Social and cultural history Books
Andrews McMeel Publishing Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the
Book SynopsisA charming, gorgeously illustrated botanical encyclopedia for your favorite romantic, local witch, bride-to-be, or green-thumbed friend.Floriography is a full-color guide to the historical uses and secret meanings behind an impressive array of flowers and herbs. The book explores the coded significances associated with various blooms, from flowers for a lover to flowers for an enemy.The language of flowers was historically used as a means of secret communication. It soared in popularity during the 19th century, especially in Victorian England and the U.S., when proper etiquette discouraged open displays of emotion. Mysterious and playful, the language of flowers has roots in everything from the characteristics of the plant to its presence in folklore and history. Researched and illustrated by popular artist Jessica Roux, this book makes a stunning display piece, conversation-starter, or thoughtful gift.
£14.24
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Haves and HaveYachts
Book Synopsis
£20.00
John Murray Press The Golden Thread
Book Synopsis** A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK **''Fascinating . . . The history of the world through the eye of a needle . . . I recommend this book to anyone'' THE SPECTATOR''A charming, absorbing and history that takes us on a journey from the silk roads to sportswear, from ruffs to spacesuits . . . I devoured this quietly feminist book'' SUNDAY TIMES''Joyful and beautiful'' NATURE''Will make you rethink your relationship with fabric'' ELLE DECORATIONAll textiles begin with a twist. From colourful 30,000-year old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to what the linen wrappings of Tutankhamun''s mummy actually meant; from the Silk Roads to the woollen sails that helped the Vikings reach America 700 years before Columbus; from the lace ruffs that infuriated the puritans to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution, our continuing reinvention of cloth tells fascinating stories of human ingenuity. When we talk of lives hanging by a thread, being interwoven, or part of the social fabric, we are part of a tradition that stretches back many thousands of years. Fabric has allowed us to achieve extraordinary things and survive in unlikely places, and this book shows you how -- and why.With a cast that includes Chinese empresses, Richard the Lionheart and Bing Crosby, Kassia St Clair takes us on the run with escaped slaves, climbing the slopes of Everest and moonwalking with astronauts. Running like a bright line through history, The Golden Thread offers an unforgettable adventure through our past, present and future.Trade ReviewA history of fabric might not sound immediately exciting, but St Clair's book is a refreshing treat, every page bursting with surprising insights. Clothing, she argues, is central to history, from myths and legends to trade and technology. The threads woven by the Greek Fates, the bandages that wrapped Egyptian mummies, the wool that made medieval England rich, the lace in Vermeer's paintings : it all makes for a smart and entertaining historical tapestry * SUNDAY TIMES, History Book of the Year *The history of the world through the eye of a needle... Fascinating... I recommend this book to anyone * THE SPECTATOR *A charming, absorbing and quietly feminist history that takes us on a journey from the silk roads to sportswear, from ruffs to spacesuits... I devoured this book * SUNDAY TIMES *Remarkable . . . hugely ambitious, sparklingly erudite and wonderfully engaging -- Peter Frankopan, Book of the Year * HISTORY TODAY *A joyful commingling of text and textiles in 13 beautifully wrought stories. We visit a cave where dyed fibres more than 30,000 years old have been discovered; goggle at the starched intricacy of sixteenth-century lace ruffs; flinch over astronauts' nappies and the sodden sleeping bags of early polar expeditions; and savour the idea of materials spun from spiders' webs. * NATURE *The Golden Thread will make you rethink your relationship with fabric * ELLE DECORATION *Superb... this dazzling book puts fabric at the very heart of human history. * STRONG WORDS *A curious and illuminating history of fabric * HOUSE AND GARDEN *Vividly drawn . . . this beautifully presented tome is perfect for dipping in and out of * HISTORY REVEALED *The Golden Thread is worth a read for informing your political thinking, and it will entertain you far more than most 'political' books * Resurgence and Ecologist Magazine *Such a captivating read its likely you'll want to devour this engrossing patchwork of textile history in one sitting * Embroidery *
£11.69
Quarto Publishing PLC London A Guide for Curious Wanderers
Book SynopsisLondon: A Guide for Curious Wanderers presents a miscellany of historic and quirky curiosities to spot as you wander around the capital.Trade Review“In its 165 pages, the book manages to pack in a heap of information and Jack is sensible in acknowledging that some things may be urban myths or that we simply don’t know their true origins. As well as a standard index, there is a listing by postcode which I think is a splendid idea in these days of phone maps. Beautifully illustrated by Katherine Fraser… A great addition to the library of London loves.” -- The London Society".a really enjoyable book: the research is wide ranging, and Jack’s knowledge and enthusiasm is infectious… an ideal gift for anyone starting to ask questions about this wonderful city.” -- Hornsey Historical Society“If you love London, if you love history, if you love walking – you will love Jack’s book. If you have only a slight interest in any of these, by the time you have finished the first section – your curiosity to learn more will have been piqued. Bravo Jack Cheshire – this is a book that will have a permanent place on our shelves. All Londoners and visitors to London ought to have a copy too.” -- Lady Lewis“If you wish to own just one reference about London, you could do no better than purchasing this sumptuously produced book.” -- Cabbie Blog
£12.74
Yale University Press The Jewel House
Book SynopsisExplores the streets, shops, back alleys, and gardens of Elizabethan London where a boisterous and diverse group of men and women shared a keen interest in the study of nature. This book examines six episodes of scientific inquiry and dispute in sixteenth-century London, bringing to life the individuals involved and the challenges they faced.Trade Review"Harkness's research is revelatory and her taste for the offbeat enthralling."—New Yorker". . . Harkness has written a truly wonderful book, deeply researched, full of original material, and exhilarating to read. Its grown-up realism puts to shame the glamorised pap currently spooned out on film and television as a depiction of 16th-century England."—John Carey, The Sunday Times"Through a deft navigation of printed book and manuscript records . . . Harkness’s book succeeds in evoking a city alive with the pursuit of the natural world, a pursuit infused with objects, ideas and people from foreign lands . . . she listened to the archives, established rapport with these sources, traced the connections between practitioners, and mapped the concepts of science and community in Elizabethan London."–Lauren Kassell, Times Educational Supplement". . . a significant contribution to the history of science, but also to that of London, and an exciting portrait of life in the swarming, spreading city during the reign of the first Elizabeth."—Ronald Hutton, Independent on Sunday"This is an exciting and important book, informed by deep scholarship yet replete with colourful details that make it absorbing to read."—Patricia Fara, BBC History Magazine". . . [an] innovative, imaginative, and well-written study – which is undoubtedly based on many years of research . . . Harkness unites depth and detail with a truly original argument . . . [She] is an expert historian who also knows how to operate as an archaeologist and anthropologist . . . Harkness has [brought back Elizabethan London] with great erudition and imagination."—Florike Egmond, Nuncius, Vol. XXIII, 2"[Harkness] takes us to many previously unexplored nooks and crannies of Elizabethan London, bringing alive a wide range of social and economic connections . . . [she] digs up communities of naturalists . . . [and] instrument makers . . . and meets apothecaries and surgeons who introduced some of the latest techniques from Italy . . . The Jewel House is one of the best [books] in showing how the tight, interlocking communities of the early modern capital city could prove it as vibrant intellectually and commercially as it was dramatically."—Peter Furtado, History Today"This is perhaps the most effective account to date of science in Elizabethan England . . . based on extensive archival research . . . the author has an undoubted gift for bringing her subjects vividly to life through the use of telling detail, while she also relishes the tensions and conflicts that occurred in the intellectual community that she documents."—Michael Hunter, HistoryCo-winner of the 2008 Pacific Coast Conference on British Studies Book PrizeWinner of the 2008 John Ben Snow Foundation Prize for the best book published in any discipline of British Studies covering the period from 1400-1800Winner of the Pfizer Prize for Best Book in the History of Science from 2005-2007, presented by the History of Science SocietyHighly commended for the 2008 Longman/History Today Book of the Year Award"This is the book on Elizabethan science everyone should read. Not only does it offer a convincing reinterpretation of the role of science in society, but it is written in an arresting style, jaunty, full of illuminating anecdotes, and widely accessible."—Ian Archer, Oxford University "This is a wonderful book, full of fascinating detail and stories from a lost world. It will have wide circulation among historians of science and technology, historians of England, and cultural historians in general."—Pamela Smith, Columbia University"The Jewel House of Art and Nature is by far the finest exploration ever undertaken of scientific culture in an early modern metropolis. Vivid, compelling, and panoramic, this revelatory work will force us to revise everything we thought we knew about Renaissance science."—Adrian Johns, author of The Nature of the Book"In this vivid portrait of the scientific practitioners of Elizabethan London, Deborah Harkness draws on extensive archival research to portray the city as a crucial source of social and scientific innovation and inspiration to Francis Bacon."—Ann Blair, Harvard University"Deborah E. Harkness's The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution is a finely written and informative book. . . . No one interested in the life of Elizabethan London . . . will find it less than engrossing."—Gordon Teskey, SEL Studies in English Literature
£16.14
Trine Day One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union
Book SynopsisOne Nation Under Blackmail is a damning indictment of the consequences resulting from the nearly century old relationship between both US and Israeli intelligence and the organized criminal network known as the National Crime Syndicate. This book specifically explores how that nexus between intelligence and organized crime directly developed the sexual blackmail tactics and networks that would later enable the sexual blackmail operation and other crimes of deceased pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Other books on Jeffrey Epstein focus on the depraved nature of his crimes, his wealth, and his most famous/politically-connected friends and acquaintances. This book, in contrast, reveals the extent to which Epstein’s activities were state-sponsored through an exploration of his intelligence connections.
