Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisIlluminates how the Rastafari movement managed to evolve in the face of severe biases Misunderstood, misappropriated, belittled: though the Rastafari feature frequently in media and culture, they have most often been misrepresented, their political and religious significance minimized. But they have not been vanquished.Charles Price's Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity reclaims the rich history of this relatively new world religion. Charting its humble and rebellious roots in Jamaica's backcountry in the late nineteenth century to the present day, Price explains how Jamaicans' obsession with the Rastafari wavered from campaigns of violence to appeasement and cooptation. Indeed, he argues that the Rastafari as a political, religious, and cultural movement survived the biases and violence they faced through their race consciousness and uncanny ability to ride the waves of anti-colonialism and Black Power. This social movement travelTrade Review"Well-written and engaging . . . breaks new ground both in the data it analyzes and the theory it advances. Price deftly demystifies the ‘sudden’ appearance of Rastafari by showing how it is rooted in notions of black identity and African redemption." -- Ennis B. Edmonds, Donald L. Rogan Professor of Religious Studies, Kenyon College"In clear prose and with a storyteller’s disposition, Charles Price offers a detailed analysis of the emergence of collective identity of the Rastafari in Jamaica, illustrating how that collective identity is an ever-changing phenomenon, with variations across time and space. Will be a lasting contribution to the field." -- Anita Waters, Denison University"Fascinating and a pleasure to read. Charles Price makes a distinctive contribution by detailing how a Rastafari cultural gestalt emerges. Price shows how cultural patterns can have multiple origins, influences, and significance. Rastafari is a new and necessary reframing of Rastafari culture." -- Richard Salter, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

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Book SynopsisA meticulous study of the social, economic, and religious significance of coffin reuse and development during the Ramesside and early Third Intermediate periods, illustrated with over 900 imagesFunerary datasets are the chief source of social history in Egyptology, and the numerous tombs, coffins, Books of the Dead, and mummies of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Dynasties have not been fully utilized as social documents, mostly because the data of this time period is scattered and difficult to synthesize. This culmination of fifteen years of coffin study analyzes coffins and other funerary equipment of elites from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-second Dynasties to provide essential windows into social strategies and adaptations employed during the Bronze Age collapse and subsequent Iron Age reconsolidation.Many Twentieth to Twenty-second Dynasty coffins show evidence of reuse from other, older coffins, as well as obvious marks where gilding or

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Book SynopsisThe artist Norman Thelwell (1923–2004) was famous for his horse and pony cartoons, but his work was far more wide ranging. He focused his exceptional talent and humour on many diverse subjects, with his witty and wry observations providing amusement and sharp social comment. Some Damn Fool’s Signed the Rubens Again is Thelwell’s look at life in Britain’s stately homes, and what happens when they are opened to the public. Here are the castles, country estates, and the quirks of the British class system all depicted in the artist’s inimitable style. When an ancestral home is crumbling, or an aristocratic family is debt-ridden, the solution calls for drastic action. It is time to welcome in the paying public. Thelwell’s cartoons capture the comic situations that result when the noble residents come face to face with the curious visitors. See the duke in his tower preparing to repel the coachloads with boiling oil; a ghost train in the family vault; toddlers wrecking treasured heirlooms; and animals in the safari park watching the hilarious human spectacle unfold.Trade Review'This is a lovely book to gift a friend or just to have sitting on a coffee table.' -- Country Squire, January 2024

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Book SynopsisInspired by Charles Mackay's 19th-century classic Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, William Bernstein engages with mass delusion with the same curiosity and passion, but armed with the latest scientific research that explains the biological, evolutionary and psychosocial roots of human irrationality. Bernstein tells the stories of dramatic religious and financial mania in Western society over the last 500 years - from the Anabaptist Madness that afflicted the Low Countries in the 1530s to the dangerous end-times beliefs that animate ISIS and pervade today's polarised nations; and from the South Sea Bubble to the Enron scandal and dot com bubbles of recent years. Through Bernstein's supple prose, the participants are as colourful as their motivation, invariably 'the desire to improve one's well-being in this life or the next.'As revealing about human nature as they are historically significant, Bernstein's chronicles reveal the huge cost and alarming implications of mass mania as he observes that if we can absorb the history and biology of mass delusion, we can recognise it more readily in our own time and avoid its frequently dire impact.Trade ReviewFascinating...Bernstein is an entertaining chronicler and analyst * The Times *Table of Contents1: Joachim's Children 2: Believers and Rogues 3: Briefly Rich 4: George Hudson, Capitalist Hero 5: Miller's Run 6: Winston Churchill's Excellent Adventure in Monetary Policy 7: Sunshine Charlie Misses the Point 8: Apocalypse Cow 9: God's Sword 10: Entrepreneurs of the Apocalypse 11: Dispensationalist Catastrophes: Potential and Real 12: Rapture Fiction 13: Capitalism's Philanthropists 14: Hucksters of the Digital Age 15: Mahdis and Caliphs

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Book SynopsisThe Queen is a timely book with beautiful photos and fascinating details about one of the most famous women of modern times: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch in history. “Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.” —Queen Elizabeth II, Coronation Speech, June 2, 1953 When the Queen passed away on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96, she had reigned over the United Kingdom for a total of 70 years and 214 days, having endured the ups and downs that long life will bring. She was a beacon of hope during and after the Second World War in difficult times when the world faced a precarious future, and she served as a role model for generations of men and women who continue to be in awe of her commitment to service, sacrifice, and the Commonwealth of nations over which she ruled. The abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936 turned her family’s world upside-down. When her father was crowned King George VI, Elizabeth was thrust into the eye of the storm as a future queen. A shy and reserved child, she grew into a wise and insightful monarch who dealt ably with 15 British Prime Ministers during her long reign, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. It was, of course, not always straightforward and the Queen found herself in hot water several times, most notably during the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. When Diana was tragically killed in a car crash, the standing of the Royal Family was probably at its lowest ebb. It is unlikely that we will ever see a monarch reign so long or so effectively again, holding together a disparate group of nations, each with its own aspirations, customs, and traditions. From her uncle’s abdication to the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, this intriguing biography includes all the ups and downs of Queen Elizabeth’s long life.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 A Beacon of Hope 2 The Duke of York’s Speech 3 The Gathering Storm 4 Abdication and Coronation 5 Coming of Age 6 Rumors of a Royal Romance 7 The Unpolished Prince 8 Announcing the Betrothal 9 The Future of the Monarchy 10 The Passing of George VI 11 Becoming the World’s Queen 12 Princess Margaret’s Impossible Dream 13 Prince Philip and the Thursday Club 14 The Little British Sovereign 15 The Wind of Change 16 The Future King Swears Allegiance 17 The Wealthiest Woman in the World 18 Diana and the Deputy Queen 19 At War with the Queen of Hearts 20 A New Century Dawns 21 Lines of Succession 22 HAPPINESS AND HEARTACHE 23 THE PASSING OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisNahum Dimitri Chandler examines W. E. B. Du Bois's early thought and its continued relevance, demonstrating that Dub Bois must be re-read, appreciated, and studied anew as a philosophical writer and thinker contemporary to our time.Trade Review“Nahum Dimitri Chandler's "Beyond This Narrow Now" gives the reader the marvelous benefit of Chandler's exquisite knowledge of the DuBoisian oeuvre and his singular unrelenting commitment to tarrying with it. As one of our master teachers, Chandler is at his best here in leading us systematically, virtually line by line, through early Du Bois in his critical conceptual formation.” -- Hortense J. Spillers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor, Vanderbilt University“‘Beyond This Narrow Now’ is a seminal contribution to foregrounding Du Bois’ epistemological roots and its implication for the future.” -- Mosa M. Phadi * Ethnic and Racial Studies *"Chandler is a meticulous scholar and a brilliant thinker with much to say about Du Bois as an intellectual problem. Parts of the book will be accessible to many readers, and Chandler’s approach to analysis serves as a master class in close reading. However, because of the occasionally esoteric nature of Chandler's approach, readers with a background in critical theory or philosophy have the most to gain. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers/faculty, professionals/practitioners." -- J. W. Miller * Choice *“Chandler’s work is a definitive contribution towards a re-assessment of contemporary orientations of Du Boisian scholarship. His original thoughts and perspectives on Du Bois . . . provide new, innovative approaches to the work of such an iconic thinker and writer.” -- Lena Dallywater * Connections *"Insofar as he remains a critical resource in the present, perhaps one of the things that is most useful about Du Bois today is his ability to interpret historical possibility as the other side of historical limit, and to convince us that the future can still be altogether otherwise than the past that has been given to us, even now. There is no better guide to these aspects of Du Bois’s thought than Nahum Chandler’s 'Beyond This Narrow Now.'. . . Chandler is a poetic and evocative stylist, as well as a profound thinker, who offers the reader aesthetic and intellectual pleasures that help compensate for whatever syntactic or semantic hurdles pop up along the way." -- Ian Litwin * Georgia Review *"Chandler provides a patiently elaborated study of Du Bois’s early thought—a 'delimitation' of this thought that argues for the openness of its investigations and thus our perennial return to its hermeneutics." -- Rebecka Rutledge Fisher * American Literary History *"The merit of Chandler's work is that he stretches Du Bois's reflections along the arc drawn by contemporaneity and brings them into conversation with a constellation of critical theories from post-structuralism to post-colonialism, highlighting the specificity and contemporary importance of Du Bois's thought." -- Vincenzo Di Mino * Journal of Critical Race Inquiry *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Note on Citations xiii An Opening—At the Limit of Thought, a Preface xvii A Notation: The Practice of W.E.B. Du Bois as a Problem for Thought—Amidst the Turn of the Centuries 1 Part I. "Beyond This Narrow Now": Elaborations of the Example in the Thought of W.E.B. Du Bois—At the Limit of the World 25 Part II. The Problem of the Centuries: A Contemporary Elaboration of "The Present Outlook for the Dark Races of Mankind," circa the 27th of December, 1899—Or, At the Turn of the Twentieth Century 145 Another Coda, the Explicit—Revisited 221 Notes 231 References 269 Index 291

