate second war to achieve an honorable peace and to preserve his presidential reputation. He did so by means of bombings in Cambodia that were designed to scare North Vietnam into a treaty and by 'Vietnamization' of the war to buy time before his reelection. He and Henry Kissinger also cooked up the 'Madman Theory,' aiming to make Nixon seem unstable to North Vietnam and its allies so that they wouldn’t provoke him. The communist government waited to sign a treaty until after Nixon’s troop reductions meant the U.S. presence could no longer support South Vietnam’s unpopular Thieu government or its forces. Schmitz concludes that ultimately Nixon’s war left a bitter legacy: a demoralized and divided United States, a long economic recession, and the collapse of the 'American Century.' VERDICT This concise overview of Nixon’s Vietnam diplomacy draws on and updates Jeffrey Kimball’s The Vietnam War Files. It is a good choice for graduate courses and will interest informed readers and Vietnam-era scholars. * Library Journal *David F. Schmitz's history of Richard M. Nixon's handling of the Vietnam War offers a distinctive perspective on the president's intentions regarding military victory. . . .Scmitz's rigorously researched work richly adds to the scholarship on the Vietnam War. He redefines understanding of Nixon's policy making and offers new perspective on the internal dynamics of the Nixon White House. This short book is essential reading for informed scholars and students of the war and U.S. foreign policy making. * Journal of American History *David F. Schmitz, a Whitman College history professor and U.S. foreign relations expert, bores into the first three years (1969-72) of Richard Nixon’s presidency in Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War: The End of the American Century, a concise examination and analysis of how Nixon ran the Vietnam War. In this well-written, well-researched, and well-argued book Schmitz makes a convincing case that Nixon—contrary to his public assertions at the time and after he resigned from the presidency—did not come to office to end the war by withdrawing American troops, but instead pursued what Schmitz terms 'escalation and victory.' * The VVA Veteran *Scholarly and well documented, this short volume reconfirms the conventional wisdom that Nixon's stewardship of the final years of the Vietnam War was a costly failure. Schmitz's detailed examination of recently declassified government records from National Security Council files, including minutes, decision memoranda, oral histories, and memoirs of the key players, only strengthens Nixon's unfavorable legacy as a wartime commander-in-chief.... Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War merits reading by students of foreign policy history. * On Point: The Journal of Army History *In this important new book, David Schmitz deftly describes how Richard Nixon’s ‘victory strategy’ evolved during his first two years as president, and details why that policy disintegrated in the wake of the failure to achieve a military victory, the administration’s desire to focus on the wider Cold War, and the president’s preoccupation with domestic political considerations. Based on impressive research in recently declassified documents and engagement with the vast secondary literature, this is a concise, insightful, and thought-provoking addition to the scholarship on Nixon and his role in the denouement of the U.S. experience in Vietnam. -- Andrew L. Johns, Brigham Young University; author of Vietnam's Second Front: Domestic Politics, the Republican Party, and the WarGiven the vast literature on Richard Nixon’s handling of the Vietnam War, it seems unimaginable there is more to be said. Yet David Schmitz has much, much more to say. Indeed, in this meticulously researched and provocative account he delivers a devastating critique of Nixon’s decision to pursue a military victory in Vietnam during his first two years in office. As Schmitz so clearly demonstrates, the turning point in the war that began with the 1968 Tet Offensive remained incomplete until the summer of 1970 when the ill-fated Cambodian invasion forced Nixon to finally abandon his quest for military victory. Schmitz proves that a new periodization of the war is called for, one that will undoubtedly change the way we think about Nixon and the last chapter of the Vietnam War saga. -- Kathryn C. Statler, University of San DiegoDavid Schmitz is one of the most discerning historians of U.S. foreign relations working today. Here he provides a concise and penetrating assessment of the Nixon administration’s handling of the Vietnam War, with particular attention on the crucial—and comparatively understudied—1969-71 period. Schmitz argues compellingly that this phase of the war should be seen as distinct from what came before and what followed, and that Vietnam policy must be situated within the context of the broader Cold War. -- Fredrik Logevall, Cornell University; author of Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in VietnamDespite the shelves of books written on the Vietnam War, historians have paid relatively little attention to Richard M. Nixon’s all out efforts in his first two years as president to achieve a military victory. Based on a careful reading of newly available sources, David Schmitz’s important book sharpens our view of President Nixon, the chronology of the war, and the persistent influence of Cold War ideology. Schmitz shows how Nixon’s over-reaching helped destroy the American Century. -- Frank Costigliola, Editor of The Kennan DiariesTable of ContentsAbbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The Necessity of the War in Vietnam 2 The Middle Road to the White House 3 Nixon Takes Over 4 Expansion and Crisis 5 The End of the American Century 6 Denouement Conclusions Bibliographic Essay Index About the Author