£19.76
Granta Books The Dead of Winter
Book SynopsisAs winter comes and the hours of darkness overtake the light, we seek out warmth, good food, and good company. But beneath the jollity and bright enchantment of the festive season, there lurks a darker mood - one that has found expression over the centuries in a host of strange and unsettling traditions and lore. Here, Sarah Clegg takes us on a journey through midwinter to explore the lesser-known Christmas traditions, from English mummers plays and Austrian Krampus runs, to modern pagan rituals at Stonehenge and the night in Finland when a young girl is crowned with candles as St Lucy - a martyred Christian girl who also appears as a witch leading a procession of the dead. At wassails and hoodenings and winter gatherings, attended by ghastly, grinning horses, snatching monsters and mysterious visitors, we discover how these traditions originated and how they changed through the centuries, and we ask ourselves: if we can't keep the darkness entirely at bay, might it be fun to let a l
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Lochs and Legends
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Headline Publishing Group Black Wave
Book Synopsis''Blistering'' Sunday Times''Indispensable'' Observer''Fascinating'' The Times''Brilliant'' Peter Frankopan''Revelatory'' Lindsey HilsumA timely and unprecedented examination of how the modern Middle East unravelled, and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. Shortlisted for the Cundhill History Prize 2020''What happened to us?''For decades, the question has haunted the Arab and Muslim world, heard across Iran and Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and in the author''s home country of Lebanon. Was it always so? When did the extremism, intolerance and bloodletting of today displace the region''s cultural promise and diversity?In Black Wave, award-winning journalist and author Kim Ghattas argues that the turning point in the modern history of the Middle East can be located in the toxic confluence of three major events in 1979: the Iranian revolution; the siege of the Ho
£12.34
Taschen GmbH Alchemy & Mysticism
Book SynopsisThe Hermetic Museum takes readers on a magical mystery tour spanning an arc from the medieval cosmogram and images of Christian mysticism, through the fascinating world of alchemy to the art of the Romantic era. The enigmatic hieroglyphs of cabalists, Rosicrucians, and freemasons are shown to be closely linked with the early scientific illustrations in the fields of medicine, chemistry, optics, and color theory. Even for those with no knowledge of the fascinating history of alchemy, this book is a delight to explore. Each richly illustrated chapter begins with an introduction and quotes from alchemists by specialist Alexander Roob. The roots of surrealism and many other more recent artistic movements can be found in this treasure trove.Trade Review“Captures the incredibly rich artistic tradition of alchemy.” * Seattle Weekly *
£16.00
HarperCollins Publishers The Patriarchs
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR FOR POLITICS 2023I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book' Sathnam SangheraBy thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.'In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.Travelling to the world's earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.Despite the push back against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play women included in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present.
£10.44
Kube Publishing Ltd Builders of a Nation
Book SynopsisHistorically, women have been an integral part of spreading our Deen. They have contributed as mothers, wives, supporters, and defenders of our religion. This book allows the reader to take a glimpse into the lives of thirty-seven amazing women. Starting with the women from the Prophet Muhammad''s (SAW) household to female companions and pioneers of Islamic History. Women in Islamic History have had a huge impact on building nations. Many that have been through education, raising children, raising scholars or being scholars themselves. These exceptional women have helped shape the world. These women have a lot of favours upon us, the least we can do is learn about them and share their amazing lives with others so that they can also be inspired.
£11.39
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Radium Girls
Book SynopsisEmma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf book club choiceNew York Times bestseller ‘Fascinating’ Sunday Times ‘Thrilling’ ★★★★★ Mail on SundayAll they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…‘The first thing we asked was, “Does this stuff hurt you?” And they said, “No.” The company said that it wasn’t dangerous, that we didn’t need to be afraid.’ As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from myTrade Review'Kate Moore’s new book will move, shock and anger you.' * The Big Issue *‘This fascinating social history – one that significantly reflects on the class and gender of those involved – [is] Catherine Cookson meets Mad Men . . . The importance of the brave and blighted dial-painters cannot be overstated.’ * Sunday Times *‘Thrilling and carefully crafted.’ * Mail on Sunday *‘Heartfelt.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Kate Moore . . . writes with a sense of drama that carries one through the serpentine twists and turns of this tragic but ultimately uplifting story.’ * The Spectator *‘Fascinating yet tragic.’ * The Sun *‘Heartbreaking . . . what this book illustrates brilliantly is that battling for justice against big corporations isn’t easy.’ * BBC Radio 4, Woman’s Hour *‘A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific and the personal, this richly detailed book sheds a whole new light on this unique element and the role it played in changing workers’ rights. The Radium Girls makes it impossible for you to ignore these women’s incredible stories, and proves why now, more than ever, we can’t afford to ignore science, either.’ * Bustle *‘Carefully researched, the work will stun readers with its descriptions of the glittering artisans who, oblivious to health dangers, twirled camel-hair brushes to fine points using their mouths.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Moore’s harrowing but humane story describes the struggle of a few brave women who took their case to court in a fight for justice that is still resonant today.’ * Saga *‘Kate Moore’s The Radium Girls tells the story of a cohort of women who made history by entering the workforce at the dawn of a new scientific era . . . Moore sheds new light on a dark chapter in American labour history; the radium girls . . . live again in her telling.’ -- Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author‘Kate Moore’s gripping narrative about the betrayal of the radium girls – gracefully told and exhaustively researched – makes this a non-fiction classic. Moore’s compassion for her subjects and her story-telling prowess . . . bring alive a shameful era in America’s industrial history.’ -- Rinker Buck, author of The Oregon Trail
£9.49
Prospect Books La Varenne's Cookery: The French Cook, the French
Book SynopsisModern translation of La Varenne''s The French cook, The French pastry chef, and The French confectioner, published in Paris between 1651 and 1660, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand French cookery of the seventeenth century. Includes a detailed commentary covering the life of La Varenne, the nature of his three works, and period French cooking. La Varenne (1618-1678) was chef to the Marquis d''Uxelles and the first to produce a French cookery book of any substance since Le Viandier almost 300 years earlier, and therefore the first to record the advances in French cooking since the fifteenth century.
£46.75
HarperCollins Publishers Britain in the Middle Ages
Book SynopsisAs in ‘Britain B.C.’ and ‘Britain A.D.’ (also accompanied by Channel 4 series), eminent archaeologist Francis Pryor challenges familiar historical views of the Middle Ages by examining fresh evidence from the ground.Trade Review‘Pryor's performance in this book remains a hugely entertaining one.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘[The book lets in] new and fascinating light.’ Scotsman 'Francis Pryor is that rare combination of a first-rate working archaeologist and a good writer, with priceless ability of being able to explain complex ideas clearly…Herein lies a great pleasure of Pryor's writing…The author's eclectic interests and his passion for a past he considers deeply relevant to the present drive “Britain in the Middle Ages”. This is popular archaeology at its best: engaging, knowledgeable and provocative, driven by the author's zestful, insatiable curiosity. One can only hope that Pryor makes good his threat to write a book on the archaeology of the 20th century. It will be an eye-opener.'’ Times Higher Educational Supplement
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Why Im No Longer Talking to White People About
Book SynopsisEvery voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak'*Updated edition featuring a new afterword*The book that sparked a national conversation. Exploring everything from eradicated black history to the inextricable link between class and race, Why I''m No Longer Talking to White People About Race is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to understand race relations in Britain today.THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018FOYLES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARBLACKWELL''S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR A BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDTrade ReviewA revelation ... Undoubtedly essential * Spectator *This is a book that was begging to be written. This is the kind of book that demands a future where we’ll no longer need such a book. Essential * Marlon James, Man Booker Prize-Winner 2015 *Set to blow apart the understanding of race relations in this country * Stylist *A wake-up call to a nation in denial about the structural and institutional racisms occurring in our homes, offices and communities * Observer *One of the most important books of 2017 * Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant *Eye-opening ... Honest, opinionated and pretty kick-ass * Elle *Blistering … This book is essential reading for anyone even remotely interested in living in a fairer, kinder and more equal world * Paris Lees *Eviscerating ... A riveting deep-dive into the history and communication of race in Britain … This book is destined to become cult * Red *The black British Bible * Gal-Dem *Political, accessible and uncompromising * Guardian, Books of the Year *Vital dialogue from a powerful voice * Daily Telegraph *A thunderclap of a book -- Catherine Johnson, Jhalak Prize judgeHas become essential to understanding what life is like in the UK for many people of colour. A must-read for everyone * Elle Book Club *
£9.89
Atlantic Books The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da
Book SynopsisIn 1498 a young captain sailed from Portugal, circumnavigated Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, and discovered the sea route to the Indies, opening up access to the fabled wealth of the East. It was the longest voyage known to history; the ships were pushed to their limits, their crews were racked by storms and devastated by disease. However, the greatest enemy was neither nature nor the fear of venturing into unknown worlds. With blood-red Crusader crosses emblazoned on their sails, the explorers arrived in the heart of the Muslim East at a time when the old hostilities between Christianity and Islam had intensified. In two voyages that spanned six years, Vasco da Gama would fight a running sea battle that would ultimately change the fate of three continents. The Last Crusade is an epic tale of spies, intrigue, and treachery; of bravado, brinkmanship, and confused - often comical collisions - between cultures encountering one another for the first time. With the world once again tipping back East, The Last Crusade offers a key to understanding age-old religious and cultural rivalries resurgent today.Trade ReviewA stirringly epic book...Gama's incident-rich voyage [is a] thrilling narrative * Sunday Times *This excellent book tells the story [of Vasco da Gama] with the swagger and excitement it deserves * Spectator *Lively and ambitious... Cliff has a novelist's gift for depicting character... He brings sixteenth-century Portugal in all its splendor and squalor pungently to life * New York Times, 'Notable Books of the Year' 2011 *
£15.29
Little, Brown Book Group A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages
Book SynopsisUsing wide-ranging evidence, Martyn Whittock shines a light on Britain in the Middle Ages, bringing it vividly to life in this fascinating new portrait that brings together the everyday and the extraordinary.Thus we glimpse 11th-century rural society through a conversation between a ploughman and his master.The life of Dick Whittington illuminates the rise of the urban elite. The stories of Roger 'the Raker' who drowned in his own sewage, a 'merman' imprisoned in Orford Castle and the sufferings of the Jews of Bristol reveal the extraordinary diversity of medieval society. Through these characters and events - and using the latest discoveries and research - the dynamic and engaging panorama of medieval England is revealed.