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Book SynopsisA unique history of the ancient Near East that compellingly presents the life stories of kings, priestesses, merchants, bricklayers, and othersIn this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes readers on a gripping journey from the creation of the world''s first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived.Rather than chronicling three thousand years of rulers and states, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings instead creates a tapestry of life stories through which readers will come to know specific individuals from many walks of life, and to understand their places within the broad history of events and institutions inTrade ReviewAdopting a truly innovative approach, Podany has provided us with a wonderfully vivid and compelling account of the region. * The Past *[A] remarkably lively...chronicle. * Science *Podany makes her subject accessible, pointing out that, from what people ate (bread and beer) to how they amused themselves (playing board games), 'life hasn't changed dramatically from earliest times'. * The New Yorker *This is a masterpiece. Writing in a warm, conversational tone and using ancient texts and letters, Podany tells the story of ordinary people from the ancient Near East, bringing them to life through their own words. This is a joy to read, spanning four thousand years of history, with interesting facts and details on every page. Highly recommended! * Eric H. Cline, author of 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed *This vivid and engaging narrative offers a genuinely new and exciting approach to ancient Middle Eastern history. Combining the very latest research—there are new insights here, even for specialists—with empathy and imaginative flair, Professor Podany invites us to consider the people of the distant past as real human beings, with bodies and minds, senses and emotions. I loved every page of this book and can't wait to share it with my students. * Eleanor Robson, author of Mathematics in Ancient Iraq: A Social History *Amanda Podany has an amazing ability to make people of the ancient Near East—from weavers to queens, farmers to kings—come alive, taking us through the millennia-long history of the region with short stories based on original documents. This book is a fascinating read. * Marc Van De Mieroop, author of Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography *This book is truly impressive. Podany has managed to breathe life into people who have been dead for thousands of years, whose remains are nothing more than a name on a clay tablet, and to reconstruct what life may have been like for them in the brief moments we see in the evidence. As Podany says, "each person's story becomes a window into their era", and the windows all show a colourful existence full of humanity. * Owain Williams, Ancient History *This rich and rewarding history connects us effortlessly to a vibrant and very human place. * Paul Collins, Times Literary Supplement *In this delightfully readable work P. describes the history and culture of ancient Mesopotamia from its urban origins (c. 4000 BCE) up to the fall of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great (331 BCE)...The book is largely held together by the remarkable stories of everyday people and their experiences. These stories are artfully narrated and animated by Podany's lively writing, and she is to be praised for her extensive research of archaeological remains together with her scrutiny of countless clay cuneiform tablets documenting Mesopotamian life in all its richness and complexity. * Classical Review *Podany offers a great many highly entertaining historical vignettes, introducing Mesopotamian rulers, but also merchants, musicians, priests, poets, gardeners, brewers, barbers, artisans, charioteers, mercenaries, conspirators, slaves, and of course the eponymous 'weavers and scribes'. Many of them were women. They all come to life in this illuminating history, thanks to the author's impressive ability to synthesise arcane technical studies by other scholars (and herself) without dumbing them down, and to turn the data and statistics these studies provide into engaging stories... It offers an enormous amount of detailed information, in accessible prose, and stands out as a unique achievement of synthesis. Highly recommended! * Eckhart Frahm, World Archaeology *Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. * Choice *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Uruk, the First City: Builders and Organizers, 3500-3300 BCE 2. The Uruk Period: Colonizers, Scribes, and the Gods, 3300-3000 BCE 3. The Early Dynastic Period: Kings and Subjects, 2900-2400 BCE 4. The Early Dynastic Period: Queens, Diplomats, and Weavers, 2400-2300 BCE 5. The Early Dynastic Period: Royal Couples, Divine Couples, and Envoys, 2400-2300 BCE 6. The Akkadian Period: A Conqueror and a Priestess, 2300-2200 BCE 7. The Ur III Period: Brickmakers, Litigants, and Slaves, 2200-2000 BCE 8. The Isin-Larsa Period: Kings and Military Commanders 2000-1800 BCE 9. Merchants and Families 10. Princesses and Musicians 11. The Old Babylonian Period: A Lawgiver, Land Overseers, and Soldiers, 1792-1750 BCE 12. The Old Babylonian Period: Naditums and Scribal Students, 1792-1712 BCE 13. The Late Old Babylonian Period: Barbers, Mercenaries, and Exiles, 1742-1550 BCE 14. The Late Bronze Age: Businessmen, Charioteers, and Translators, 1550-1350 BCE 15. The Late Bronze Age: Gift Recipients and Royal In-Laws, 1450-1333 BCE 16. The Late Bronze Age: Negotiators, Sea Traders, and Famine Sufferers, 1333-1000 BCE 17. Empire Builders, Sculptors, and Deportees 18. The Neo-Assyrian Period: Conspirators, Diviners, and Officials, 681-648 BCE 19. The Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Periods: Gardeners, Artisans, and a Centenarian Priestess, 648-544 BCE 20. The Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Periods: Brewers, Rebels, and Exorcists 544-323 BCE Cast of Characters Acknowledgements Abbreviations Bibliography