£27.00
Rowman & Littlefield The Stories Clothes Tell
Book SynopsisSpanning decades of research, this compelling social history tells the stories of ordinary people in modern Japan. Tatsuichi Horikiri spent a lifetime searching out old items of clothingranging from everyday kimono, work clothes, uniforms, and futons to actor's costumes, diapers, hats, aprons, and bags. Simultaneously he collected oral history accounts to shed light on those who used these items. Horikiri reveals not only the difficult and sometimes desperate lives of these people, most from the lower strata in early twentieth-century Japan, he illuminates their hopes, aspirations, and human values. He also explores such topics as textile techniques, the history of fashion, and the ethnography of clothing and related cultural phenomena.Having been wrongly accused and tortured by the Japanese military police in China during World War II, Horikiri takes a deeply empathetic view of all those who strugglefrom peasants and coal miners to traveling salesmen and itinerant performers. This perTrade ReviewThis work touched my heart as much as my head. It brilliantly captures the human spirit of working-class Japanese in the first half of the twentieth century: farmers, schoolgirls, laborers, miners, housewives, soldiers. Drawing on his massive collection of the threadbare clothes that people wore, Horikiri gives us thirty-one stories full of haunting sadness and dignified resilience along with his own trenchant observations about Japanese life and values. His reflections on war should be read by everyone. -- James L. Huffman, Wittenberg UniversityThis is a fascinating exploration in social and cultural history. Through well-chosen, vividly described vignettes, it examines the meaning of fabric and clothing for those who fabricate these items, those who wear or use them, and those who observe the dress of others. A compassionate and compelling work. -- Andrew Gordon, Harvard UniversityThis is a remarkably coherent translation of a fascinating book. Horikiri’s narrative of clothing serves well as a new vision of peoples’ history that conveys a tale of material culture at odds with the middle-class mythologies of modern Japan. Indeed, Horikiri’s work is a recasting of the very notion of kokoro, which in this work serves as a highly valued trope for everyday humanity. -- Christopher Gerteis, SOAS, University of LondonIn The Stories Clothes Tell, Tatsuichi Horikiri puts readers in touch, almost literally, with the past experience of Japan’s everyday people, or shomin. In a kaleidoscope of more than thirty short essays, each set around a different piece (or sometimes just a scrap) of clothing, Horikiri gathers together the ‘whispers,’ as he puts it, of lives lived largely out of sight of Japan’s upper classes. Thanks to Rieko Wagoner’s fine and empathetic translation, readers outside Japan can now enter Horikiri’s world—not of Japan’s ‘good old days’ that never were, but the ‘real old days’ that might otherwise be lost to memory forever. -- Andrew Barshay, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsIntroduction Notes to the Reader Era Designation and Timeline Map List of Illustrations Chapter 1 Kasuri Mattress Cover from Home Chapter 2 Koshimaki Petticoat of 83 Patches Chapter 3 Echigo-jishi Costume for Boy Dancer Chapter 4 How Many Diapers? Chapter 5 Two Hanten Field Jackets Chapter 6 Okiboda, the Pride of Women Chapter 7 My Teacher’s Sunday Best Chapter 8 A Weighty Quilt Chapter 9 Life with a Mosquito Net Chapter 10 A Bed of Wood Shavings Chapter 11 The Meisen the Girl Could Not Wear Chapter 12 Dead Horse Chapter 13 Female Coal Miners Chapter 14 Aunties and Uncles Chapter 15 Rich and Poor Chapter 16 A Begging Girl Chapter 17 Noble-minded Ladies Chapter 18 A Gown of Leaves for the Dead Chapter 19 Katatsuke-gasuri Chapter 20 A Lady in a Dilapidated Mansion Chapter 21 Female Workers in Textile Mills Chapter 22 Forbidden Tears Chapter 23 The Thousand-stitch Waistband Chapter 24 The Rising Sun Kimono That She Wore Chapter 25 Gifts from My Mother Chapter 26 Akemi’s Song Chapter 27 Military Uniforms and Shoes Chapter 28 What Mompe Trousers Symbolized Chapter 29 A White Chima Jeogori Chapter 30 Sarasa Print Bed Quilt Chapter 31 Hanten Story Afterword Acknowledgments Term Glossary Selected Bibliography Supplemental Bibliography Index
£31.50
The History Press Ltd Britains Toy Car Wars
Book SynopsisThe gripping story of the toy car wars: how Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox drove our childhoods!