£8.24
Icon Books Come Fly the World: The Women of Pan Am at War
Book SynopsisAt a time when that 1960s notion of air travel as decadent and exceptional is experiencing an unexpected revival, this book ... could be the G&T in a plastic glass you need.' The SpectatorTravel writer Julia Cooke's exhilarating portrait of Pan Am stewardesses in the Mad Men era.Come Fly the World tells the story of the stewardesses who served on the iconic Pan American Airways between 1966 and 1975 - and of the unseen diplomatic role they played on the world stage.Alongside the glamour was real danger, as they flew soldiers to and from Vietnam and staffed Operation Babylift - the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon. Cooke's storytelling weaves together the true stories of women like Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few African American stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of a jet-set life.In the process, Cooke shows how the sexualized coffee-tea-or-me stereotype was at odds with the importance of what they did, and with the freedom, power and sisterhood they achieved.Trade ReviewJulia Cooke's entertaining, sexism-skewering history shows how female flight attendants were also flag-flying diplomats' * Financial Times *Cooke is good on the way an industry with rigid, deep-rooted notions about female service, looks and behaviour became a ticket to unparalleled independence . At a time when that 1960s notion of air travel as decadent and exceptional is experiencing an unexpected revival, this book . could be the G&T in a plastic glass you need.' * The Spectator *
£9.34
HarperCollins Publishers The Patriarchs
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR FOR POLITICS 2023I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book' Sathnam SangheraBy thinking about gendered inequality as rooted in something unalterable within us, we fail to see it for what it is: something more fragile that has had to be constantly remade and reasserted.'In this bold and radical book, award-winning science journalist Angela Saini goes in search of the true roots of gendered oppression, uncovering a complex history of how male domination became embedded in societies and spread across the globe from prehistory into the present.Travelling to the world's earliest known human settlements, analysing the latest research findings in science and archaeology, and tracing cultural and political histories from the Americas to Asia, she overturns simplistic universal theories to show that what patriarchy is and how far it goes back really depends on where you are.Despite the push back against sexism and exploitation in our own time, even revolutionary efforts to bring about equality have often ended in failure and backlash. Saini ends by asking what part we all play women included in keeping patriarchal structures alive, and why we need to look beyond the old narratives to understand why it persists in the present.Trade Review‘This is an impressive, breathtaking and thought-provoking book which unwraps the concept and history of patriarchy with clear intellectual precision’ Financial Times ‘An urgent and necessary wake-up call of a book, teeming with research without being taut . . . The Patriarchs is a hopeful, essential read, not just for feminists, but for anyone with a stake in existence’ Irish Times ‘I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book. And for such a serious topic, I was surprised to be greatly entertained too. Angela is the best possible guide’ Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland ‘The Patriarchs is an optimistic book, therefore. Not least, it shows that more equal societies are possible and do thrive – historically, now and everywhere. Seeing things from other cultural perspectives really does reveal the way we live in a very different light’ Guardian ‘A rigorous and illuminating read’ inews ‘A deep and incisive look at the historical origins of patriarchal structures we are still fighting today. A must-read for every feminist’ Rafia Zakaria, author of Against White Feminism ‘This is a truly excellent, important and insightful book’ Janina Ramirez, author of Femina ‘Bold, incisive, and beautifully told, The Patriarchs is a truly riveting investigation into the origins and consequences of structural power. The depth and originality of Angela Saini’s thought and research is breath-taking, and world-changing. A phenomenally important and deeply enjoyable book’ Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women ‘Saini brings sparkling intelligence to this debate. She is brilliant at ferreting out intriguing nuggets of information and synthesising them into a big but not over-simplified picture . . . How stirring it is to read such an optimistic view of our past and of our future’ Observer
£18.00
Atlantic Books Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain
Book SynopsisThe brand new book by Pen Vogler, Stuffed, is available now***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***A Book of the Year in the Daily Mail, Independent, Spectator and The Times & Sunday Times Finalist for the Guild of Food Writers Food Book Award 2021'Sharp, rich and superbly readable... Fascinating' Sunday Times'Utterly delicious' Observer'Superb' 'Book of the Week', The Times'Terrific' 'Book of the Week', Guardian'I loved it.' Monty Don'A brilliant romp of a book.' Jay RaynerAvocado or beans on toast? Gin or claret? Nut roast or game pie? Milk in first or milk in last? And do you have tea, dinner or supper in the evening?In this fascinating social history of food in Britain, Pen Vogler examines the origins of our eating habits and reveals how they are loaded with centuries of class prejudice. Covering such topics as fish and chips, roast beef, avocados, tripe, fish knives and the surprising origins of breakfast, Scoff reveals how in Britain we have become experts at using eating habits to make judgements about social background.Bringing together evidence from cookbooks, literature, artworks and social records from 1066 to the present, Vogler traces the changing fortunes of the food we encounter today, and unpicks the aspirations and prejudices of the people who have shaped our cuisine for better or worse.'With commendable appetite and immense attention to detail Pen Vogler skewers the enduring relationship between class and food in Britain. A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time.' Jay RaynerTrade ReviewSharp, rich and superbly readable... Vogler is sensitive to language, and she wields it brilliantly herself. Bons mot jostle with the kind of truth-skewering opinions that win reputations for restaurant critics... Ultimately, Vogler reveals why we eat what we do today - and it is fascinating. * Sunday Times *Utterly delicious... I can't remember the last time I read a food book so interesting and so lively... The range of Vogler's reading is extraordinary... She has cooked up a banquet, and everything on the table is worth tasting at least once. * Observer *This excellent history is full of fascinating facts about the food we eat... More tellingly, it pricks the pomposity of many of our social conventions surrounding eating. * Daily Mail *A rich, persuasive diet of social friction, anecdotes and witty observation... It's a book to make the reader both think and salivate. * Financial Times *Pen Vogler's history of food in Britain is a feast of little dishes, all of them delicious... She has wise things to say about nation, health and, especially, class, and she even finds room for one or two recipes. -- Dominic Sandbrook * 'History Books of the Year', Sunday Times *Pen Vogler provides a fascinating social history of British food through the centuries and throws in a selection of enticing recipes from the past for good measure. * 'History Books of the Year', Daily Mail *Taste in food, as Pen Vogler shows in this erudite yet lively compendium, is not just about preferred flavour, but what items in your shopping basket say about who you are or, more precisely, who you aspire to be... Scoff is full of such fascinating, intelligent dissections of familiar foods and culinary practices... Superb. * 'Book of the Week', The Times *A terrific history, in bite-sized chunks, of how food and drink relates to social status. * 'Book of the Week', Guardian *A superbly researched romp through food, cooking and class in Britain, looking at everything from brown bread versus white to the dangers of the dinner party. Full of history, Scoff is never heavy, thanks to Vogler's writing style and wit. * 'Best Food Books of 2020', Independent *So utterly fascinating that I read it in great greedy gulps, like a novel. Vogler is incredibly good company as she dismantles pretty much every assumption we make about how we, and other people, eat. -- India Knight * Sunday Times *Always entertaining... Scoff shows how British people developed a very convoluted relationship to food. -- Sheila Dillon * Mail on Sunday *I loved it. It is a history and celebration of British food and eating habits and follows in the honourable tradition of Food in England by Dorothy Hartley, but is set in tone and content firmly in the 21st century. -- Monty DonWith commendable appetite and immense attention to detail Pen Vogler skewers the enduring relationship between class and food in Britain. A brilliant romp of a book that gets to the very heart of who we think we are, one delicious dish at a time. -- Jay RaynerIn Scoff, Pen shows us an insight into the background of our favourite British food traditions through the divide of class. How a poor man's food moved to the posh dinner table and how British a curry really is. Illustrated by the words of much-loved English cookery writers and novelists, and Pen's own witty style of writing, this book is an absolute gem to read. -- Regula YsewijnFascinating... This is a pleasurable compilation, scholarly but not dry, with sharp imagery, quiet wit and lively personal stories. -- Clarissa Hyman * TLS *Lively and detailed... Scoff is a pacy social history, exploring how foods have fallen in and out of favour and eating habits have moved between classes over centuries. * New Statesman *Sensational... An absolute feast. -- Tom HollandExcellent... A fun read... with some fabulous facts, tied together in an engaging and thought-provoking way. * BBC History *Vogler's book is a series of dazzling essays on subjects such as venison pasties, spices, Christmas pudding and Brussels sprouts. The learning and the range of references, from obscure Italian Renaissance texts to Bridget Jones, are astounding. * Literary Review *Has much to say about centuries of Britain's past and its place in the world, and the fact that it's peppered with historical recipes makes it all the more appealing. * History Revealed *Pen Vogler is a smart, waspish guide to our national cuisine and what it tells us about ourselves. In short, sharp essays, she looks at, among other things, the class status of avocados and the revolutionary status of vegetarianism. Her chapter on the social history of tea drinking is a particular delight. * The Herald *Scoff is an essential book about food. It unpacks the hamper of British food - not so much our spongy, milky puddings, our nursery food, our gut-busting breakfasts, but the meaning of what we eat... Astonishing to think that nobody has done this book before. -- Rachel Johnson * Air Mail *Scoff is entertaining and thought provoking in equal measure - a thoroughly engaging read... It certainly made me reassess how I have viewed certain foods in the past. -- Sam BiltonThe theme of this thoroughly enjoyable, lively and humorous book is how social class has influenced what, when and how we have eaten down the centuries... It is a story of constant change and a bewildering array of influences, inextricably woven into our national story. * 'The Best Books About Food', Country & Town House *Table of Contents1: Tea and Confusion 2: Brit.ish 3: Foreign Introductions 4: Rooms, Plates and Cutlery 5: Disappearances and reappearances 6: Fads, Fasts and Health 7: Country and Town 8: Conclusion
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group A Brief History of Misogyny
Book SynopsisIn this compelling, powerful book, highly respected writer and commentator Jack Holland sets out to answer a daunting question: how do you explain the oppression and brutalization of half the world''s population by the other half, throughout history? The result takes the reader on an eye-opening journey through centuries, continents and civilizations as it looks at both historical and contemporary attitudes to women. Encompassing the Church, witch hunts, sexual theory, Nazism and pro-life campaigners, we arrive at today''s developing world, where women are increasingly and disproportionately at risk because of radicalised religious belief, famine, war and disease. Well-informed and researched, highly readable and thought-provoking, this is no outmoded feminist polemic: it''s a refreshingly straightforward investigation into an ancient, pervasive and enduring injustice. It deals with the fundamentals of human existence -- sex, love, violence -- that have shaped the lives
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Salt