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Book Synopsis***SHORTLISTED FOR FT & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020*** FT Best books of 2020: Business ''In a world on fire, status quo is not a great option. Henderson rightfully argues for the refoundation of capitalism and offers thought-provoking ideas on what needs to be done to address some of the world''s greatest challenges.'' Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO, BestBuy ________________ What if business could help solve the greatest problems of our time? Free market capitalism is one of humanity''s greatest inventions, and the greatest source of prosperity the world has ever seen. But it''s also on the verge of destroying the planet and destabilizing society in its single-minded pursuit of maximizing shareholder value. Rebecca Henderson, McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, argues for a new framework; one that can simultaneously make a positive societal impact by confronting tTrade ReviewThis powerful and readable book is a clarion call for reimagining and remaking capitalism. The market economy, which used to generate rapid productivity growth and shared prosperity, has done much less of that over the last four decades. The shifting balance of power in favor of large companies and lobbies, the gutting of basic regulations, the increasing ability of corporations and the very rich to get their way in every domain of life, and the unwillingness of the government to step up to protect its weakest citizens are likely responsible for low productivity growth and ballooning inequality in the US economy. Rebecca Henderson argues that the market system can be reformed and this can be done without unduly harming corporations. We can have a more moral and more innovative capitalism. There is hope! * Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail *'If you are unsatisfied with today's economic arguments-which too often seem to present an unappealing choice between unbridled markets and old-school collectivism-you need to read Rebecca Henderson's Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Henderson offers a system that rewards initiative and respects the power of free enterprise, but that also recognizes that we have a higher purpose in life than pure profit maximization. This is a book for the realist with a heart' * Arthur C. Brooks, president emeritus, American Enterprise Institute; professor of practice, Harvard Kennedy School; senior fellow, Harvard Business School; and author of Love Your Enemies *Rebecca Henderson is masterful in both elegant articulation of one of society's great challenges and clarity of vision in laying out a roadmap for practical and essential change. Reimagining Capitalism is a great read, full of insights, and a refreshing perspective that is new, practical, and ground-breaking, offering clear steps for transitioning to a capitalism that is both profitable as well as just and sustainable * Mindy Lubber, CEO and president, CERES *Rebecca Henderson is a provocative thinker on the purpose of business in society. In her new book, she advances the dialogue about the role of business in addressing the big social and environmental challenges of our time. Hers is an important voice in an essential conversation * Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Walmart *In a world on fire, status quo is not a great option. Rebecca Henderson rightfully argues for a refoundation of business and capitalism and offers thought-provoking ideas on what needs to be done to address some of the world's greatest challenges * Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO, Best Buy *A must-read for every person with a stake in our economic system since change or die is the inescapable reality confronting capitalism. The question is how. Rebecca Henderson provides investors and corporate executives with the thought leadership and compelling examples foundational for understanding how to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth * Hiro Mizuno, executive managing director and chief investment officer, GPIF *'Capitalism as we know it has gotten us this far, but to take the next steps forward as a society and species we need new ways of seeing and acting on our world. That's exactly what Rebecca Henderson's book helps us do. This is a smart, timely, and much-needed reimagining of what capitalism can be' * Yancey Strickler, cofounder and former CEO, Kickstarter, and author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World *A breakthrough book, beautifully written, combining deep humanity, sharp intellect, and a thorough knowledge of business. It rigorously dismantles old arguments about why capitalism can't be transformed and will reach people who haven't yet connected with the need for deep change * Lindsay Levin, founding partner, Leaders’ Quest and Future Stewards *With great clarity and passion, Rebecca Henderson provides a stellar guide to building a purpose-driven organization, the surest path to success in a time of rising temperatures and declining trust * Andrew McAfee, author of More from Less and coauthor of The Second Machine Age and Machine, Platform, Crowd *Rebecca Henderson weaves together research and personal experience with clarity and vision, illustrating the potential for business to benefit both itself and society by leading on the most challenging issues of our day. Read, and feel hopeful * Judith Samuelson, vice president, the Aspen Institute *Reimagining Capitalism is a breath of fresh air. Written in lively prose, easily accessible to lay readers, and chock full of interesting case studies, Henderson comprehensively surveys what we need to secure a workable future. Some readers may think she goes too far in places, others may think she doesn't go far enough, but everyone will want to think about the economy she urges us to create * Larry Kramer, president of the Hewlett Foundation *'Business it at the start of a sea-change. Rebecca Henderson brilliantly captures this moment when the tide is reversing its flow, from short-term shareholder value to forward-looking common purpose. It will be an essential guide for business strategy in riding these turbulent seas' * Paul Collier, Oxford University, Author of The Future of Capitalism *I loved every bit of Rebecca Henderson's practical, insightful, and engaging book. It's a must read for any leader who wants to be around for the longer term, showing not only how to position a company successfully in this new world but also how to grow personally through the process * Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, co-founder and chair, IMAGINE *A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper-or even survive * Kirkus *This accessible and richly detailed call to action offers a clear vision for policy makers and business executives who agree with Henderson that the private sector has an obligation to tackle the world's biggest problems * Publishers Weekly *This powerful and readable book is a clarion call for reimagining and remaking capitalism. The market economy, which used to generate rapid productivity growth and shared prosperity, has done much less of that over the last four decades. The shifting balance of power in favor of large companies and lobbies, the gutting of basic regulations, the increasing ability of corporations and the very rich to get their way in every domain of life, and the unwillingness of the government to step up to protect its weakest citizens are likely responsible for low productivity growth and ballooning inequality in the US economy. Rebecca Henderson argues that the market system can be reformed and this can be done without unduly harming corporations. We can have a more moral and more innovative capitalism. There is hope! * Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail *'If you are unsatisfied with today's economic arguments-which too often seem to present an unappealing choice between unbridled markets and old-school collectivism-you need to read Rebecca Henderson's Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. Henderson offers a system that rewards initiative and respects the power of free enterprise, but that also recognizes that we have a higher purpose in life than pure profit maximization. This is a book for the realist with a heart' * Arthur C. Brooks, president emeritus, American Enterprise Institute; professor of practice, Harvard Kennedy School; senior fellow, Harvard Business School; and author of Love Your Enemies *Rebecca Henderson is masterful in both elegant articulation of one of society's great challenges and clarity of vision in laying out a roadmap for practical and essential change. Reimagining Capitalism is a great read, full of insights, and a refreshing perspective that is new, practical, and ground-breaking, offering clear steps for transitioning to a capitalism that is both profitable as well as just and sustainable * Mindy Lubber, CEO and president, CERES *Rebecca Henderson is a provocative thinker on the purpose of business in society. In her new book, she advances the dialogue about the role of business in addressing the big social and environmental challenges of our time. Hers is an important voice in an essential conversation * Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer, Walmart *In a world on fire, status quo is not a great option. Rebecca Henderson rightfully argues for a refoundation of business and capitalism and offers thought-provoking ideas on what needs to be done to address some of the world's greatest challenges * Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO, Best Buy *A must-read for every person with a stake in our economic system since change or die is the inescapable reality confronting capitalism. The question is how. Rebecca Henderson provides investors and corporate executives with the thought leadership and compelling examples foundational for understanding how to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth * Hiro Mizuno, executive managing director and chief investment officer, GPIF *'Capitalism as we know it has gotten us this far, but to take the next steps forward as a society and species we need new ways of seeing and acting on our world. That's exactly what Rebecca Henderson's book helps us do. This is a smart, timely, and much-needed reimagining of what capitalism can be' * Yancey Strickler, cofounder and former CEO, Kickstarter, and author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World *A breakthrough book, beautifully written, combining deep humanity, sharp intellect, and a thorough knowledge of business. It rigorously dismantles old arguments about why capitalism can't be transformed and will reach people who haven't yet connected with the need for deep change * Lindsay Levin, founding partner, Leaders’ Quest and Future Stewards *With great clarity and passion, Rebecca Henderson provides a stellar guide to building a purpose-driven organization, the surest path to success in a time of rising temperatures and declining trust * Andrew McAfee, author of More from Less and coauthor of The Second Machine Age and Machine, Platform, Crowd *Rebecca Henderson weaves together research and personal experience with clarity and vision, illustrating the potential for business to benefit both itself and society by leading on the most challenging issues of our day. Read, and feel hopeful * Judith Samuelson, vice president, the Aspen Institute *Reimagining Capitalism is a breath of fresh air. Written in lively prose, easily accessible to lay readers, and chock full of interesting case studies, Henderson comprehensively surveys what we need to secure a workable future. Some readers may think she goes too far in places, others may think she doesn't go far enough, but everyone will want to think about the economy she urges us to create * Larry Kramer, president of the Hewlett Foundation *'Business it at the start of a sea-change. Rebecca Henderson brilliantly captures this moment when the tide is reversing its flow, from short-term shareholder value to forward-looking common purpose. It will be an essential guide for business strategy in riding these turbulent seas' * Paul Collier, Oxford University, Author of The Future of Capitalism *I loved every bit of Rebecca Henderson's practical, insightful, and engaging book. It's a must read for any leader who wants to be around for the longer term, showing not only how to position a company successfully in this new world but also how to grow personally through the process * Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, co-founder and chair, IMAGINE *

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Book Synopsis** Chosen as a May 2021 pick for The Fearless Book Club by Nobel Peace Prize-Winner, Malala Yousafzai **Travel writer Julia Cooke's exhilarating portrait of Pan Am stewardesses in the Mad Men era.Glamour, danger, liberation: in the Jet Age, Pan Am offered young women the world. 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 Review...In confident, clear-eyed, multi-layered prose, Julia Cooke brings to life the true stories of unforgettable Pan-Am stewardesses who defied convention, to seek more from life than they were given. This is a well-researched and fascinating history of air travel, gender equality, and so much more. -- – Rachel Khong, author of GOODBYE VITAMINCome Fly the World is a pop passport to another time. Take a social history flight with the women of Pan Am. -- – Lily Koppel, author of New York Times bestseller THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUBBefore second-wave feminism came along to challenge the admissions policies of law, medical, and business schools, there were stewardesses-women every bit as daring and determined as their later counterparts in the professions, and having more fun... [Come Fly the World is] a rollicking, rambunctious ride down the runway of mid-century modern life. -- – Megan Marshall, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning MARGARET FULLER: A New American Life and ELIZABETH BISHOP: A Miracle for BreakfastThis engrossing account, which reads like a novel, offers a combination of riveting personal stories and little-known history, and will draw in readers from the first page. -- - Library Journal'Here's the chance to travel-in time and in the sky-vicariously. Julia Cooke's intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life tales of a memorable cast of Pan Am flight attendants as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life. The nonfiction work also unearths little-known stories about how Pan Am flight attendants went above and beyond, including their role in the Vietnam War.' -- Fortune

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Book SynopsisScience, engineering, activism, poetry, politics and physics. Women of all ages, and from all over the world, have excelled in these fields – and so many more – despite the barriers they’ve had to overcome. Many of these disciplines have been either completely closed to women, or so male-dominated that even being heard can be laborious. The Greatest Women in History is a celebration of just some of the inspirational women who put their mark on the world we live in, and reveals the stories, accomplishments and adventures of many brilliant women from throughout history. • Get to know the political trailblazers who achieved greatness through underground resistance or sheer determination. • Understand the amount of talent and hard work it takes to excel in mathematics and the sciences. • Meet the women who exploded into the world of art and redefined it, and discover the stories of the queens who defied expectations and ushered in golden ages. From Cleopatra, Mary Wollstonecraft and Florence Nightingale to Harriet Tubman, Frida Kahlo and Malala Yousafzai, learn of their achievements, backgrounds, characters and the little-known details that make them even more remarkable.

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Book SynopsisIn this extraordinary volume, Kumar provides readers with a brilliant tour of some of history's most important empires, demonstrating the critical importance of imperial ideas and ideologies for understanding their modalities of rule and the conflicts that beset them.Trade Review"Co-Winner of the 2018 Barrington Moore Book Award, Comparative and Historical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association""Winner of the 2018 Ab Imperio Award, KRES Poliskola"

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Book SynopsisHugh Despenser the Younger and Edward II tells the story of the greatest villain of the fourteenth century', his dazzling rise as favourite to the king and his disastrous fall. Born in the late 1280s, Hugh married King Edward I of England's eldest granddaughter when he was a teenager. Ambitious and greedy to an astonishing degree, Hugh chose a startling route to power: he seduced his wife's uncle, the young King Edward II, and became the richest and most powerful man in the country in the 1320s. For years he dominated the English government and foreign policy, and took whatever lands he felt like by both quasi-legal and illegal methods, with the king's connivance. His actions were to bring both himself and Edward II down, and Hugh was directly responsible for the first forced abdication of a king in English history; he had made the horrible mistake of alienating and insulting Edward's queen Isabella of France, who loathed him, and who had him slowly and grotesquely executed in her presence in November 1326.