£14.39
Simon & Schuster Ltd Superveloce
Book Synopsis In 1950, at the first Formula One Grand Prix in Britain after World War II, 150,000 spectators, including the royal family, watch in dismay as Italy's Alfa Romeos take the first three places – ahead of seven more Italian Maseratis. In Paris, at the Salon d'Auto, Pininfariana's breathtakingly stylish Lancias, driven form Turin by the designer and his son, are denied entry. Parked outside, they nevertheless steal the show. How can it be that Italy, pummelled into submission by Allied bombs, is already setting new standards of speed and style that leave the rest of the world for dust? The answers lie deep in Italy's cultural heritage, in historic links between art and machine going back to Leonardo da Vinci. In Superveloce, Peter Grimsdale traces a century of Italian design genius and the rise of its great automotive dynasties, Ferrari, Farina, Maserati and Fiat's Agnellis. We see the lives of fiercely charismatic and competitive dr
£21.25
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Truth About the Mutiny on HMAV Bounty and
Book SynopsisDetailed chronology of William Bligh, Fletcher Christian and their explosive relationship.
£17.99
Verso Books The World Turned Inside Out: Settler Colonialism
Book SynopsisMany would rather change worlds than change the world. The settlement of communities in 'empty lands' somewhere else has often been proposed as a solution to growing contradictions. While the lands were never empty, sometimes these communities failed miserably, and sometimes they prospered and grew until they became entire countries. Building on a growing body of transnational and interdisciplinary research on the political imaginaries of settler colonialism as a specific mode of domination, this book uncovers and critiques an autonomous, influential, and coherent political tradition - a tradition still relevant today. It follows the ideas and the projects (and the failures) of those who left or planned to leave growing and chaotic cities and challenging and confusing new economic circumstances, those who wanted to protect endangered nationalities, and those who intended to pre-empt forthcoming revolutions of all sorts, including civil and social wars. They displaced, and moved to other islands and continents, beyond the settled regions, to rural districts and to secluded suburbs, to communes and intentional communities, and to cyberspace. This book outlines the global history of a resilient political idea: to seek change somewhere else as an alternative to embracing (or resisting) transformation where one is.Trade ReviewThe political theory of settler colonies has a centuries-long history amounting to a distinct, if little understood intellectual tradition. In The World Turned Inside Out: Settler Colonialism as a Political Idea, Lorenzo Veracini reconstructs this tradition for the first time. In seeking to escape the contradictions of the old world, he shows, settlers brought different ones to the new world that continue to structure the polities they founded. -- A. Dirk Moses, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillIn this brilliant tour de force, a major theorist of settler colonialism ranges across the globe to unearth a hidden political tradition with enormous and costly consequences. By revealing how our world has been shaped and reshaped by the fantasy of going someplace else to escape revolution, The World Turned Inside Out has an urgent message: we must confront injustice and crisis right where we are. -- Jeffrey Ostler, University of OregonGlobal capitalism has always been driven by the export of people as well as commodities, of people as commodities. In The World Turned Inside Out, Lorenzo Veracino shows us how European migration to settler colonies was propelled by a specific project of domestic political "pacification", designed to keep the homeland safe from revolution. In this superbly researched history of the politics, theories and cultural practices of settler colonialism, Veracino also reveals the utilitarian casual disregard for the millions of indigenous peoples across the continents whose bereft lives would be lost, disrupted, and forever disempowered as a consequence. This much-needed book uncovers the stark realities behind settler colonialism as it has been practised on every continent. -- Robert J. C. Young, New York UniversityThis important book not only salvages the global history of settler colonialism from its traditional nationalist packaging, but also reunites 'settlerism' with its alter ego, metropolitan revolutionary movements. At last, the 'world turned upside down' meets 'the world turned inside out'. -- James Belich, University of OxfordWith this book Lorenzo Veracini cements his reputation as one of the most ambitious and insightful scholars of settler colonialism. Sweeping in its historical and geographical reach, and bold in its arguments, The World Turned Inside Out is a provocative and illuminating analysis of the centrality of settler colonialism in the making of the modern world. -- Duncan Bel, University of CambridgeWorld Turned Inside Out is a brilliant exploration of settler colonialism as a political tradition in the making, predicated on a search for actual space in order to get away in Europe from existing upheavals or removing those who potentially can cause such an upheaval. Lorenzo Veracini focuses on such dislocations that brought displacement of indigenous people as part of the history of Western revolution and counter revolution. As such it asks us to rethink both tradition and revolution as transnational