Book SynopsisMark Kurlansky is the author of 23 books of fiction, nonfiction, children's writing. His best-selling Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World won the 1999 James Beard Award for Food Writing and the 1999 Glenfiddich Award. His other works include: Salt, The Basque History of the World and the short story collection The White Man in the Tree. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.Trade ReviewRefreshing and invigorating, full of fascinating fact * Independent on Sunday *This is an extraordinary little book, unputdownable, written in the most lyrical, flowing style which paints vivid pictures and, at the same time, punches into place hard facts that stop you dead in your tracks. A compulsive read -- Sir Roy Strong * Express on Sunday *Crisply and elegantly written - piques the appetite and sharpens the senses * Sunday Telegraph *A rich stew about every salt-influenced concoction and creation, from the first sausages and cured hams and fish sauces to the invention of parmesan, tomato ketchup and Tabasco sauce * Financial Times *An entertainingly anecdotal and lovingly partisan history. * Independent *
£11.69
Cornerstone The Hiram Key
Book SynopsisWas Jesus a Freemason? The discovery of evidence of the most secret rites of Freemasonry in an ancient Egyptian tomb led authors Chris Knight and Bob Lomas into and extraordinary investigation of 4, 000 years of history. This astonishing bestseller raises questions that have challenged some of Western civilisation''s most cherished beliefs: Were scrolls bearing the secret teachings of Jesus buried beneath Herod''s Temple shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman''s? Did the Knights Templar, the forerunners of modern Freemasonry, excavate these scrolls in the twelfth century? And were these scrolls subsequently buried underneath a reconstruction of Herod''s Temple, Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland - where they are now awaiting excavation? The authors'' discoveries shed a new light on Masonic ceremony and overturn out understanding of history.Trade ReviewA breakthrough book. The last four thousand years are never going to look the same again * Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Rome
Book SynopsisThis beautifully written, informative study is a portrait, a history and a superb guide book, capturing fully the seductive beauty and the many layered past of the Eternal City. It covers 3,000 years of history from the city's quasi-mythical origins, through the Etruscan kings, the opulent glory of classical Rome, the decadence and decay of the Middle Ages and the beauty and corruption of the Renaissance, to its time at the heart of Mussolini's fascist Italy. Exploring the city's streets and buildings, peopled with popes, gladiators, emperors, noblemen and peasants, this volume details the turbulent and dramatic history of Rome in all its depravity and grandeur.Table of ContentsPart 1: myths, monarchs and republicans; imperial Rome; bread and circuses; catacombs and Christians; infamy and anarchy; saints, tyrants and anti-popes; "the refuge of all the nations"; Renaissance and decadence; patrons and parasites; the sack of Rome. Part 2: recovery and reform; Bernini and the Baroque; il settecento; Napoleonic interlude; the Risorgimento and the Roman question; royal Rome; Roma fascista; epilogue - the eternal city. Part 3: notes on topography, buildings and works of art.
£19.80
Penguin Books Ltd Seasons in the Sun Britain 19741979
Book SynopsisDominic Sandbrook''s magnificent account of the late 1970s in Britain The late 1970s were Britain''s years of strife and the good life. They saw inflation, riots, the peak of trade union power - and also the birth of home computers, the rise of the ready meal and the triumph of a Grantham grocer''s daughter who would change everything. Dominic Sandbrook recreates this extraordinary period in all its chaos and contradiction, revealing it as a turning point in our recent history, where, in everything from families and schools to punk and Doctor Who, the future of the nation was being decided.''Magnificent ... if you lived through the late Seventies - or, for that matter, even if you didn''t - don''t miss this book'' Mail on Sunday''Sandbrook has created a specific style of narrative history, blending high politics, social change and popular culture ... always readable and assured ... [A] splendid book'' Stephen Robinson, SundayTrade ReviewMagnificent ... if you lived through the late Seventies - or, for that matter, even if you didn't - don't miss this book. * Mail on Sunday *Sandbrook has created a specific style of narrative history, blending high politics, social change and popular culture ... always readable and assured ... Anyone who genuinely believes we have never been so badly governed should read this splendid book. -- Stephen Robinson * Sunday Times *Nuanced ... Sandbrook has rummaged deep into the cultural life of the era to remind us how rich it was, from Bowie to Dennis Potter, Martin Amis to William Golding. -- Damian Whitworth * The Times *Sharply and fluently written ... entertaining ... By making you quite nostalgic for the present, Sandbrook has done a public service. * Evening Standard *
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd Brazil A Biography
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEngrossing ... eye-opening ... an enormously refreshing treat -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *With great skill the authors have managed to combine clarity and consistency, substance and fluency, historical precision and a text that is a joy to read * Lira Neto *A thoughtful and profound journey into the soul of Brazil...The Brazil that emerges from this book is, indeed, a fascinating, complex, multicoloured, contradictory and challenging organism, more like a living being than a political, cultural and geographical entity -- Laurentino Gomes * Folha de São Paulo *Coinciding with the election of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, this epic history of the world's sixth most populous country is a shocking, dramatic and utterly engrossing read. The details of Brazil's history, from the 19th-century empire to the suicide of the quasi-fascist dictator Getulio Vargas, are largely unknown to British readers, but that only makes its dark story all the more fascinating. * The Sunday Times, Books of the Year *Detailed and deeply reasoned . . . Illuminating, engrossing, and consistently thoughtful. -- Larry Rohter * The New York Review of Books *Compelling and insightful . . . One of Schwarcz and Starling's great strengths is their dissection of changing racial identity. -- Geoff Dyer * Financial Times *Evocative . . . Schwarcz and Starling adopt what they call a biographical approach: an attempt to tell the collective stories of the generations of Brazilians that have lived . . . They achieve this with flair in their rich evocations of colonial and imperial Brazil . . . Rich and absorbing. -- Patrick Wilcken * The Times Literary Supplement *
£17.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Dawn of Everything
Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2022''Pacey and potentially revolutionary'' Sunday Times ''Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read'' The Guardian For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what''s really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action.''This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast'' Nassim Nicholas Taleb''The most profound and exciting book I''ve read in thirty years'' Robin D. G. KelleyTrade ReviewA boldly ambitious work ... entertaining and thought-provoking ... an impressively large undertaking that succeeds in making us reconsider not just the remote past but also the too-close-to-see present, as well as the common thread that is our shifting and elusive nature. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *What a gift ... Graeber and Wengrow offer a history of the past 30,000 years that is not only wildly different from anything we're used to, but also far more interesting: textured, surprising, paradoxical, inspiring. -- William Deresiewicz * The Atlantic *Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read ... As we seek new, sustainable ways to organise our world, we need to understand the full range of ways our ancestors thought and lived. And we must certainly question conventional versions of our history which we have accepted, unexamined, for far too long. -- David Priestland * The Guardian *Pacey and potentially revolutionary ... This is more than an argument about the past, it is about the human condition in the present. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *A fascinating, radical, and playful entry into a seemingly exhaustively well-trodden genre, the grand evolutionary history of humanity. It seeks nothing less than to completely upend the terms on which the Standard Narrative rests ... erudite, compelling, generative, and frequently remarkably funny ... once you start thinking like Graeber and Wengrow, it's difficult to stop. -- Emily M. Kern * Boston Review *A spectacular, flashy and ground-breaking retelling of human history, blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom. Full of fresh thinking, it's a pleasure to read and offers a bracing challenge on every page. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * BBC History *A timely, intriguing, original and provocative take on the most recent thirty thousand years of human history ... consistently thought-provoking ... In forcing us to re-examine some of the cosy assumptions about our deep past, Graeber and Wengrow remind us very clearly of the perils of holding ourselves captive to a deterministic vision of human history as we try to shape our future. -- James Suzman * Literary Review *An engrossing series of insights ... They re-inject humanity into our distant forebears, suggesting that our prevailing story about human history - that not much innovation occurred in human societies until the invention of agriculture - is utterly wrong. -- Anthony Doerr * Observer *Fascinating, thought-provoking, groundbreaking. A book that will generate debate for years to come. -- Rutger BregmanThe Dawn of Everything is also the radical revision of everything, liberating us from the familiar stories about humanity's past that are too often deployed to impose limitations on how we imagine humanity's future. Instead they tell us that what human beings are most of all is creative, from the beginning, so that there is no one way we were or should or could be. Another of the powerful currents running through this book is a reclaiming of Indigenous perspectives as a colossal influence on European thought, a valuable contribution to decolonizing global histories. -- Rebecca SolnitSynthesizing much recent scholarship, The Dawn of Everything briskly overthrows old and obsolete assumptions about the past, renews our intellectual and spiritual resources, and reveals, miraculously, the future as open-ended. It is the most bracing book I have read in recent years. -- Pankaj MishraThis is not a book. This is an intellectual feast. There is not a single chapter that does not (playfully) disrupt well seated intellectual beliefs. It is deep, effortlessly iconoclastic, factually rigorous, and pleasurable to read. -- Nassim Nicholas TalebA fascinating inquiry, which leads us to rethink the nature of human capacities, as well as the proudest moments of our own history, and our interactions with and indebtedness to the cultures and forgotten intellectuals of indigenous societies. Challenging and illuminating. -- Noam ChomskyThe book has captured the public imagination ... and is being cited as the reason why students apply to do archaeology courses. It's probably the biggest boost to the field since Indiana Jones escaped from the snake pit. -- Andrew Anthony * The Observer *Graeber and Wengrow have effectively overturned everything I ever thought about the history of the world ... The authors don't just debunk the myths, they give a thrilling intellectual history of how they came about, why they persist, and what it all means for the just future we hope to create. The most profound and exciting book I've read in thirty years. -- Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical ImaginationScholarly, irreverent, radical and genuinely ground-breaking - my kind of non-fiction. -- Emma DabiriA massive, bracing book that turns ideas like progress and civilization inside out. It looks at the past with excitement and the future with optimism and invites you to do the same. -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce * The Tablet *A fascinating, intellectually challenging big book about big ideas. * Kirkus *An act of intellectual effrontery that recalls Karl Marx ... The book's a gem. Its dense scholarly detail, compiling archaeological findings from some 30,000 years of global civilizations, is leavened by both freewheeling jokes and philosophic passages of startling originality ... The Dawn takes to the open sea to argue that things are, above all, subject to change. -- Virginia Heffernan * Wired *Are you looking for some hope in a dark season? The Dawn of Everything is a line of light at the edge of the world - an exploration of the radically different ways societies have been organised throughout time ... exciting, fresh and, yes, hopeful. -- Naomi Alderman * The Spectator *A work of dizzying ambition, one that seeks to rescue stateless societies from the condescension with which they're usually treated ... Our forebears crafted their societies intentionally and intelligently: This is the fundamental, electrifying insight of The Dawn of Everything. It's a book that refuses to dismiss long-ago peoples as corks floating on the waves of prehistory. Instead, it treats them as reflective political thinkers from whom we might learn something. -- Daniel Immerwahr * The Nation *Not content with different answers to the great questions of human history, Graeber and Wengrow insist on revolutionizing the very questions we ask. The result: a dazzling, original, and convincing account of the rich, playful, reflective, and experimental symposia that 'pre-modern' indigenous life represents; and a challenging re-writing of the intellectual history of anthropology and archaeology. The Dawn of Everything deserves to become the port of embarkation for virtually all subsequent work on these massive themes. Those who do embark will have, in the two Davids, incomparable navigators. -- James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University, author of Seeing Like a StateGraeber and Wengrow debug cliches about humanity's deep history to open up our thinking about what's possible in the future. There is no more vital or timely project. -- Jaron LanierAs dense, dizzying and ambitious as the title suggests, it offers a new take on 30,000 years of humanity, suggesting our present-centric focus does a disservice to the fascinating lives of our forebears, and providing fresh context for the modern condition. * City A.M. *A truly crucial book ... an engrossing and revelatory re-examination of the human past challenges us to reject outdated ideas and consider new directions for our future. -- Natalie Bennett * Politic Home *A work that is at once dense, funny, thorough, joyful, unabashedly intelligent, and infinitely readable. * The Rumpus *