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Book Synopsis'A remarkable book; surprisingly gripping and often very moving ... at once disorientating and illuminating.' - Robert Macfarlane We shape ourselves, and are shaped in return, by the walls that contain us. Buildings affect how we sleep, work, socialise and even breathe. They can isolate and endanger us but they can also heal us. We project our hopes and fears onto buildings, while they absorb our histories. In Living With Buildings, Iain Sinclair embarks on a series of expeditions - through London, Marseille, Mexico and the Outer Hebrides. A father and his daughter, who has a rare syndrome, visit the estate where they once lived. Developers clink champagne glasses as residents are 'decanted' from their homes. A box sculpted from whalebone, thought to contain healing properties, is returned to its origins with unexpected consequences. Part investigation, part travelogue, Living With Buildings brings the spaces we inhabit to life as never before.Trade ReviewA remarkable book; surprisingly gripping and often very moving ... at once disorientating and illuminating. * Robert Macfarlane *One of Iain Sinclair's best books ... His walks are described with pithy lyricism. His moving accounts of friends and their complicated relationship to housing estates, hospitals and ancient rural sites, describe our attempts to remain healthy and humane in increasingly hostile environments * New Statesman Books of the Year *Iain Sinclair feeds us a rich diet of shrewd insights ... He leaves you gasping with the punch and pungency of his images * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe coach – distinguished from the bus by its use for longer-haul and more comfortable trips – has a long and august history. Its origins lie in the charabanc, a long open-topped vehicle used to transport passengers on works outings and pleasure excursions. Over time, coaches came to be enclosed and fitted with more comfortable seating and higher-quality bodywork than the charabancs and the buses used on shorter routes. By the 1960s and 1970s on-board toilets began to be fitted, and despite a decline due to private car ownership, coach travel remains popular, with Wi-Fi, electric sockets and even video screens now built in. This colourful introduction explains the development of motor coach design and the main coach manufacturers, models and operators, offering a fascinating insight into the history of the nation’s most popular vehicles.Trade ReviewAn excellent, well-illustrated and very comprehensive yet compact book that enlightened me to many aspects of coaches and coach travel through the years. I enjoyed reading every page. -- Kim Henson * Wheels-Alive *Table of ContentsFrom Charabanc to Express Coach Luxury Travel: the 1930s Wartime and Austerity: The 1940s and 1950s Winds of Change: The 1960s and 1970s Modern Times Further Reading Places to Visit Index

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Book SynopsisTalented historian Maya Jasanoff offers an alternative history of the British Empire. It is not about conquest but rather a collection of startling and fascinating personal accounts of cross-cultural exchange from those who found themselves on the edges of Empire.A Palladian mansion filled with Western art in the centre of old Calcutta, the Mughal Emperor's letters in an archive in the French Alps, the names of Italian adventurers scratched into the walls of Egyptian temples: in this imaginative book, Maya Jasanoff delves into the stories behind artefacts like these to uncover the lives of collectors in India and Egypt who lived on the frontiers of European empire. Edge of Empire' traces their exploits to tell an intimate history of imperialism.Written and researched on four continents, Edge of Empire' tells a story about the making of European empires, ones that break away from the grand narratives of power, exploitation, and resistance, to delve into the personal dimensions of imperTrade Review‘Maya Jasanoff…triumphs in this memorable debut. This is partly because, mirroring her subject, she has adopted a vivacious methodology that defies category. Jasanoff’s investigation of the world that made her evokes the midday sun, the unforgettable stench and blare of the East, but populates it with characters to whom the reader can relate, as strange as fiction, but actually found in real life.’ Robert McCrum, Observer ‘This is a very clever and wonderfully researched and written book which illuminates French as well as British imperial existence, artifacts and culture, and which looks at all the actors invoved in a vivid and nuanced fashion. An original new voice.’ Linda Colley ‘This is an extraordinary debut. Maya Jasanoff is one of the most exciting historians to emerge in years. Her crackling prose and outstanding research have resulted in a ground-breaking book. “Edge of Empire” is a “must-read”.’ Amanda Foreman, author of ‘Georgina Duchess of Devonshire’

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Book SynopsisAn absolute gem' Sunday TimesA mouthwatering history' The GuardianIn this delicious history of Britain's food traditions, Diane Purkiss invites readers on a unique journey through the centuries, exploring the development of recipes and rituals for mealtimes such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to show how food has been both a reflection of and inspiration for social continuity and change.Purkiss uses the story of food as a revelatory device to chart changing views on class, gender, and tradition through the ages. Sprinkled throughout with glorious details of historical quirks trial by ordeal of bread, a fondness for small beer' and a war-time ice-cream substitute called hokey pokey' made from parsnips this book is both an education and an entertainment.English Food explores the development of the coffee trade and the birth of London's coffee houses, where views were exchanged on politics, art, and literature. Purkiss introduces the first breeders of British beef and reveals how cattTrade Review Praise for English Food : ‘An absolute gem… English Food is a fabulous read. I devoured it with gusto… My review copy will find a permanent place on my bookshelves… a richly entertaining and enlightening social history of England… Superb’ Sunday Times, Christopher Hart ‘Every page brings astonishing revelation… acerbic, witty, opinionated and devoid of pomposity… This book is about food, but it’s more importantly about how food defines us’ The Times, Gerald DeGroot ‘A mouthwatering history… A sumptuous survey of English cuisine leaves no morsel untasted… liberally seasoned throughout with literary references, from Anglo-Saxon poetry to Michael Ondaatje… fascinating… There’s an awful lot of good stuff to get your teeth into here’ The Guardian, Felicity Cloake ‘What a delectable banquet of a book this is… This magnificently readable and engaging book (which is also very generously illustrated) sets the record straight and should whet appetites for the attentive, seasonal cooking and gamier flavours of the past’ Literary Review ‘[A] fantastic book’ Evening Standard ‘A remarkable book, scholarly, entertaining and fascinating. Purkiss is extraordinarily well read, articulate, and writes beautifully. She goes under the skirts of convention to strip bare the many presumptions that surround what we eat and why. Mandatory reading for anyone involved, however peripherally, in food and what we now refer to as the food chain. Simply a brilliant work’The Guild of Food Writers Food Book Award judges

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Book SynopsisPrimary History: Victorians encourages the study of written sources, images and key figures to understand the influence of Victorian society on today’s world. Stimulating activities cover the growth of railways, industrial and social reform, levels of society within towns and the countryside, and the life of children at home, school and in work.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2014A rich historical biography of those wild Wyndhams' three cultured aristocratic sisters born into great privilege in late Victorian Britain.Mary, Madeline and Pamela the three beautiful Wyndham sisters were born into immense wealth. Cultured bohemian daughters of a maverick politician and an artistic mother, they became entangled with the scandalous and intellectual Souls' set, as well as the most celebrated figures of the day, including Oscar Wilde, Marie Stopes and the iconoclastic poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, lover both of Mary and her mother before her. Two sisters were intimate with great statesmen Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and the Liberal politician Edward Grey and only one of them would marry happily.This first ever biography of the sisters captures their dramatic lives from romantic beginnings through the passions and disappointments of womanhood to the tragedy and devastation of the First World War that broughtTrade Review‘Wonderful … a magnificently skillful biography of this trio of sexy sisters and the politically turbulent context of their lives. Renton demonstrates her scholarship with butterfly-winged elegance as she tells the story of a generation of Imperialist Victorians Suffused with privilege, power, money and sex that eventually ended in tragedy’ Evening Standard ‘Renton never loses sight of the bigger historical picture. She sets the sisters’ fabulously privileged and sometimes troubled lives against the convulsions of home and international politics through which they lived. The result is an impeccably researched, beautifully written and compellingly readable biography’ Daily Mail ‘Magnificent … [It] has the wisdom, excitement and psychological depth of a very good novel. She succeeds in combining the novelist’s art with the historian’s craft, laying the sources and workings before us. The beauty and romance are captured unforgettably’ Observer ‘Impeccably rehearsed and researched … a serious, spellbinding chronicle of the last days of Edwardian England’ The Times ‘A magnificently skilful biography…based on scrupulous research and enriched by hundreds of deliciously indiscreet, charmingly frank, pre-Mitfordian letters… Renton demonstrates her scholarship with butterfly winged elegance … [a] wonderful book’ Evening Standard ‘This elegantly written tableau of a book is much more than a group biography; it is an elegiac account of the horrors of the First World War from a female perspective. Renton is excellent at setting personal events within their larger political or social context’ Literary Review ‘A lucid and superbly researched book’ Spectator ‘Hilarious, heartbreaking and completely absorbing, Renton has captured the last rays of light of a gilded family of remarkable women’ Amanda Foreman ‘Readers who enjoyed reading about the Mitfords and Stella Tillyard's ‘Aristocrats’ will relish Renton's elegant book. [An] enthralling period portrait’ Daily Express

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Book SynopsisTV presenter and all-round car nut Ant Anstead takes the reader on a journey that mirrors the development of the motor car itself from a stuttering 20mph annoyance that scared everyone's horses to 150mph pursuits with aerial support and sophisticated electronic tracking.The British Police Force's relationship with the car started by chasing after pioneer speeding motorists on bicycles. As speed restrictions eased in the early twentieth century and car ownership increased, the police embraced the car. Criminals were stealing cars to sell on or to use as getaway vehicles and the police needed to stay ahead, or at least only one step behind. The arms race for speed, which culminated in the police acquiring high-speed pursuit vehicles such as Subaru Impreza Turbos, had begun.Since then the car has become essential to everyday life. Deep down everyone loves a police car. Countless enthusiasts collect models in different liveries and legendary police cars become part of the nation's shared cTrade ReviewPraise for Cops & Robbers ‘As a petrol-head and former bobby, TV presenter Ant Anstead was the perfect person to write a new history of the police car’Daily Express ‘Delightfully metal-focused’ Classic Car Weekly