and global phenomena that sustained the tradition of settler colonialism even after most of these projects ended, preserving inside and outside the West Eurocentrism, racism, and capitalism. While the revisited historical chapters might seem familiar, you are invited here to reappraise them from a new and contemporary vantage point - in the midst of a new era of dislocation, displacement, resettlement and maybe even unsettlement. The human tendency to dislocate (and displace) in order to avoid upheaval, insoluble predicaments and persecution may move in the future beyond to extra-terrestrial spaces. Before this happens, it is good moment to ponder on its history until today and this is an excellent guide for such a tour into the past before we re-invent a new kind of settler colonialism. -- Ilan Pappe, University of ExeterWhat Veracini terms 'volitional' or 'voluntary' displacement stems from the belief that migration and settlement can head off social unrest. The World Turned Inside Out presents a global history of this phenomenon through wide-ranging and meticulously researched case studies. -- Sarah Maddison * Australian Book Review *Veracini takes his readers on a captivating journey spanning five centuries and six continents in an effort to trace what he believes to be a recurring yet under-analysed historical movement. -- Neve Gordon * Times Higher Education *The World Turned Inside Out is readable and compelling. It reflects Veracini's enormous intellectual reach across vast timescales and beyond the Anglo-world. The chapters chart settler colonialism's beginnings, its peak and its ends by weaving through some well-known and other remarkably obscure settler projects. The sum of these parts is a worldly, rich and new intellectual history. -- Lisa Ford * Australian Historical Studies *
£18.99
Ebury Publishing Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook
Book SynopsisIn this inspirational and practical guide to country life, passionate and hugely knowledgeable countryman Alan Titchmarsh explores the heritage of rural Britain, its landscapes and wildlife, its traditions, customs and crafts. The Lost Skills and Crafts Handbook will help you rediscover your love of the countryside, including:- a checklist of British butterflies and where to find them- how to keep chickens, ducks, goats and sheep- how to make soap, candles and your own herbal remedies- how to track animals and forage for food- essential knot tying- how to build a campfire without matches- how to create a kitchen garden- the origins of country superstitionsAnd much more. With beautiful line art illustrations throughout, this compendium of the British countryside and its delights will be an essential read for any nature lover in your life.
£15.29
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC MI6
Book Synopsis''Reads like the script for a Bond film'' Mail on SundayA groundbreaking book, this unprecedented study is the authoritative account of the best-known intelligence organisation in the world. Essential reading for anyone interested in the history of espionage, the two world wars, modern British government and the conduct of international relations in the first half of the twentieth century, MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949 is a uniquely important examination of the role and significance of intelligence in the modern world.Trade Review‘Extraordinarily useful, endlessly interesting ... Jeffery captured the adventurous, John Buchan side of SIS with as much zest as he revealed the successes and failures of its analysis of events' * John Simpson *'A magisterial account of the two wars in particular, viewed via the prism of secret intelligence. Winningly, it also entertains' * Independent on Sunday *‘Fascinating ... The book is full of examples of the ingenuity and courage shown by all ranks' * Douglas Hurd, Guardian *'Full of episode and personality, without ever succumbing to the swash and buckle that can dazzle those who get close to SIS' * Daily Telegraph *
£18.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Killers of the King
Book SynopsisCharles Spencer tells the shocking stories and fascinating fates of the men who signed Charles I's death warrant in this Sunday Times bestseller''Seamless, pacy and riveting ... exceptional'' ALISON WEIR''The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined'' TOM HOLLAND''Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice'' JESSIE CHILDS__________________January, 1649. After seven years of fighting in the bloodiest war in Britain's history, Parliament faced a problem: what to do with a defeated king, a king who refused to surrender?Parliamentarians resolved to do the unthinkable, to disregard the Divine Right of Kings and hold Charles I to account for the appalling suffering and slaughter endured by his people. On an icy winter's day on a scaffold outside Whitehall, the King of England was executed.When the dead king's son, Charles II, was restored to the throne, he set about enacting a deadly wave of retribuTrade ReviewBeautifully written and meticulously researched * Evening Standard *History with the pace of a thriller ... I learned much I never knew -- Julian Fellowes * Observer *Brilliant ... A thrilling tale of regicide and revenge * Independent *Very good … Dense and well-researched … Some of the stories are extraordinary … Spine-tingling detail * The Times *A pacy, well-researched and beautifully written story of intrigue, betrayal and Realpolitik, but above all cold-blooded institutionalized revenge on a massive international scale * Andrew Roberts *Accomplished and