£15.29
Oxford University Press Portraiture
Book SynopsisThis fascinating new book explores the world of portraiture from a number of vantage points, and asks key questions about its nature. How has portraiture changed over the centuries? How have portraits represented their subjects, and how have they been interpreted? Issues of identity, modernity, and gender are considered within a cultural and historical context.Shearer West uncovers much intriguing detail about a genre that has often been seen as purely representational, featuring examples from African tribes to Renaissance princes, and from ''stars'' such as David and Victoria Beckham to ordinary people. In the process, she shows us how to communicate with the past in an exciting new way.Trade Reviewa fascinating book...gorgeous examples * Independent *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. What is a Portrait? ; 2. Functions of Portraiture ; 3. Power and Status ; 4. Group Portraiture ; 5. The Stages of Life ; 6. Gender and Portraiture ; 7. Self-Portraiture ; 8. Portraiture and Modernism ; 9. Identities ; Notes ; Annotated Bibliography ; Index ; Museums and Websites
£19.97
Oxford University Press Invisible Agents
Book SynopsisIt would be easy for the modern reader to conclude that women had no place in the world of early modern espionage, with a few seventeenth-century women spies identified and then relegated to the footnotes of history. If even the espionage carried out by Susan Hyde, sister of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, during the turbulent decades of civil strife in Britain can escape the historiographer''s gaze, then how many more like her lurk in the archives? Nadine Akkerman''s search for an answer to this question has led to the writing of Invisible Agents, the very first study to analyse the role of early modern women spies, demonstrating that the allegedly-male world of the spy was more than merely infiltrated by women. This compelling and ground-breaking contribution to the history of espionage details a series of case studies in which women -- from playwright to postmistress, from lady-in-waiting to laundry woman -- acted as spies, sourcing and passing on confidential information on account of political and religious convictions or to obtain money or power. The struggle of the She-Intelligencers to construct credibility in their own time is mirrored in their invisibility in modern historiography. Akkerman has immersed herself in archives, libraries, and private collections, transcribing hundreds of letters, breaking cipher codes and their keys, studying invisible inks, and interpreting riddles, acting as a modern-day Spymistress to unearth plots and conspiracies that have long remained hidden by history.Trade ReviewAkkerman has a knack for telling a good story, and her vignettes of strong, independent, and clever women paint a lively picture of seventeenth-century female spies. What distinguishes her book from most other academic monographs, however, is her very personal approach, which more traditional scholars might frown upon...Most of all, however, the book is proof that there is no excuse any more for excluding women from the narratives of mid-seventeenth-century political activism either on the royalist or parliamentarian side. * Gaby Mahlberg, Journal of Modern History *Revelatory. * Simon Heffer, Books of the Year 2018: History, The Daily Telegraph *A history book that will surely inspire future fiction. A work of deep scholarship and clever detective work. * Leanda de Lisle, Books of the Year 2018, BBC History Magazine *A dense, hugely researched and admirably learned history of women spies during the Civil War. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *A brilliant book. * Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph *A triumph of scholarly rigour, original thinking and crisp prose. It is, in every sense, a cracking book. * Jessie Childs, The Daily Telegraph *Invisible Agents is a work of deep scholarship that suggests Akkerman would have made an excellent spy catcher. * Leanda de Lisle, The Times *Brimming with fascinating detail ... Akkerman's archival dissections admirably emulate the painstaking vigilance of early modern spy masters. * Clare Jackson, The Times Literary Supplement *Pioneering ... a most valuable book, highlighting women's contribution to the conspiratorial world of mid-17th-century Britain, while also offering a thought provoking exercise in gender and historical methods. * Ann Hughes, BBC History Magazine *An intriguing book ... [Akkerman's] own remarkable ability to ferret out secrets is often as great as that of the spies she writes about. Time after time, women whose lives, careers and even names have been forgotten or misread spring into stealthy, double-dealing life on the page. * Adrian Tinniswood, Literary Review *Invisible Agents breaks significant new ground in its focus on the special roles of Royalist and Parliamentarian 'she-intelligencers' and their hidden world. This is a model monograph, meticulously researched and relentlessly questioning, which succeeds admirably in uncovering closely guarded secrets. * R. C. Richardson, Times Higher Education *immensely readable...Akkerman has a knack for telling a good story, and her vignettes of strong, independent, and clever women paint a lively picture of seventeenth-century female spies. * Gaby Mahlberg, Journal of Modern History *Richly illustrated, scrupulously researched. * Frances E. Dolan, Renaissance Quarterly *This is a book full of rich and engaging details...this is a testament to the thoroughness of her academic practice. Ultimately, Invisible Agents is a text that serves as an invaluable starting point for the re-situation of women into narratives of early modern spying, and political history, offering readers across disciplines a varied and voluminous history of women's roles in seventeenth-century espionage. * Rose Hilton, AC Review of Books *A ground-breaking book looking at a previously unexplored aspect of the world of espionage ... Founded on work in a wide variety of archives, many of them previously undiscovered, Akkerman shines a light on one of the dark corners of the world of spies. * Military History Monthly *For a serious examination of the role of women in intelligence, turn to Nadine Akkerman's Invisible Agents. Doubly invisible, both as agents and in historical records, these women were at the heart of the intelligence network, yet they have never hitherto received the 'glory of Martyrs'. * Teresa Levonian Cole, Country Life *Fascinating and insightful ... Akkerman lifts the veil not only on a number of individual she-intelligencers, but also on the complex and varied business of female espionage in mid-seventeenth-century Britain. * Lena Steveker, English Studies *Akkerman deftly handles the challenges of writing about [female spies], assembling fragments of evidence where she can, acknowledging gaps where she must. Her book has much to teach us not only about espionage but about the creation of historical narratives. * Rachel Weil, American Historical Review *A dazzling study of a truly neglected subject, which ably demonstrates the gendered dimension of early modern spy-craft, and the unique ways in which women were able to operate. It is written by one of the foremost early modern textual-historical scholars of her generation and marshals an almost unmatched expertise in working with an impressive range of European and international archives of the period. The book delivers a series of fascinating case studies - including Charles I's prison correspondence, Secretary Thurloe, as well as female practitioners Susan Hyde, Elizabeth Murray, Elizabeth Carey, Anne Halkett, and Aphra Behn - all of which rest on a remarkable and overwhelming weight of archival research. This is an important book that will be widely read and cited, and which will have significant impact on many fields not least those of early modern gender and women's writing, but also political and diplomatic history. * Professor James Daybell, University of Plymouth *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Invisible Agents, She-Intelligencers, or Spies Invisible by Birth 1. Ciphered Pillow Talk with Charles I in Prison, 1646-1649: 'intrigues, which at that time could be best managed and carried on by ladies' 2. The Credibility and Archival Silence of She-Intelligencers: Women on the Council of State's Payroll 3. Susan Hyde. a Spy's Gendered Fate Punishment: Hide and Seek the Sealed Knot 4.I Elizabeth Murray, Loyal Subject, Lover or Double Agent?: Rumour, Hearsay and the Sins of the Father 4.II Elizabeth Murray's Continental Foray: Incompetence, Invisible Inks, and Internal Wrangling 5. Elizabeth Carey, Lady Mordaunt: The 'Enigma' of the Great Trust 6. Anne, Lady Halkett's 'True Accountt': A Married Woman Is Never to Blame 7. Aphra Behn's Letters from Antwerp, July 1666-April 1667: Intelligence Reports or Epistolary Fiction? Epilogue: Invisibility and Blanck Marshall, the Nameless and Genderless Agent Bibliography Index
£13.49
Oxford University Press A Journal of the Plague Year
Book Synopsis''a Casement violently opened just over my Head, and a Woman gave three frightful Skreetches, and then cry''d, Oh! Death, Death, Death!''Purporting to be an eye-witness account, the Journal of the Plague Year is a record of the devastation wrought by the Great Plague of 1665 on the city of London. Defoe''s fictional narrator, known only as ''H. F.'', recounts in vivid detail the progress of the disease and the desperate attempts to contain it. He catalogues the rising death toll and the transformation of the city as its citizens flee and those who remain live in fear and despair. Above all it is the stories of appalling human suffering and grief that give Defoe''s extraordinary fiction its compelling historical veracity.This revised edition includes comprehensive notes, a complete topographical index, and a new introduction to the greatest work of plague literature. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from arouTrade ReviewThe London of an earlier period - 1665 - is brought vividly and pungently back to life. * Cannock and Rugeley Chronicle *Gruesomely compulsive reading. * Colin Waters, Sunday Herald *
£8.54
Oxford University Press Archaeology
Book SynopsisThis entertaining Very Short Introduction reflects the enduring popularity of archaeology - a subject which appeals as a pastime, career, and academic discipline, encompasses the whole globe, and surveys 2.5 million years. From deserts to jungles, from deep caves to mountain tops, from pebble tools to satellite photographs, from excavation to abstract theory, archaeology interacts with nearly every other discipline in its attempts to reconstruct the past.In this new edition, Paul Bahn brings the text up to date, including information about new discoveries and interpretations in the field, and highlighting the impact of developments such as the potential use of DNA and stable isotopes in teeth, as well the effect technology and science are having on archaeological exploration. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Very lively indeed and remarkably perceptive - a quite brilliant and level-headed look at the curious world of archaeology. * Barry Cunliffe, University of Oxford *It is often said that well-written books are rare in archaeology, but this is a model of good writing for a general audience. [The] chapters rattle along, packed with information by never getting bogged down in too much details. The book is full of jokes, but its serious message-that archaeology can be a rich and fascinating subject-it gets across with more panache than any other book I know. * Simon Denison, editor of British Archaeology *Table of ContentsFURTHER READING; INDEX
£9.49
Dorling Kindersley Ltd Great Designs
Book SynopsisPhilip Wilkinson has written many books about architecture and history, including Great Buildings and the award-winning Amazing Buildings, as well as Turn Back Time: The High Street, written to accompany a successful BBC television series. Philip gives talks on historic buildings and their interiors, appears on the radio, and regularly blogs about buildings (englishbuildings.blogspot.co.uk).