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Andrew 2024 Carnegie Medal for Non-FictionThe shocking, never-before-told story of America's thalidomide victimsIn Germany on Christmas Day 1956 a baby girl was born without ears. She was the first victim of the notorious thalidomide epidemic. There would be over 10,000 more across 46 countries.For years the world believed the United States had avoided the catastrophe. After Frances Kelsey at the Food and Drug Administration became suspicious of the dangers of thalidomide in 1960, she led a successful fight to block its commercial approval.But now, having probed government and corporate archives and interviewed hundreds of key players, Jennifer Vanderbes reveals a darker truth that lay buried for decades. The toxic sedative ostensibly never sold' in America was widely distributed for over five years under the guise of clinical trials, reaching hundreds of pregnant women. Scores of American babies were, in fact, born with birth defects likely caused by the drug.WonderTrade Review‘Both a first-rate medical thriller and the searing account of a forgotten American tragedy. Drawing on six years of groundbreaking research and guided by a keen eye for the indelible detail and an unwavering moral conviction, Vanderbes has produced a shocking saga of pharmaceutical malpractice.’ Patrick Radden Keefe, author of EMPIRE OF PAIN ‘Narrative nonfiction at its most compelling.’ Margot Lee Shetterly, author of HIDDEN FIGURES ‘Thorough investigative work and lucid prose bring to life a little-known American tragedy … A compelling read.’ Abraham Verghese, author of CUTTING FOR STONE ‘A powerful and deeply reported book – Vanderbes’s dogged investigation has finally exposed the true scale of this public health catastrophe.’ Charles Graeber, author of THE GOOD NURSE and THE BREAKTHROUGH ‘Not only a page-turner, but a much-needed call for accountability and justice – an essential addition to our understanding of medical history.’ Megan O’Rourke, author of THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM ‘A deeply researched and chilling must-read.’ Publishers Weekly ‘Will leave you grateful for strong-minded scientists and epidemiology nerds — people who actually take the time to look at the data — and for dedicated pediatricians, parents who won’t take no for an answer and curious, persistent, investigative journalists like Vanderbes who can follow even long-buried and carefully hidden stories that need to be told.’ Washington Post ‘A significant work … The author weaves the various strands of her riveting tale together with aplomb, and she clearly explains even the most puzzling aspects of it.’Kirkus ‘Exhaustively reported… Vanderbes makes a complex and important story understandable, ending with an epilogue about thalidomide today. This is a medical must-read.’ Booklist ‘Vanderbes, previously a novelist, tells her story with verve, power, and empathy’ Harvard Public Health ‘Deft and thorough’ The Globe and Mail

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Book SynopsisImpossible to summarise and delightfully absorbing, Hadley's book is comfortably the most unexpected history book of the year'Sunday TimesA luminous journey through a thousand years of folklore and English history.Once upon a time in a Hertfordshire field, an ancient yew tree hid a dragon hunted by a giant named Piers Shonks. Today, the dragon and its slayer are the survivors of an 800-year battle between rural legend and national record, storytellers and sceptics.In this brilliant and lyrical history, Christopher Hadley journeys from churches to tombs to manuscript margins, to explore history, memory and legend, and the magical spaces where all three meet.Trade Review‘Impossible to summarise and delightfully absorbing, Hadley’s book is comfortably the most unexpected history book of the year’ Sunday Times ‘A sensitively intelligent excavation into Hertfordshire history, the English imagination and omnipresent myth’ Country Life ‘Christopher Hadley’s celebration of English folklore across 800 years delights in these imaginative tales which have shaped and coloured the cultural landscape of the nation …Enriching and at times surprising … Anchored by memorable tales, the narrative over-turns long-held historical beliefs as it goes … Hollow Places has an innate charm … The book’s real success lies in being alert to what makes these superstitions and rituals special – the understanding that imagination trumps truth’ TLS ‘Hadley wears his scholarship lightly but at the heart of this antiquarian wild goose chase is an ingenious meditation on what history, in all its complexity and unevenness, really is.’ Guardian ‘Enthralling’ The Oldie ‘This meditation on the power of folk myth lives up to its billing as an ‘unusual history’. It’s also engaging, wide-ranging stuff, exploring how stories become ties that bind’ BBC History Magazine ‘The past is animated with imagination and knowledge … Shonks and his story, the tomb and the now vanished yew are a starting point for a digressive and affectionate exploration of a local tradition that has survived for 800 years … Authoritative and well-researched.’ Spectator ‘Both the piercing dissection of a folktale and a thrilling delve into the thickets of the English imagination. In fluid and satisfying prose, Hadley succeeds in transforming the most outwardly parochial of subjects into a means of illuminating the tangled roots of storytelling … there are few subjects more compelling.’ Thomas Williams

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Notable BookBest Books of 2021: TIME, SmithsonianNew York Times Book Review Editors'' ChoiceA radical reckoning with the racial inequality of America's past and present, by one of the country's leading scholars of policing and mass incarcerationBetween 1964 and 1972, the United States endured domestic violence on a scale not seen since the Civil War. During these eight years, Black residents responded to police brutality and systemic racism by throwing punches and Molotov cocktails at police officers, plundering local businesses and vandalizing exploitative institutions. Ever since, Americans have been living in a nation and national culture created, in part, by the extreme violence of this period.In America on Fire, acclaimed professor Elizabeth Hinton draws on previously untapped sources to unravel this extraordinary history for the first time, arguing that we cannot understand the civil rights struggle without coming to terms with the astonishing violence, and hugeTrade Review‘[A] groundbreaking, deeply researched and profoundly heart-rending account of the origins of our national crisis of police violence against Black America … America on Fire is more than a brilliant guided tour through our nation’s morally ruinous past. It reveals the deep roots of the current movement to reject a system of law enforcement that defines as the problem the very people who continue to seek to liberate themselves from racial oppression.’Peniel E. Joseph, New York Times ‘Hinton compiles a breathtaking list of more than a thousand uprisings, far beyond those with which we are most familiar . . . Hinton is not just recovering Black resistance; she is also exposing a long, and ignored, history of white political violence, used to maintain the subordinated status of Black communities . . . Hinton systematically unravels the failures of police reform’Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor, The New Yorker ‘Not since Angela Davis’s 2003 book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, has a scholar so persuasively challenged our conventional understanding of the criminal legal system … Hinton tells this story with clarity, and her conclusions should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers’Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Washington Post ‘[A] trenchant study … Illustrate[s] the origins and legacies of the rebellions that sprang from police incursions in Black life’Boston Globe ‘Hinton’s passionate, occasionally gritty approach is the opposite of a gauzy PBS series: she drills down into the granular, highlighting the courageous men and women who stood tall in a hail of bullets.’Oprah Daily, ‘Best Books to Pick Up This May’ ‘Indispensable … Essential to any understanding of the state of the nation, and the way from here.’Jill Lepore, bestselling author of These Truths: A History of the United States

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Book SynopsisStuart Maconie is a writer, broadcaster and journalist familiar to millions from his work in print, on radio and on TV. His previous bestsellers have included Cider with Roadies, Pies and Prejudice and Adventures on the High Teas, and he currently hosts the afternoon show on BBC 6music with Mark Radcliffe as well as weekly show The Freak Zone. Based in the cities of Birmingham and Manchester, he can also often be spotted on top of a mountain in the Lake District with a Thermos flask and individual pork pie.Trade ReviewA very engaging writer with a remarkably broad frame of reference * Mail on Sunday *...compelling and often witty insight into the customs and mindsets of overlooked corners of Britain ... Maconie is an engaging and illuminating guide throughout * Independent *As funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell * Observer *More serious than you might expect, copies should be available in every school * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''Sara Wheeler is the literary maestro of the earth''s frozen regions... The prose is startling and sharp-edged as the icy landscapes themselves'' Financial TimesSmashing through the Arctic Ocean with the crew of a Russian icebreaker, herding reindeer across the tundra with Lapps and shadowing the Trans-Alaskan pipeline with truckers, Sara Wheeler discovers a complex and ambiguous land belonging both to ancient myth and modern controversy. The Magnetic North is an adroit combination of history, science and reflection in which Wheeler meditates on the role of the Arctic: fragmented lands which fed imaginations long before the scientists and oilmen showed up (not to mention desperado explorers who ate their own shoes). The Magnetic North tells of all this, plus gulag ghosts, old and new Russia, colliding cultures and bioaccumulated toxins in polar bears.''A stylish and engaging account of some of the world''s most Trade ReviewA wise, provoking and zestful chronicle, poetic, often tragic and always engaging. Wheeler, a prolific raconteur of distant places, has created the finest book on the Arctic since Hugh Brody's The Other Side of Eden -- Rory MacLean * Sunday Times *An excellent narrator, intelligent, amusing, poetic and down to earth -- Fergus Fleming * Literary Review *Her adventurous spirit, tireless intelligence, and joy shine through...a rare and precious talent -- Roger Hutchinson * Scotsman *Beautiful and terrifying * The Times *Wheeler's book teaches a lot about what is happening in the far north, which is valuable -- Kathleen James * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''A brilliant, unlikely book'' SpectatorHow can we celebrate, challenge and change our remarkable world? In 2012, the world arrived in London for the Olympics...and Ann Morgan went out to meet it. She read her way around all the globe''s 196 independent countries (plus one extra), sampling one book from every nation. It wasn''t easy. Many languages have next to nothing translated into English; there are tiny, tucked-away places where very little is written down; some governments don''t like to let works of art escape their borders.Using Morgan''s own quest as a starting point, Reading the World explores the vital questions of our time and how reading across borders might just help us answer them. ''Revelatory... While Morgan''s research has a daunting range...there is a simple message: reading is a social activity, and we ought to share books across boundaries'' Financial TimesTrade ReviewA wonderful book * Red *An enjoyable book that brings a world of literature into our homes * Daily Telegraph *A great way into literature in translation * Red Online *A truly inspiring read * Lady *If you, like me, are a fan of fiction in translation then I would suggest this is a must-read, or at the very least a really-should-read * Me And My Big Mouth (Blog) *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Kekoo Naoroji Award for Mountain Literature 2019An engrossing story of passion and exploration that traces the end of empire and the stirring of a new world order.John Auden was a pioneering geologist of the Himalayas. Michael Spender was the first to draw a detailed map of the North Face of Mount Everest. While their younger brothers W. H. Auden and Stephen Spender achieved literary fame, they vied for a place on an expedition that would finally conquer Everest. To this rivalry was added another: their shared love for a painter named Nancy Sharp. Her choice would determine each man's wartime loyalties.From Calcutta to pre-war London to Everest itself, The Last Englishmen tracks a generation obsessed with a romantic ideal. With a cast including writers, artists, political rogues and spies, this is narrative history at its most engaging and illuminating.''Wholly original... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that theTrade ReviewWholly original...a dense, rich, exhilarating piece of work that moves deftly between worlds and peoples...she keeps the big events always in view, dramatizing and humanizing the workings of history, particularly the story of empire and its machinations, in a way a novelist would – by making it a story of individuals... It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there is something Tolstoyan to her vast project...remarkable -- Neel Mukherjee * Wall Street Journal *In The Last Englishmen, Deborah Baker has written an exuberant, scene-changing, shapeshifting group biography, with John Auden and Michael Spender as its chief human protagonists. But she makes the Himalayas, and Mount Everest, palpable and vivid characters in her story too -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Spectator *Deborah Baker combines a novelistic alertness to the inner life with an anthropologist’s understanding of multiple cultures and a historian’s eye for major events. The result, yet again, is a continuously absorbing and stimulating book, which enlarges the cultural and political history of the mid-20th century even as it grippingly relates the adventures of a few men and women -- Pankaj MishraLove, war, politics, psychoanalysis, poetry, Calcutta and, especially, the Himalayas – Deborah Baker’s meticulously researched account of India and Britain in the forties reads like the very best of novels. -- Siddhartha DebAn enlightening and utterly compelling read… what really distinguishes the book is its brilliant characterisation and its structural agility. It reads like fiction. Anyone seeking only information will be disappointed. Non-fiction ought always to be this engaging -- John Keay * Literary Review *