gruesome, this masterful account of the fate of the regicides breaks all barriers in weaving the lives – and the grim fates – of many into a seamless, pacy and riveting read, underpinned by the depth of scholarship for which Charles Spencer is renowned. An exceptional and highly original history book that sheds new light on one of England’s bloodiest episodes * Alison Weir *Imagine The Odessa File re-written by Christopher Hill, and you will have some idea of the pleasure to be had in reading Killers of the King. The virtues of a thriller and of scholarship are potently combined * Tom Holland *Outstanding: a thrilling tale of retribution and bloody sacrifice, unflinching idealism and craven miscreancy. In fluent, measured, often witty prose, Killers of the King brilliantly evokes that febrile time when the hunters became the hunted and vengeance was avenged. Like all the best history books, it succeeds not only in telling a remarkable story, but also in illuminating the entire age * Jessie Childs *
£13.49
Cambridge University Press The Origins of Modern Science
Book SynopsisThe Origins of Modern Science is the first synthetic account of the history of science from antiquity through the Scientific Revolution in many decades. Providing readers of all backgrounds and students of all disciplines with the tools to study science like a historian, Ofer Gal covers everything from Pythagorean mathematics to Newton''s Principia, through Islamic medicine, medieval architecture, global commerce and magic. Richly illustrated throughout, scientific reasoning and practices are introduced in accessible and engaging ways with an emphasis on the complex relationships between institutions, beliefs and political structures and practices. Readers gain valuable new insights into the role that science plays both in history and in the world today, placing the crucial challenges to science and technology of our time within their historical and cultural context.Trade Review'Ofer Gal is a superb guide to the history of science. Students will appreciate his clarity, well-chosen illustrations and strong thematic exposition. Instructors will delight in his erudition, synthetic power and fresh historical vision. All can read this book with pleasure and profit. It is the gold standard in texts on science from antiquity to Newton.' John W. Servos, Amherst College'Densely packed throughout with provocative analyses and a wealth of powerful concepts, The Origins of Modern Science is a history on a grand scale that is destined to become a standard work. Gal's narrative exemplifies a rare balance between history and historiography, sophistication and accessibility, text and context, while consistently emphasizing the human component at the heart of this millennia-long saga.' Victor Boantza, University of Minnesota'In The Origins of Modern Science: From Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution, Dr. Ofer Gal has presented the history of science through scientific ideas, concurrent practices and principles of knowledge. The book presents a trove of information on science as 'particular, local and historical,' a remarkable source and perspective certain to inspire the interests of readers as well as those of instructors in their history of science classes.' Caterina Agostini, Rutgers University (formerly North Carolina State)'A fascinating book detailing the rise of modern science in a broader perspective as a human intellectual achievement, one that was contingent on the fallible thoughts and actions of real people, rather than the inevitable triumph of disembodied ideas. Beginning with antiquity, the book does not shy away from difficult questions of the relation of religion and magic to early modern science, and produces a rich account of the development of science through the high Middle Ages to the publication of Newton's Principia. Of particular interest is the original integration of the various ways in which knowledge was thought to be made during these periods. This book deserves to be widely read, not only by historians of science but by a much broader audience interested in the generation of knowledge as a human phenomenon.' Andrew Gregory, University College London'In this very wide-ranging and superbly illustrated account, Ofer Gal offers an original and instructive survey of the development of the sciences from classical and medieval periods to early modernity. In well-organized histories of medicine and mechanics, astronomy and experiment, this work cleverly shows in persuasive detail the intricate relations between the sciences and their history. Designed to provide a usable textbook for students with background in history and in the sciences, the work explains clearly the relationship between theoretical knowledge and practical know-how, and between the complex and fascinating emergence of modern sciences and the long development of different techniques and understandings of nature.' Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge'This book is an excellent overview of the early history of science and covers the ideas and personalities of the time in a highly readable format. Particularly useful are the references, primary sources, and suggestions for further reading. It deserves to be well thumbed by all with an interest in the history of science and medicine.' Arpan K. Banerjee, Hektoen International JournalTable of Contents1. Cathedrals; 2. Greek Thought; 3. The Birth of Astronomy; 4. Medieval Learning; 5. The Seeds of Revolution; 6. Magic; 7. The Moving Earth; 8. Medicine and the Body; 9. The New Science; 10. The Road to the Principia.