£19.80
Dorling Kindersley Ltd The Classical Music Book
Book SynopsisLearn about the world''s greatest classical compositions and musical traditions in The Classical Music Book.Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Classic Music in this overview guide to the subject, brilliant for novices looking to find out more and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Classical Music Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in. This captivating book will broaden your understanding of Classical Music, with:- More than 90 pieces of world-famous music - Packed with facts, charts, timelines and graphs to help explain core concepts- A visual approach to big subjects with striking illustrations and graphics throughout- Easy to follow text makes topics accessible for people at any level of understandingThe ClassicaTrade ReviewIt really is a fantastic book. * Steve Wright BBC Radio 2 *An engaging and informative read. * BBC Music Magazine *If you enjoy classical music and want to know more, The Classical Music Book is for you. * People's Friend *
£18.99
Yale University Press Islam
Book SynopsisAn examination of the rise of Islam, the life of Muhammad, and the Islamic principles of faith. Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair describe the golden age of the Abbasids, the Mongol invasions, and the great Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires that emerged in their wake.Trade Review“A timely study and important background to understanding the faith of more than one-fifth of the world’s population today.”—John L. Esposito, University Professor, Georgetown University and author of Islam: The Straight Path and editor of The Oxford History of Islam
£14.24
Hodder & Stoughton How The Irish Saved Civilization
Book Synopsis''Shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing''Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler''s Ark''A small treasure''New York Times ''This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account''Sunday TelegraphIreland played the central role in maintaining European culture when the dark ages settled on Europe in the fifth century: as Rome was sacked by Visigoths and its empire collapsed, Ireland became ''the isle of saints and scholars'' that enabled the classical and religious heritage to be saved.In his compelling and entertaining narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Irish monks and scrines copied the mauscripts of both pagan and Christian writers, including Homer and Aristotle, while libraries on the continent were lost forever. Bringing the past and its characters to life, Cahill captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilisation.Trade ReviewHOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILISATION is a shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing history of the origins of the Irish soul and its huge contribution to Western culture ... For its portrait of St Patrick alone, it will resonate in the memory. * Thomas Keneally *Lyrical, playful, penetrating and serious ... an entirely engaging, delectable voyage into the distant past, a small treasure * Richard Bernstein in the New York Times *This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account ... An elegant book * P.J. Kavanagh in the Sunday Telegraph *
£10.44
John Murray Press Crete The Battle and the Resistance
Book SynopsisAcclaimed historian and best-selling author Antony Beevor vividly brings to life the epic struggles that took place in Second World War Crete - reissued with a new introduction.''The best book we have got on Crete'' ObserverThe Germans expected their airborne attack on Crete in 1941 - a unique event in the history of warfare - to be a textbook victory based on tactical surprise. They had no idea that the British, using Ultra intercepts, knew their plans and had laid a carefully-planned trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war, but a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle round. Nor did the conflict end there. Ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance, aided by a dramatic cast of British officers from Special Operations Executive.Trade ReviewAntony Beevor's unerring flair for the climate and the feel of the conflict ... his insight and his grasp of these events make them seem as though they had happened last week * Patrick Leigh Fermor, Daily Telegraph *Excellent . . . an arresting account of the whole war on Crete, including the ghastly experiences of the Cretans under German occupation * John Keegan, Sunday Telegraph *The best book we have got on Crete * Michael Foot, Observer *Beevor's account is excellent: fresh, lively and peppered with anecdotes * Mail on Sunday *'A new paperback edition is welcome for two reasons; reminding us that Beevor is a writer and historian of rare ability and for starkly illustrating the variables of war' * Neville Smith, Lloyd's List *
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Gender Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe
Book SynopsisAt a time when issues of gender and sexuality are as prominent as they have ever been, Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe provides an authoritative exploration of the history of these deeply connected subjects over the last 250 years. Incorporating a blend of history and historiography, Annette F. Timm and Joshua A. Sanborn write engagingly on gender and sexuality in a way that illuminates our understanding of historical change and individual experience throughout Europe.The new and improved 3rd edition of this textbook now includes: Personal vignette textboxes which shed light on key themes through individual life stories Added material on Russia, Eastern Europe, the Holocaust and the 21st century Historiographical updates throughout that bring the text up-to-date with new scholarship 30 new images and mapsThrough 6 thematic chapters that cover democracy, capitalism, imperialism and war, Timm and Sanborn trace the social construction ofTrade ReviewThis revised and expanded version of Joshua Sanborn’s and Annette Timm’s widely acclaimed study is essential reading for students and teachers of modern European history alike. In their thorough examination of how sex and gender have shaped and were shaped by the various social, cultural, and political contexts of modern Europe, the authors bring together broad thematic discussions with a wide range of lively individual vignettes, from Catherine the Great to Idris Elba. The result is an engaging and panoramic overview of Europeans’ experiences as gendered and sexual citizens across the past two and a half centuries. * Dr Siobhán Hearne, Historian of Gender and Sexuality, University of Durham, UK *The third edition of Gender, Sex and the Shaping of Modern Europe improves on what was already an excellent text notable for its clarity, accessibility, and thoughtfulness. The inclusion of individualized vignettes at the beginning of each section brings abstract ideas to life and clearly establishes that personal is political, and vice versa. Also to be emphasized is this edition’s enhanced attention to trans lives and individuals. This updated volume remains a stand-out in the field. * Marko Dumancic, Director of Graduate Studies; Assistant Professor, Western Kentucky University, USA *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Prefaces Introduction 1. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity 2. Gendered Capitalism and its Discontents 3. The Imperial Drive and the Colonial World 4. Brothers and Sisters at War 5. The Long Sexual Revolution 6. 21st-Century Europe Conclusion Works Cited Appendix: Further Images Index
£23.74
John Murray Press The Secret Lives of Colour
Book Synopsis''A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer.'' Simon GarfieldThe Secret Lives of Colour tells the unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso''s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book Kassia St Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh''s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk''s fluorescent pink) into a uniquTrade ReviewIf you want to fall back in love with colour, read The Secret Lives of Colour * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *A dazzling and vibrant history of colour, from Van Gogh's wilting yellow sunflowers to Turner's deadly green and Picasso's darkest period * MAIL ON SUNDAY *This is a gorgeous book * GUARDIAN *Even Farrow and Ball don't know as much about the secret lore of colour as Kassia St Clair... Almost every page throws up an unexpected detail and insight... Extraordinarily full and interesting...An ideal crib and a valuable resource not only for the design-conscious but for students. -- Brian Morton * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *The weirdly fascinating history of your favourite hues from an unwittingly deadly, arsenic-tinged green to Van Gogh's favoured yellow * WIRED *'An excellent, innovative and idiosyncratic cultural history that will colour your thinking...St Clair writes with style, energy and knowledge, explaining many mysteries succinctly and wittily, such as why a regular tomato is, for example, not red. Tomatoes appear red because that's the very wavelength their skin does not absorb. A 'red' tomato lies to tell the truth.. Snappily designed, with high production values...[The Secret Lives of Colour is] attractive and diverting.' -- Stephen Bayley * SPECTATOR *Beautiful...See how a single colour can tell different stories across the globe. * DAILY MAIL *A work of art in its own right... a beautiful tactile book filled with fascinating anecdotes about every colour from blonde to puce. * THE POOL *Charming * FINANCIAL TIMES *From pink boys' clothes to blue warpaint; why orange spells danger and other colourful tales * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Inspiring, compelling and beautifully designed . . . this book will appeal to anyone * THE LADY *A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer * SIMON GARFIELD *A companionable, informative and lively guide to sights so easily taken for granted * THE ECONOMIST *A vivid exploration of the world of colour and our colourful world . . . St Clair is able to dance effortlessly through an astonishing range of subjects . . . What The Secret Lives of Colour offers really is, in some sense, a flash portrait of human civilisation, a zigzagging and unpredictable exploration of how significantly colour has shaped histories and disciplines, fuelled empires, changed the nature of war and caused species to flourish or face extinction * CHEMISTRY WORLD *An irresistible lexicon of colours * COUNTRY LIVING *Well-researched and engaging * HOUSE & GARDEN *Brimming with interesting facts, historical insights and curious tales. * ELLE DECORATION *Kassia St Clair is well-placed to observe the important place that colour has in human civilisation and development...Discursive and anecdotal... this book holds many surprises. Nothing is quite what it seems or how it is seen. * THE OLDIE *A mix of science lore and delightful bookmaking, The Secret Lives of Colour is for reading, dipping and holding up against your curtains * The Tablet *Extremely well-researched historically, each colour story is rich in detail and description, combining vignettes of historical actors with contextual background ranging from the ancient past to the present day. For anyone who was ever fascinated by a box of crayons, coloured pencils or the story of people in time, St Clair's book will not disappoint * Review 31 *I recommend the book to all creatives - and non-creatives, too! * Dame Zandra Rhodes *Beautifully presented . . . The book is simply about colour. But colour is not simple. The history, geography, politics, scandals and influence of colours are documented here with a knowledgeable voice. With references from Jessica Rabbit to Lord Mountbatten, from Greek poets to slavery, this is a fascinating read -- Viv Albertine * GUARDIAN, Book of the Year *