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Book SynopsisIn this long-awaited book (already a major bestseller in Italy) Ginsborg has created a fascinating, sophisticated and definitive account of how Italy has coped, or failed to cope, with the past two decades. Contemporary Italy strongly mirrors Britain - the countries have roughly the same extent, population size and GNP - and yet they are fantastically different. Ginsborg sees this difference as most fundamentally clear in the role of the family and it is the family which is at the heart of Italian politics and business. Anyone wishing to understand contemporary Italy will find it essential to have this enormously attractive and intelligent book.

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Book SynopsisThis book studies the evolution of the family from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and how the process radically influenced child-rearing, education, contraception, sexual behaviour and marriage.

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Book Synopsis''Paris is the World, the rest of the Earth is nothing but its suburbs'' - MarivauxIn this intelligently-written and supremely entertaining new history, Colin Jones seeks to give a sense of the city of Paris as it was lived in and experienced over time. The focal point of generation upon generation of admirers and detractors, a source of attraction or repulsion even for those who have never been there, Paris has witnessed more extraordinary events than any other major city. No spot on earth has been more walked around, written about, discussed, painted and photographed. With an eye for the revealing, startling and (sometimes) horrible detail, Colin Jones takes the reader from Roman Paris to the present, recreating the ups and downs in the history of the city and its inhabitants. Attentive to both the urban environment and to the experience of those who lived within it, PARIS: BIOGRAPHY OF A CITY will be hugely enjoyed by habitual Paris obsessives, by first-time visitors, and by

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2017A hauntingly beautiful social history of the Thames Estuary, from the author of On Brick LaneOut at the eastern edge of England, between land and ocean, you will find beautiful, haunted salt marshes, coastal shallows and wide-open skies: the Thames Estuary. The estuary is an ancient gateway to England, a passage for numberless travellers in and out of London. And for generations, the people of Kent and Essex have lived and worked on the Estuary, learning its waters, losing loved ones to its deeps. Their heritage is a proud but never an easy one. In the face of a world changing around them, they endure.Rachel Lichtenstein spent five years exploring this unique community and recording its extraordinary chorus of voices, present and past. From mud larkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, from buried princesses to unexploded bombs, Estuary is a celebration of a haunting & profTrade ReviewPublisher's description. An immersive journey through the weird and haunting spaces of the Thames Estuary. Rachel Lichtenstein presents an extraordinary chorus of voices, from mudlarkers and fishermen to radio pirates and champion racers, capturing the incredibly diverse community of people who live and work in this ancient, wild and mesmerising place. * Penguin *Rachel Lichtenstein's electrifying exploration of the estuary * Spectator *The Thames Estuary changes constantly. How do you make such a landscape comprehensible, and how do you render it vividly for the reader? Lichtenstein's outstanding book shows how it should be done. * Irish Times *Immersive, engrossing, evocative * The Lady *

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Book SynopsisAs we approach the bicentenary of the abolition of the Atlantic trade, Walvin has selected the historical texts that recreate the mindset that made such a savage institution possible - morally acceptable even. Setting these historical documents against Walvin''s own incisive historical narrative, the two layers of this extraordinary, definitive account of the Atlantic slave trade enable us to understand the rise and fall of one of the most shameful chapters in British history, the repercussions of which the modern world is still living with.

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Book SynopsisFollowing Never Again and Having It So Good, the third part of Peter Hennessy''s celebrated Post-War Trilogy''By far the best study of early Sixties Britain ... so much fun, yet still shrewd and important'' The Times, Books of the Year Harold Macmillan famously said in 1960 that the wind of change was blowing over Africa and the remaining British Empire. But it was blowing over Britain too - its society; its relationship with Europe; its nuclear and defence policy. And where it was not blowing hard enough - the United Kingdom''s economy - great efforts were made to sweep away the cobwebs of old industrial practices and poor labour relations. Life was lived in the knowledge that it could end in a single afternoon of thermonuclear exchange if the uneasy, armed peace of the Cold War tipped into a Third World War.In Winds of Change we see Macmillan gradually working out his ''grand design'' - how to be part of both a tigTrade ReviewPeter Hennessy writes like he talks, which produces a delightfully wandering narrative, peppered with quirky anecdotes, that surreptitiously delivers powerful insights. This is by far the best study of early Sixties Britain; one to please the masses and wow the scholars. ... Hennessy, unique among contemporary historians, understands politics from the inside out. The book is so much fun, yet still shrewd and important -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times Books of the Year *Professor Peter Hennessy is a fine historian of late-twentieth-century Britain. He is a master of all the published sources, and his generous personality, academic distinction and unquestioned integrity have meant that he adds to them a lifetime of the confidences and insights of most of those who have actually made our history. ... So, a standing ovation for Peter Hennessy, a good man who writes very good books. -- Chris Patten * Tablet *Hennessy is a national treasure. He is driven by a romantic, almost sensual, fascination with British history, culture, and the quirky intricacies of British democracy and the government machine. His curiosity is insatiable, his memory infinitely capacious. -- Rodric Braithwaite * Spectator *[G]enially narrated... what makes him such a deft public historian is the way he stitches these patches of rich local colour into a narrative with the widest possible reach. ... Hennessy has such a keen associative eye and such a generous heart for the sheer oddness of everything that the narrative spins along like a comfortable chat. -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *splendid history of postwar Britain... Hennessy's writing is characterised by a wonderful mixture of wit and erudition. -- Piers Brandon * Literary Review *a deeply-informed book that has, nearly 60 years later, powerful resonance. The foremost chronicler of the era, Hennessy combines the intricate detail with stylistic verve. -- Philip Stephens * Financial Times *This is the third in Hennessy's wonderfully insightful series of books that make up a portrait of a nation coming to terms with victory in a ravaging war and the loss of empire. Like the others - Never Again and Having It So Good - it performs a singular balancing act between social history and cabinet-room politics. No current historian is as versed as Hennessy in the internal cogs and springs of the British state, but he also has a keen eye for the luminous face of passing time. -- Tim Adams * Observer *a masterful survey of Britain as the decade began ... For those who know him only from the radio, Hennessy is as good a writer as he is a talker. ... I am afraid that he is now a treasure. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *flavoursome, but authoritative, account ... This history is none the worse - quite the opposite - for being such a personal one; but it is the intense erudition underpinning Hennessy's intimate reflections that makes it so utterly indispensable. -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *fascinating ... dominated by the author's personal enthusiasms, researches and memories -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn Millions Like Us Virginia Nicholson tells the story of the women''s Second World War, through a host of individual women''s experiences. We tend to see the Second World War as a man''s war, featuring Spitfire crews and brave deeds on the Normandy beaches. But in conditions of Total War millions of women - in the Services and on the Home Front - demonstrated that they were cleverer, more broad-minded and altogether more complex than anyone had ever guessed. Millions Like Us tells the story of how these women loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared; how they re-made their world in peacetime. And how they would never be the same again ...''Vividly entertaining, uplifting and humbling, Millions Like Us deserves to be a bestseller'' Bel Mooney, The Daily Mail''Passionate, fascinating, profoundly sympathetic'' Artemis Cooper, Evening Standard Virginia Nicholson was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and grew up in