£25.64
Haymarket Books Ethiopia in Theory: Revolution and Knowledge
Book SynopsisBetween the years 1964 and 1974, Ethiopian post-secondary students studying at home, in Europe, and in North America produced a number of journals. In them, these students explored the relationship between social theory and social change within the project of building a socialist Ethiopia. Ethiopia in Theory examines the literature of this student movement, together with the movement 's afterlife in Ethiopian politics and society, in order to ask a vital question: what does it mean to write today about the appropriation and indigenisation of Marxist and mainstream social science ideas in an Ethiopian and African context? And, further, what does the archive of revolutionary thought in Africa teach us about the practice of critical theory more generally?Trade Review"This superb book will transform all discussions concerning the production of knowledge. Ranging through the archives, moving across philosophy and critical theory, and traversing social history, Ethiopia in Theory frames a stunningly original account of the Ethiopian student movement of the 1960s and '70s as a site for the production of radical social science. Rather than the mere reception of revolutionary theory in an African context, Zeleke shows us the dynamics of its generation. There is truly nothing in the literature that comes close to the depth of this multi-leveled, interdisciplinary study. Zeleke 's outstanding book deserves the widest possible readership in social history, African studies, post-colonial analysis, and Marxist and critical theory in general." --David McNally, Cullen Distinguished Professor of History, University of Houston, author of Monsters of the Market: Zombies, Vampires and Global CapitalismTable of ContentsForeword by Donald L. DonhamAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsNote on CitationsIntroductionPart 1 Knowledge Production and Social Change in Ethiopia1 The Children of the Revolution: Toward an Alternative Method2 Social Science Is a Battlefield: Rethinking the Historiography of the Ethiopian Revolution3 Challenge: Social Science in the Literature of the Ethiopian Student Movement4 When Social Science Concepts Become Neutral Arbiters of Social Conflict: Rethinking the 2005 Elections in Ethiopia5 Passive Revolution: Living in the Aftermath of the 2005 ElectionsPart 2 Theory as Memoir6 The Problem of the Social Sciences in AfricaBibliographyIndex
£27.00
Johns Hopkins University Press Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City
Book SynopsisYour evening walk will never be the same once you come to know the quiet giants that line the city's streets.Trade Review"Dr. Day... A sort of Julia Child of nature." (New York Times) "This little gem fills you in on everything finned, furred, feathered, or leafed, and how to find it, in all five boroughs." (House and Garden) "Leslie Day ('a child of Manhattan') reveals hidden depths of this urban behemoth... A wonderful guide to the green side of the Big Apple." (Guardian)"Table of ContentsForeword, by Amy FreitagAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Leafy Neighborhoods of the Five Boroughs2. Tree Terminology3. Illustrated Glossary4. TreesDeciduous ConifersBald CypressDawn RedwoodDeciduous Broadleaf TreesSimple, UnlobedCallery PearNorthern CatalpaSchubert ChokecherryKwanzan CherryCrabappleDowny ServiceberryEastern RedbudAmerican ElmChinese ElmJapanese ZelkovaFlowering DogwoodGinkgo BilobaHawthornEuropean HornbeamJapanese Tree LilacKatsuraAmerican LindenLittlelead LindenSilver LindenSaucer MagnoliaPurple Leaf PlumSimple, LobedLondon PlaneHedge MapleJapanese MapleNorway MapleRed MapleRilver MapleSugar MapleSycamore MapleWhite MulberryEastern White OakEnglish OakNorthern Red OakPin OakSawtooth OakSwamp White OakWillow OakSweetgumTuliptreeCompound, PinnateTree of HeavenGreen AshWhite AshBlack LocustHoney LocustGoldenrain TreeJapanese PagodatreeKentucky PagodatreeCompound, Chestnut5. Tree PeopleTree Care TipsBibliographyIndex
£38.70
Thames & Hudson Ltd Egyptologists Notebooks
Book SynopsisA celebration of Egyptologistsâ intimate diaries and journals, brilliantly capturing the excitement of the golden age of Egyptology.Trade Review'This is a sumptuous volume and can be recommended without hesitation for those who are interested in Egyptology and also the history of the study of the subject as well. It is highly informative, well written, has beautifully reproduced illustrations and is a delight to read' - Timeless TravelsTable of ContentsIntroduction: These Rough Notes • An Untouched Antique Land: Athanasius Kircher; George Sandys; Frederik Ludwig Norden; Richard Pococke • Artists, Expeditions and Nationalist Competition: Dominique Vivant Denon; Pascal Xavier Coste; Frédéric Cailliaud; William John Bankes; James Burton; Edward William Lane; Robert Hay; Jean-François Champollion; Nestor l’Hôte; John Gardner Wilkinson; Hector Horeau; Karl Richard Lepsius • Archaeology Begins: Giovanni Battista Belzoni; Jean-Jaques Rifaud; Joseph Hekekyan; Luigi Vassalli; Tombs, Mummies and Treasure; Amelia Edwards; W. M. F. Petrie; Marianne Brocklehurst; Victor Loret; Percy Newberry; Howard Carter; Norman & Nina de Garis Davies • Temples, Towns and Cities: George Andrew Reisner; Ernesto Schiaparelli; Hassan Effendi Hosni; John Pendlebury; Walter Bryan Emery
£27.20
Yale University Press The PolishLithuanian Commonwealth 17331795