£18.00
Orion Publishing Co Unwell Women
Book SynopsisMedicine carries the burden of its own troubling history. Over centuries, women''s bodies have been demonised and demeaned until we feared them, felt ashamed of them, were humiliated by them. But as doctors, researchers, campaigners and most of all as patients, women have continuously challenged medical orthodoxy. Medicine''s history has always been, and is still being, rewritten by women''s resistance, strength and incredible courage. In this ground-breaking history Elinor Cleghorn unpacks the roots of the perpetual misunderstanding, mystification and misdiagnosis of women''s bodies, illness and pain. From the ''wandering womb'' of ancient Greece to today''s shifting understanding of hormones, menstruation and menopause, Unwell Women is the revolutionary story of women who have suffered, challenged and rewritten medical misogyny. Drawing on Elinor''s own experience as an unwell woman, this is a powerful and timely exposé of the medical world and woman''s place
£10.44
Pen & Sword Books Ltd A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty
Book SynopsisWhat did a Victorian lady wear for a walk in the park? How did she style her hair for an evening at the theatre? And what products might she have used to soothe a sunburn or treat an unsightly blemish? Mimi Matthews answers these questions and more as she takes readers on a decade-by-decade journey through Victorian fashion and beauty history. Women's clothing changed dramatically during the course of the Victorian era. Necklines rose, waistlines dropped, and Gothic severity gave way to flounces, frills, and an abundance of trimmings. Sleeves ballooned up and skirts billowed out. The crinoline morphed into the bustle and steam-moulded corsets cinched women's waists ever tighter. As fashion was evolving, so too were trends in ladies' hair care and cosmetics. An era which began by prizing natural, barefaced beauty ended with women purchasing lip and cheek rouge, false hairpieces and pomades, and fashionable perfumes made with expensive spice oils and animal essences. Using research from nineteenth century beauty books, fashion magazines, and lady's journals, Mimi Matthews brings the intricacies of a Victorian lady's toilette into modern day focus. In the process, she gives readers a glimpse of the social issues that influenced women's clothing and the societal outrage that was an all too frequent response to those bold females who used fashion and beauty as a means of asserting their individuality and independence.
£13.49
Pen & Sword Books Ltd The Sega Mega Drive & Genesis Encyclopedia: Every
Book SynopsisThe third book in Chris Scullion's series of video game encyclopaedias, the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Encyclopedia is dedicated to Sega's legendary 16-bit video game console. The book contains detailed information on every single game released for the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis in the west, as well as similarly thorough bonus sections covering every game released for its add-ons, the Mega CD and 32X. With nearly a thousand screenshots, generous helpings of bonus trivia and charmingly bad jokes, the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Encyclopedia is the definitive guide to a legendary gaming system.
£28.50
John Murray Press A Spell in the Wild: A Year (and six centuries) of Magic
'Witches occupy a clear place in contemporary imagination. We can see them, shadowy, in the corners of the past: mad, glamorous, difficult, strange. They haunt the footnotes of history - from medieval witches burning at the stake to the lurid glamour of the 1970s witchcraft revival. But they are moving out of history, too. Witches are back. They're feminist, independent, invested in self-care and care for the world. They are here, because they must be needed.'What it means to be a witch has changed radically throughout history; where 'witch' was once a dangerous - and often deadly - accusation, it is now a proud self-definition. Today, as the world becomes ever more complicated and as we face ecological, political and economic crisis - witchcraft is experiencing a resurgence. Witches are back.In A Spell in the Wild, Alice Tarbuck explores what it means to be a witch today. Rooted in the real world, but filled with spells, rituals and recipes, this book is an accessible, seasonal guide to witchcraft in the twenty-first century. Following the course of a witch's calendar year while also exploring the history and politics of witchcraft, A Spell in the Wild is the perfect primer for the contemporary witch.
£11.69
Orion Publishing Co Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity
Book Synopsis'Fizzes with clever vignettes and juicy tidbits... [a] joyous romp of a book.' Guardian'A fascinating, rollicking book in search of why, where and how fame strikes. Sit back and enjoy the ride.' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads'[An] engaging and well-researched book... Jenner brings his material to vivid life' ObserverCelebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realise. Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron, whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning, coffin-sleeping, one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean, the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience - the list of stars whose careers burned bright before the Age of Television is extensive and thrillingly varied. In this ambitious history, that spans the Bronze Age to the coming of Hollywood's Golden Age, Greg Jenner assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors, singers, dancers, sportspeople, freaks, demigods, ruffians, and more, in search of celebrity's historical roots. He reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century, how it differs to ancient ideas of fame, the techniques through which it was acquired, how it was maintained, the effect it had on public tastes, and the psychological burden stardom could place on those in the glaring limelight. DEAD FAMOUS is a surprising, funny, and fascinating exploration of both a bygone age and how we came to inhabit our modern, fame obsessed society.Trade ReviewFizzes with clever vignettes and juicy tidbits... [a] joyous romp of a book. * GUARDIAN *[An] engaging and well-researched book... Jenner brings his material to vivid life * OBSERVER *A fascinating, rollicking book in search of why, where and how fame strikes. Sit back and enjoy the ride. * Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads *With characteristic wit and curiosity, Jenner reveals the glamour and graft of celebrity lives in this rich, entertaining and original history. * Dr Hannah Greig, historical adviser to The Favourite and Poldark *A magical mystery tour through the history of celebrity - eye opening, provocative, triumphant. Greg Jenner is a suave and generous guide to the glittering, glamorous, often deadly world of celebrity. Dead Famous takes you deep into fabulous lives, tells all about price you pay for fame and explores why the world in which we live needs to make a few shining people into icons who thrill us, obsess us and then, finally, we want to tear apart. * Kate Williams, author and historian *Jenner is equal parts wide-eyed historical buff and sassy polemicist. Like some frisky, over-caffeinated lovechild of Dan Snow and Marina Hyde, he can't help but entertain you, even as he's pouring facts down your throat. * GUARDIAN - Book of the Day *This is a lively look at history's great and gawped at - and how they reshaped the world around them. * HISTORY REVEALED *There is an enjoyably wide range of cultural references... plenty of half-forgotten quirky treasures * SPECTATOR *Jenner is an engaging tour guide who smuggles some thought-provoking points about our culture into his zippy pen-portraits. * MAIL ON SUNDAY *As a tour guide through centuries of celebrity culture, Jenner acts as a kind of Oscar Wilde figure, dispensing wisdom and wit in equal measure, producing a fiendishly enjoyable and thoroughly engaging look at other people's lives. -- Becky Long * IRISH TIMES *Rollicking -- Roger Lewis * DAILY MAIL *Recommended read... entertaining and resonant stories of celebs from about 1700 to 1950. * READERS' DIGEST *Delivers a bounty of colourful anecdotes. * TLS *A fiendishly enjoyable and thoroughly engaging look at other people's lives. * Irish Times *Jenner pulls it off in a learned but entertaining book. * Who Do You Think You Are Magazine *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan
Book Synopsis'A remarkable and deeply moving book' Henry Marsh, bestselling author of Do No Harm'A breathtaking, extraordinary work of non-fiction' Times Literary SupplementOn 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake sent a 120-foot-high tsunami smashing into the coast of north-east Japan. It was Japan's greatest single loss of life since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, lived through the earthquake in Tokyo, and spent six years reporting from the epicentre. Learning about the lives of those affected through their own personal accounts, he paints a rich picture of the impact the tsunami had on day to day Japanese life.Heart-breaking and hopeful, this intimate account of a tragedy unveils the unique nuances of Japanese culture, the tsunami's impact on Japan's stunning and majestic landscape and the psychology of its people.Ghosts of the Tsunami is an award-winning classic of literary non-fiction. It tells the moving, evocative story of how a nation faced an unimaginable catastrophe and rebuilt to look towards the future.**WINNER OF THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE**Trade ReviewThe definitive book on the quake which killed more than 15,000 people and led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. * Mail Online *Every time I think of it, I’m filled with wonderment... This book is a future classic of disaster journalism, up there with John Hersey’s Hiroshima. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *Mr Lloyd Parry offers a voice to the grieving who, too often, found it hard to be heard. It is a thoughtful lesson to all societies whose first reaction in the face of adversity is to shut down inquiry and cover up the facts. You will not read a finer work of narrative non-fiction this year. * Economist *A stunning book from the man who has a strong claim to be the most compelling non-fiction writer in the world. -- Johann HariA book of absolute, harrowing truth and beauty. I'd give up four of my novels to have written this book. -- Jim Crace * Guardian *A breathtaking, extraordinary work… Parry writes with great fluency and timing, like a novelist alternating cadences and withholding information from the reader so as to create moments of tension and surprise. And there is something of the folklorist in the way he discusses the tradition of ghost stories in places such as Tohoku and Sendai. -- Gavin Jacobson * Times Literary Supplement *Compassionate and piercing... giving it the character of a finely conceived crime fiction or a psychological drama… Tragic, engrossing. -- Eri Hotta * Guardian *Parry, a journalist and long-time Tokyo resident, is able to draw something meaningful, even lovely, from the well of misery… Overall, the strength of the book lies in its stories, its observations and its language… The language is daring throughout. -- David Pilling * Financial Times *Ghosts of the Tsunami is alert to the social and political ramifications and transfixed by the spectral quality of the post-disaster landscape… These twin streams – one universal, the other intensely particular – come together in the mystery that is at this book’s core… Some of his most fascinating chapters take in the disaster’s psychological aftermath… It is full of stories of human endeavor, of individual and collective triumph over well-nigh insuperable odds… As well as being full of ghosts, Lloyd Parry’s A-grade reportage is also full of metaphors. -- D. J. Taylor * The Times *A remarkable and deeply moving book – describing in plain and perfect prose the almost unimaginable devastation and tragedy of the Japanese tsunami. -- Henry MarshGhosts of the Tsunami is enthralling and deeply moving, fully conveying and involving the reader in the sheer horror and tragedy of all that happened yet with such beauty, honesty and sincerity. Richard Lloyd Parry has returned the trust and done justice to the victims and their families a hundredfold. -- David PeaceWhen Lloyd Parry wrote Ghosts of the Tsunami, he was seeking “the gift of imagination… the paradoxical capacity to feel tragedy on the surface of the skin, in all its cruelty and dread, but also to understand it… with calm and penetration”. It is to his great credit that, once he attained this gift, he so generously shared it with us here. -- Yo Zushi * New Statesman *Ghosts of the Tsunami is a deeply moving and powerfully intimate work about the enduring strength of community and family in the face of unimaginable destruction and loss. This is a haunting, beautiful, and unforgettable book. -- Héctor Tobar, author of DEEP DOWN DARKA well-researched, polyphonic narrative of what happened on the day 133-ft waves swept in — and how the story continued long after the news cameras left… Lloyd Parry offers a rare glimpse into the history and culture of a region where entire villages were wiped out… By gaining the trust of those on the ground, the author has created an unrivalled account of how Tohoku grieved, and is still grieving. -- Emily Finch * Prospect *The character sketches are colourful; the chapters end on cliffhangers. Lloyd Parry’s prose is fast-flowing, occasionally stopped short by a blunt sentence… His treatment evokes John Hersey’s Hiroshima, published a year after the dropping of the bomb… He has done a fine job of fashioning a focused story, and some powerful arguments, from the tsunami’s wreckage. But his book gives vivid expression to what should be obvious: there is nothing neat or aesthetic about a natural disaster like this. -- Alex Dudok de Wit * Daily Telegraph *Extraordinary… Lloyd Parry writes movingly about the emotional chasm that now separates the parents who saved their children and those who assumed the authorities knew best… God isn’t very popular in the West these days, so it’s striking to read a book written in civilized, elegant prose that doesn’t rip apart Buddhist priests and Christian pastors at the first mention. -- John Sweeney * Literary Review *Ghosts of the Tsunami is a brilliant chronicle of one of the modern world's worst disasters, but it's also a necessary act of witness. The stories Parry tells are wrenching, and he refuses to mitigate the enormity of the tsunami with false optimism or saccharine feel-good anecdotes. Above all, it's a beautiful meditation on grief. * NPR *Parry studs the story with gems of language and detail... The result is a spellbinding book that is well worth contemplating in an era marked by climate change and natural disaster. -- Kathleen Rooney * Chicago Tribune *Parry spoke to the parents and friends of the children and staff involved, and his relating of first-hand accounts of the tragedy is almost unbearable to read at times… Not an easy read, but a rewarding one all the same. -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue *The human cost of the deadly Japanese tsunami is examined in this powerful and absorbing work that exposes the emotional trauma the mountain of water left in its wake… Parry, who has worked in Japan for years, documents with great closeness and insight the impact of such staggering loss on people living in a society not noted for its emotionality. -- David Wilcock * Belfast Telegraph Morning *His central narrative swirls around the black hole formed in those 45 critical minutes between quake and tsunami. He knows that its awful gravity may pull some readers in, and push others away. -- Stephen Phelan * Herald Scotland *Natural disaster is given a jarringly human constitution in Ghosts Of The Tsunami… This is "literary non-fiction", full of gilded language and sensations as Parry recounts the scene he was met with when he travelled up the coast of Japan to where the giant waves had hit. A transcendental reading experience. -- Hilary A White * Irish Independent *Ghosts of the Tsunami deals mainly with the aftermath of the tragedy – days, weeks and months in which parents continued doggedly looking in the mud for their children, knowing full well that there was no chance of finding them alive. Their testimonies are unbearably moving. -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *This is a haunting account of Okawa’s loss and it is almost unbearably sad. Parry rarely speaks of his own reactions but he is the most compassionate of writers, allowing the voices of those he encounters to be heard… Exceptional. * Lady *Powerful and absorbing. * i *A sobering and compelling narrative of calamity. * Kirkus *This is a piercing look at the communities ravaged by the tsunami -- Eri Hotta * Guardian *
£10.44
O'Brien Press Ltd Irish Aran: History, Tradition, Fashion
Book SynopsisThe significance of the Aran knit is so much more than an unusually popular design. Arans communicate warmth, comfort and a sense of home, which people the world over continue to respond to. Vawn Corrigan explores how the Aran knit became so iconic.
£11.39
Verso Books The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double
Book SynopsisIn this ground-breaking work, Paul Gilroy proposes that the modern black experience can not be defined solely as African, American, Carribean or British alone, but can only be understand as a Black Atlantic culture that transcends ethnicity or nationality. This culture is thorough modern and, often, overlooked but can deeply enriches our understanding of what it means to be modern.This condition comes out of historical transoceanic experience, established first with the slave trade but later seen in the development of a transatlantic culture. And Gilroy takes us on a tour of the music that, for centuries, has transmitted racial messages and feeling around the world, from the Jubilee Singers in the nineteenth century to Jimi Hendrix to rap. He also explores this internationalism as it is manifested in black writing from the "double consciousness" of W. E. B. Du Bois to the "double vision" of Richard Wright to the compelling voice of Toni Morrison. As a consequence, Black Atlantic charts the formation of a nationalism, if not a nation, within this shared, disasporic culture.Trade ReviewPaul Gilroy is one the most incisive thinkers of his generation...One can only hope that his voice travels far and wide. * Independent *In debates in recent years around questions of race, nation and culture, Paul Gilroy has stood out as an independent, unorthodox and (often for that very reason) exciting new voice. * Times Higher Educational Supplement *Whilst others scarcely put a toe in the water, in The Black Atlantic Gilroy goes in deep and returns with riches. * Guardian *At that moment, in US scholarship, the emphasis was still on minimising the role of the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the making of capitalism. So to have the Black Atlantic argue so powerfully for its constitutive role in the making of modernity was really important. -- Saidiya HartmanIt was in this book that Gilroy laid out his concept of the 'black Atlantic', the idea that black culture is essentially a hybrid, a product of centuries of exchange, slavery and movement across the Atlantic. Exploring everything from the lives and work of African American philosophers such as WEB Du Bios, to black popular music, Gilroy demonstrates that black culture is both 'local' and 'global', and cannot be constrained within any single national culture. It flows across the black Atlantic of the book's title. The influence of Gilroy's work can be felt not only in modern scholarship but even in the work of the visual artist John Akomfrah. -- David OlusogaThe Black Atlantic, still his most influential work, used the writings of enslaved people and their descendants to demonstrate their centrality to the making of the modern world. * Guardian *He's the foremost intellectual in the United Kingdom: not an if, not a but, not a maybe -- Steve McQueen
£12.34
Little, Brown Book Group No Such Thing as Society: A History of Britain in
Book SynopsisThe 1980s was the revolutionary decade of the twentieth century. To look back in 1990 at the Britain of ten years earlier was to look into another country. The changes were not superficial, like the revolution in fashion and music that enlivened the 1960s; nor were they quite as unsettling and joyless as the troubles of the 1970s. And yet they were irreversible. By the end of the decade, society as a whole was wealthier, money was easier to borrow, there was less social upheaval, less uncertainty about the future. Perhaps the greatest transformation of the decade was that by 1990, the British lived in a new ideological universe where the defining conflict of the twentieth century, between capitalism and socialism, was over. Thatcherism took the politics out of politics and created vast differences between rich and poor, but no expectation that the existence of such gross inequalities was a problem that society or government could solve - because as Mrs Thatcher said, 'There is no such thing as society ... people must look to themselves first.'From the Falklands war and the miners' strike to Bobby Sands and the Guildford Four, from Diana and the New Romantics to Live Aid and the 'big bang', from the Rubik's cube to the ZX Spectrum, McSmith's brilliant narrative account uncovers the truth behind the decade that changed Britain forever.Trade ReviewIt was a wild, wild decade: strong politics, riots, revival, bad hair, great comedy, some dreadful music, lurid newspapers and a war or two. The Margaret Thatcher rollercoaster carried so many of us into today's Britain, with so many bumps and shrieks, that it needs a writer of cool judgement and a reporter who misses nothing to tell its story. Andy McSmith has managed it, ranging from barcodes to TVam, feminism to Torvill and Dean, and Sloane Rangers to flying pickets. It's hard to see how this account could be bettered. * Andrew Marr *McSmith has a sharp eye for a revealing story. * The Sunday Times *A fine account of the decade. * Independent on Sunday *....an enjoyable romp through the decade. * The Spectator *A rollicking read. * Metro *(McSmith) presents his views and his recollections clearly, accurately and accessibly in a very readable, social document. * The Scotsman *
£10.44