Book SynopsisA major new assessment of the “vanished kingdom” of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth—one which recognizes its achievements before its destructionTrade Review“This astonishing and brilliant revival of independence and creative energy is the subject of Richard Butterwick’s book . . . [which] goes into the details not only of high politics but of people and processes. . . . Butterwick makes a vivid narrative.”—Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books“A brilliantly constructed and complete synthesis. . . . Different threads combine, interweave and result from one another, giving a rich picture of the reality of the time. . . . Probably the first historical synthesis of this epoch in which the author has followed so closely the political situation in this part of Europe, and at the same time shown that, without this knowledge, it is impossible to understand the internal political activities of a state deprived of sovereignty.”—Anna Grześkowiak-Krwawicz, Polish History Museum“Butterwick offers a very valuable and impressively comprehensive account of the important final decades in the history of the Commonwealth.”—Larry Wolff, Slavonic and East European Review“Butterwick is a good narrator, but he manages to transcend mere storytelling. It is no small feat that he explains the complexities of the Commonwealth and its constituent parts, the changing social and economic landscape as well as the complicated confessional issues without ever being dry.”—Orsolya Szakály, European Review of History“A captivating history of the last decades of one of the largest and yet most unknown state structures in Europe. . . . [Butterwick] is able brilliantly to refute the common notion that the history of the Polish-Lithuanian state in the eighteenth century can only be reduced to its decay.”—Ruth Leiserowitz, Historische Zeitschrift“Richard Butterwick . . . has handled this task perfectly. We have a new, conceptual book revealing to readers the complex history of the Polish-Lithuanian state, or more precisely its final stage, lit up not just by the bright aura of the Age of Enlightenment, but also ablaze with ideas of freedom, equality, democracy and constitutionalism just before the state was extinguished. . . . It is also an excellent guide helping readers understand the underlying reasons for geopolitical processes in the context of Russia’s intervention in the sovereign Ukrainian state.”—Ramunė Šmigelskytė-Stukienė, Lithuanian Historical Studies“Brilliant. . . . This is an archivally-rich book that successfully captures the developing destruction of a still-vibrant polity. An important work indeed not only for those interested in Polish history but also in the Enlightenment as practice.”—Jeremy Black, The Critic“One of the many virtues of Butterwick’s book is that . . . on the basis of deep and up-to-date research, the work will facilitate the teaching of eighteenth-century Poland-Lithuania to Anglophone students. . . . It is written with verve and color. . . . An outstanding achievement.”—Robert Frost FBA, The Middle Ground JournalWinner of the Polish Historical Society’s Pro Historia Polonorum prizeFirst distinction in the competition of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the best foreign-language book promoting the history of PolandWinner of the 2021 Oskar Halecki Polish History Award, sponsored by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America“Masterly. Butterwick’s authoritative and notably well-written account is a major contribution to Polish and European history. As a study of the high politics of the last six decades of Poland-Lithuania’s independent existence, it would be difficult to better.”—Hamish Scott, FBA, Jesus College, University of Oxford“Both scholarly and entertaining, this enthralling account of the decline and fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a major contribution to the history of Europe in the eighteenth century.”—Tim Blanning, author of The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815“Butterwick has succeeded admirably. . . . This compelling history weaves political, ecclesiastical, and international affairs together, demonstrating how the principles of Enlightenment shaped a reforming state and society as they faced the Partitions.”—Frank E. Sysyn, University of Alberta
£28.50
Michael O'Mara Books Ltd A Short History of the World in 50 Animals
Book SynopsisA Short History of the World in 50 Animals provides a new perspective on the grand sweep of our planet’s making, taking readers from the time of the dinosaurs to the time of Dolly, the first cloned mammal. This book will include a great variety of beasts from across the animal kingdom, some well known and others far more surprising, from every continent in the world. Each entry will show the creature’s influence on world development, economy, health, culture, religion and society. The size of the animals range from hulking elephants to tiny bees but each one has made a significant impact on history.A Short History of the World in 50 Animals details the impact, legacy and role of fifty animals that determined the world’s history and shows how many of them are essential for our future survival. Featuring charming black and white illustrations throughout, which celebrate these extraordinary animals.In the same series: A Short History of the World in 50 Places.
£11.69
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Archaeologists Fieldwork Companion
Book SynopsisThe Archaeologist''s Fieldwork Companion is the only current one-volume collection of the practical information and material needed by archaeologists doing fieldwork. Designed as a literal companion to fieldwork: a concise informational toolkit to be carried into the field Provides lists and checklists, planning help, recording and measurement charts and tables, analysis and classification guides, information on drafting and artifact drawing, abbreviations, sample forms, and legislation concerning archaeological fieldwork Offers additional information for processing research, such as a guide to research publication and an extensive bibliography for further resources An invaluable aid not only to students undertaking fieldwork for the first time, but also to seasoned archaeologists Trade Review"An excellent compilation of equipment lists and procedures, covering a wide range of fieldwork activities. It will be valuable to professionals and students alike, in both the field and the classroom." Harold Mytum, University of York "Kipfer's all-inclusive guidebook will no doubt help archaeologists of all levels avoid common mistakes in the field and the lab by providing useful information in a handy portable format." Diana DiPaolo Loren, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University "This useful compendium of practical resources for students, professionals, and amateurs condenses a plethora of reference information, from conversion tables to codes of ethics, into one handy package." Ruth M. Van Dyke, Colorado College “This easy-to-use spiral-bound book by independent scholar Kipfer offers extensive information and materials to assist in the practical aspects of doing archaeology … It will be invaluable for a variety of readers from beginners in archaeological fieldwork to professional archaeologists ... Highly recommended.” Choice "There is something for everyone in this volume. The wire spiral binding gives the added advantage of being easy to use in the field." Australian ArchaeologyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Classification and Typology. 2. Forms and Records. 3. Lists and Checklists. 4. Mapping, Drawing, and Photographing. 5. Measurement and Conversion. 6. Planning Help. 7. Resources. Appendix: Abbreviations and Codes.
£32.36
Yale University Press Matilda
Book SynopsisA life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle AgesTrade Review“Impressive study.”—Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian“A fine example of the genre.”—Tony Barber, Financial Times“A lively and authoritative account.”—Katherine Harvey, Times Literary Supplement“This volume is designed for a wide readership and deserves to find one.”—Sean McGlynn, The Spectator“A lively and illuminating biography.”—Peter Marshall, Literary Review“[A]n excellent and provocative study that straddles the line between the scholarly and the popular.”—Lois Huneycutt, Royal Studies Journal“An accessible and engaging history.”—Rod McLary, Queensland Reviewers Collective“The biography of Matilda I’ve been waiting for: as clear-sighted, forthright and formidable as the Empress herself. Catherine Hanley combines lucid scholarship with page-turning narrative; military expertise with a fine-grained understanding of the challenges facing a twelfth-century woman who sought to rule. The result—authoritative, human, and utterly compelling—is a triumph.”—Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves“Ambitious and compelling. Matilda brings the female ruler alive for a new generation of readers, capturing her early experiences as the young bride of the Holy Roman Emperor, her difficult marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou, her bitter rivalry with her cousin King Stephen for the English throne, and her vitally important role in supporting the accession of her son King Henry II.”—Louise J. Wilkinson, author of Eleanor de Montfort“A lucid and long-needed study of Matilda, the mother of the Plantagenets, England’s longest ruling dynasty, and a pivotal figure in the power struggle that followed the death of her father, Henry I. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand this remarkable woman and the tangled politics of those years when ‘Christ and his saints slept.’”—Derek Wilson, author of The Queen and the Heretic
£12.99