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHill is a magnificent historian and ... Time's Witness is a book to change the way you think about history. -- John Carey * Sunday Times *in this rich and absorbing study ... Hill has succeeded splendidly in her mission to rescue these often strange, eccentric but fascinating figures from "oblivion and the condescension of posterity". -- Paul Lay * The Times *Long meditated and meticulously researched, this book ... [is] presented in prose of unassertive grace and quiet wit ... what it offers is a rich feast, best consumed slowly and savoured, and Hill has assembled each course with magnificent erudition. -- Rupert Christiansen * Sunday Telegraph *immensely engaging... exceptional ... Antiquarianism was about making the past live again, and Hill makes the past of the antiquarians live again ... we can discern an innovative, sly and wry new form of non-fiction ... a beautifully written and very clever book which is psychologically astute -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday *Not many writers could control this wide-ranging narrative with such clarity or assurance as here. Nor has Dr Hill succumbed to the temptation to tell in a long book what could be presented in a relatively short one. The result is outstanding: an engaging, incisive and thought-provoking exploration of the history of history in Romantic Britain. -- John Goodall * Country Life *She has accumulated a vast amount of detailed material and organized it impeccably into a witty and intelligent narrative which is both erudite and readable. If only all history was written this well. -- Clare Pettitt * Times Literary Supplement *impressive and stimulating ... At its heart, Time's Witness is a social and intellectual history that pays tribute to the role of antiquaries in recasting the way that British people understood and came to respect their distant national past. Hill seeks to rescue the antiquaries from "the condescension of posterity", and in that she succeeds admirably -- Tony Barber * Financial Times *Time's Witness retraces the antiquarians' journey into the past through the revolutions of the present ... Hill is an elegant stylist and vivid storyteller, and her account brims with anecdotes gathered from the little-known papers of her protagonists ... few could resist this sensitive, learned and amusing plunge into the historical imagination. -- Tom Stammers * Apollo *In this engaging survey ... by marrying scholarship and sensibility ... she achieves her stated aim of restoring history to the antiquaries and the antiquaries to history. -- Andrew Lycett * Spectator *"The history we have," Rosemary Hill writes in her preface to Time's Witness "is the history we want. It is the picture we choose to see in the clouds." Hill's book accordingly recreates, in magnificent detail, the cloud pictures conjured into being by the historians, writers, architects and artists and, above all, antiquaries who, between 1789 and 1851, reimagined the relationship between past and present in both Britain and France. -- Daisy Hay * BBC History Magazine *Time's Witness, which records with such verve the steady extension of subjects deemed fit for scholarly investigation two hundred years ago, is published at a moment when much of the curiosity and many of the pursuits it documents are endangered. -- Nicholas Penny * London Review of Books *Not everything that was false was fake, a theme that runs through Time's Witness, pushing us to think differently about the past, challenging our expectations of how that past should be recorded and interpreted and, above all, placing the Romantic sensibility and its embracing of subjectivity and imaginative reconstruction at the heart of historical enquiry. -- Adrian Tinniswood * History Today *in the best Romantic antiquarian tradition, the book is an engaging and densely detailed scholarly tome that reads a bit like a love letter, or at least an expression of infectious intellectual enthusiasm. Throughout Time's Witness, 'history' becomes visible as a succession of ideas and theories about the past that are continuously overlaid and revised in an ongoing process of exchange and accumulation. -- Sarah Watling * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis''. . . as when iron is drawn to a magnet, camphor is sucked into hot air, crystal lights up in the Sun, sulfur and a volatile liquid are kindled by flame, an empty eggshell filled with dew is raised towards the Sun . . .''This rich, fascinating anthology of the western magical tradition stretches from its roots in the wizardry of the Old Testament and the rituals of the ancient world, through writers such as Thomas Aquinas, John Milton, John Dee and Matthew Hopkins, and up to the tangled, arcane beginnings of the scientific revolution. Arranged historically, with commentary, this book includes incantations, charms, curses, Golems, demons and witches, as well as astrology, divination and alchemy, with some ancient and medieval works which were once viewed as too dangerous even to open. Selected and translated with an introduction and notes by Brian CopenhaverTrade ReviewThis illuminating book should dispel the notion that magic was just superstition and secure its place in the history of ideas... for anyone wanting a more informed view of the uses of enchantment, Copenhaver's volume is a peerless resource -- Philip Ball * Prospect *

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Book Synopsis''A history of resilience ... sweeping, comprehensive ... it''s a story that has been waiting to be told'' Guardian''An account sorely needed ... a kaleidoscopic view of Native American history, refreshing and rollicking, and not unlike its fractured reality'' StandpointBlood and Land is a dazzling, panoramic account of the history and achievements of Native North Americans, and why they matter today. It is about why no understanding of the wider world is possible without comprehending the original inhabitants of the United States and Canada: Native Americans, First Nations and Arctic peoples.This highly personal book, based on years of travel and first-hand research in North America, introduces a deeply complex story, of myriad identities and determined ethnicities - from the desert Southwest to the high Arctic, from first contact between Europeans and Native Americans to the challenges of Native leadership today. Instead of Trade ReviewResisting the tendency toward generalisation that is the inherent danger of thematic survey, King emphasises singularity, contrast and diversification ... the early sections of the chapter on language and literature contain the most lucid and succinct discussion of the nature, origin and diversification of Native American languages - a subject central to the understanding of Native American history - that I have ever read ... [an] excellent panoramic survey -- Ciaran Brady * Irish Times *Blood and Land is an account - at least from my American perspective - sorely needed...general histories of Native America are difficult to write and King does a superlative job -- David Bahr * Standpoint *Blood and Land is to be commended for its ambition. The subjects covered are fascinating ... an eminently readable work -- Karen Jones * BBC History Magazine *A panoramic portrait ...a delight for the browsers and sifters among us who may be more engaged by the stories of early 20th century Kikapoo travelling snake-oil salesmen than by the minutiae of constitutional haggling and treaty-making -- Melanie McGrath * Evening Standard *King sees through clear and intelligent eyes, with a scholarship that is deep, wide, and liberated from cliché or stereotype, the vast complexities and nuances that motivate and shape not only the past but, even more important, the present and future of the first citizens of North America. -- W. Richard West, Jr. * Founding Director, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE LONGMAN-HISTORY TODAY PRIZE 2018LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2018 ''Makes a gripping human story out of the wisest and most progressive policy achievement of any government in the history of the world ... the welfare state deserves books this good'' Stuart Maconie, New Statesman, Books of the Year''A brilliant book, full of little revelations'' Jon Cruddas, Prospect''Carefully argued, deftly balanced and wittily written, with countless lovely details'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesA landmark book from a remarkable new historian, on a subject that has never been more important - or imperilledToday, everybody seems to agree that something has gone badly wrong with the British welfare state. In the midst of economic crisis, politicians and commentators talk about benefits as a lifestyle choice, and of ''skivers'' living off hard-working ''strivers'' as they debate what a welfaTrade ReviewA brilliant book, full of little revelations -- Jon Cruddas * Prospect *Carefully argued, deftly balanced and wittily written, with countless lovely details -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *

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Book Synopsis''This brilliantly subversive and witty book lays bare the techniques of manipulation and disinformation that keep the rich and powerful rich and powerful. . . A landmark book'' Brian Eno''Very funny, as satire should be, until you realise it''s deadly serious'' Adam Rutherford, BBC Radio 4 Start the WeekKnowledge is power. Which is why the rich and powerful don''t want you to have it.The Playbook is an exposé of the extraordinary lengths that corporations will go to in order to spread disinformation and deny the scientific facts - around climate change, public health risks and worker safety - when they don''t suit their agenda.Written in the form of a corporate handbook for tobacco, oil and pharmaceutical company executives, it is a litany of obfuscation techniques, denial, delays and outright lies, including: how to recruit an academic ''expert'' who is willing to compromise their integrity (or is just short of casTrade ReviewThis brilliantly subversive and witty book lays bare the techniques of manipulation and disinformation that keep the rich and powerful rich and powerful. It's a handbook to show you all their tricks - with working examples. If you want to be a vile, greedy capitalist, this how-to book will be a great help. And if you want to identify vile greedy capitalists it will show you how to recognise them. It's a landmark book -- Brian EnoA training manual and fake guidebook for companies. . . very funny, as satire should be, until you realise it's deadly serious -- Adam Rutherford * BBC Radio 4 Start the Week *Jacquet has found a brilliantly effective way of revealing just how extensive and systematic corporate strategies of doubt and denial are - by creating a Machiavellian secret guide for executives worried about what the latest science might mean for their business. Far more entertaining, but also far more disturbing than a more sober historical account or polemic would be * The Observer *If you feel exhausted from constantly taking the high road, The Playbook offers an enticing alternative . . . with Jacquet's dry humor suffusing each chapter, the book's tongue-in-cheek format is a chilling realization that the villains in The Playbook are extraordinarily banal. The tactics that enable their misconduct have been recycled across decades * Scientific American *This whip-smart and delightfully snarky exposé gives readers the tools to recognize and refute corporate deception . . . Fashioned as a strategy manual, Jacquet's satirical advice explains . . . how to challenge the existence of a problem, the integrity of those who raise it, and the need for policies to address it * Publishers Weekly *A savage satirical stab at corporate malfeasance draws blood. . . Jacquet takes an original approach to indicting the ethical vacuum that besets much of big business. . . A sharp warning to corporations that deep pockets and armies of accomplices won't stall a reckoning forever * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE LAURA SHANNON PRIZE 2021 AND ITALY''S CHERASCO HISTORY PRIZE 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE 2020A TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019Migrants have stood at the heart of modern Europe''s experience, whether trying to escape danger, to find a better life or as a result of deliberate policy, whether moving from the countryside to the city, or between countries, or from outside the continent altogether. Peter Gatrell''s powerful new book is the first to bring these stories together into one place. He creates a compelling narrative bracketed by two nightmarish periods: the great convulsions following the fall of the Third Reich and the mass attempts in the 2010s by migrants to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. The Unsettling of Europe is a new history of the continent, charting the ever-changing arguments about the desirability or otherwise of migrants anTrade ReviewPeter Gatrell has produced a tour de force ... This important and timely work on one of the most challenging issues in modern Europe deserves to be widely read. -- Ian KershawA meticulously researched and documented survey ... Gatrell's closely focused studies help us to see this set of issues as illuminating some much wider questions about the way we live now. -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *Excellent ... an absorbing and highly readable narrative that ought to be required reading for anyone concerned with modern migration, and not just in Europe either. -- Richard Evans * BBC History *The Unsettling of Europe is a definitive book in which Peter Gatrell proves that 'what we used to have' is a chimerical idea ... A clearly written and essential history. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *A calmly humanist history ... Surprisingly, I was left feeling optimistic - by Gatrell's informed vision of an unstoppably interconnected world, unsettled, not by migration but by inequality, yet full of possibilities, provided we have the courage to own our history. -- Kapka Kassabova * The Spectator *Gatrell's eye for detail and sensitivity make this a compelling account that challenges the "us" and "them" framing into which much discussion of migration is forced. Its great strength is that it treats the emotional and cultural aspects of the subject with as much respect as the historical facts and figures. -- Daniel Trilling * The Guardian *The Unsettling of Europe is a positive and sympathetic book that seeks to rebalance the conversation. It is a bold, meticulously researched and frequently compelling account ... Readers are taken on a fascinating, albeit troubling journey through the moments and revolutions that shaped postwar Europe. -- Matthew Goodwin * The Sunday Times *Gatrell's historical long view provides a valuable reminder of what Europe went through after 1945 ... These now-distant events have every right to a place in the history books, and Gatrell has done us a service in chronicling them so engagingly. -- Paul Morland * Financial Times *Timely and ambitious ... Gatrell [offers a] nuanced and sympathetic treatment of the variety of the immigrant experience - and its impact on European societies. -- Jonathan Portes * The Observer *The Unsettling of Europe is an immense achievement ... The range and the quality of scholarship are magnificent. But more than that, this is an optimistic and deeply humane book, qualities found all too rarely in our time. -- Randall Hansen, Canada Research Chair in Global Migration, University of TorontoWith migration often characterized as a new and threatening 'crisis' in Europe, acclaimed historian Peter Gatrell recasts the history of postwar Europe as a history of migration ... This timely and must-read book offers valuable lessons from the past as well as new ways to understand just what is at stake in the debate over immigration today. -- Erika Lee, author of The Making of Asian America

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Book SynopsisAn inquisitive, expansive and fascinating exploration of humans as creatures of our own makingOther species adapt to their environments; we alone create ours. Over generations, we have remade the world to suit ourselves - using improved knowledge and technology to confront the traditional scourges - and for the most part we enjoy prosperity beyond the dreams of our ancestors. What''s more, in changing our world, we have also reshaped the human phenotype - the interaction between genes and environment that moulds our bodies and minds. The results can be seen in the streets of our post-industrial cities. We grow taller and heavier than before, and live longer. We think and behave differently, and die from once rare diseases. Our experiences of life have been transformed, and in turn so have our societies.Weaving together biology, social anthropology, epidemiology and history, Edwin Gale examines the shifting physical and mental dimeTrade ReviewA fascinating thesis argues that biologically we are unlike any generation that has gone before... [Gale's] book is humane and fascinating and it boasts a compelling argument. You will not be bored reading it and if you can't be bothered to read it cover to cover you can simply open it at random to find a good story for your next dinner party. -- James Marriot * Times *

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Book SynopsisThe story of Jewish literature is a kaleidoscopic one, multilingual and transnational in character, spanning the globe as well as the centuries. In this broad, thought-provoking introduction to Jewish literature from 1492 to the present, cultural historian Ilan Stavans focuses on its multilingual and transnational nature. Stavans presents a wide range of traditions within Jewish literature and the variety of writers who made those traditions possible. Represented are writers as dissimilar as Luis de Carvajal the Younger, Franz Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Isaac Babel, Anzia Yezierska, Elias Canetti, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Irving Howe, Clarice Lispector, Susan Sontag, Philip Roth, Grace Paley, Amos Oz, Moacyr Scliar, and David Grossman. The story of Jewish literature spans the globe as well as the centuries, from the marrano poets and memorialists of medieval Spain, to the sprawling Yiddish writing in Ashkenaz (the Pale of Settlement'' in Eastern Europe), to the probing narratives of Jewish immigrants to the United States and other parts of the New World. It also examines the accounts of horror during the Holocaust, the work of Israeli authors since the creation of the Jewish State in 1948, and the ingathering of Jewish works in Brazil, Bulgaria, Argentina, and South Africa at the end of the twentieth century. This kaleidoscopic introduction to Jewish literature presents its subject matter as constantly changing and adapting.Trade ReviewReading Jewish literature becomes a stimulating journey; Stavans jumps from one author to another without clinging to either time or space. * Tessa Calders i Artís, Escola de libreria *Table of ContentsChapter One: People of the Book Chapter Two: After the Expulsion Chapter Three: The Age of Anxiety Chapter Four: Into the Abyss Chapter Five: Into the Mainstream Chapter Six: The Ingathering Chapter Seven: The Promised Land Chapter Eight: The Letterless Canon References Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisAmericans have always been a hard-drinking people, but from 1920 to 1933 the country went dry. After decades of pressure from rural Protestants such as the hatchet-wielding Carry A. Nation and organizations such as the Women''s Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League, the states ratified the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Bolstered by the Volstead Act, this amendment made Prohibition law: alcohol could no longer be produced, imported, transported, or sold. This bizarre episode is often humorously recalled, frequently satirized, and usually condemned. The more interesting questions, however, are how and why Prohibition came about, how Prohibition worked (and failed to work), and how Prohibition gave way to strict governmental regulation of alcohol. This book answers these questions, presenting a brief and elegant overview of the Prohibition era and its legacy.During the 1920s alcohol prices rose, quality declined, and consumption dropped. The black market thrived, filling the pockets of mobsters and bootleggers. Since beer was too bulky to hide and largely disappeared, drinkers sipped cocktails made with moonshine or poor-grade imported liquor. The all-male saloon gave way to the speakeasy, where together men and women drank, smoked, and danced to jazz.After the onset of the Great Depression, support for Prohibition collapsed because of the rise in gangster violence and the need for revenue at local, state, and federal levels. As public opinion turned, Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised to repeal Prohibition in 1932. The legalization of beer came in April 1933, followed by the Twenty-first Amendment''s repeal of the Eighteenth that December. State alcohol control boards soon adopted strong regulations, and their legacies continue to influence American drinking habits. Soon after, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The alcohol problem had shifted from being a moral issue during the century to a social, cultural, and political one during the campaign for Prohibition, and finally, to a therapeutic one involving individuals. As drinking returned to pre-Prohibition levels, a Neo-Prohibition emerged, led by groups such as Mothers against Drunk Driving, and ultimately resulted in a higher legal drinking age and other legislative measures. With his unparalleled expertise regarding American drinking patterns, W. J. Rorabaugh provides an accessible synthesis of one of the most important topics in US history, a topic that remains relevant today amidst rising concerns over binge-drinking and alcohol culture on college campuses.Trade ReviewProf. Rorabaugh has a firm grip on his subject, and the book is a handy reliable source of background information on the Prohibition movement." - James Hedges, "The National Prohibitionist"Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Drinking and Temperance Chapter 2: The Dry Crusade Chapter 3: Prohibition Chapter 4: Repeal Chapter 5: Legacies Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisCountry Music: A Very Short Introduction presents a compelling overview of the music and its impact on American culture. Country music has long been a marker of American identity; from our popular culture to our politics, it has provided a soundtrack to our national life. While traditionally associated with the working class, country''s appeal is far broader than any other popular music style. While this music rose from the people, it is also a product of the popular music industry, and the way the music has been marketed to its audience is a key part of its story. Key artists, songs, and musical styles are highlighted that are either touchstones for a particular social event (such as Tammy Wynette''s Stand By Your Man, which produced both a positive and negative backlash as a marker of women''s roles in society at the beginning of the liberation movement) or that encompass broader trends in the industry (for example, Jimmie Rodgers'' T for Texas was an early example of the appropriation of black musical forms by white artists to market them to a mainstream audience). While pursuing a basically chronological outline, the book is structured around certain recurring themes (such as rural vs. urban; tradition vs. innovation; male vs. female; white vs. black) that have been documented through the work of country artists from the minstrel era to today. Truly the voice of the people, country music expresses both deep patriotism as well as a healthy skepticism towards the powers that dominate American society. Country Music: A Very Short Introduction illuminates this rich tradition and assesses its legacy in American popular music culture.Trade ReviewA nice pocket sized book, you don't have to be an academic to read it. It takes you right up to the start of country music and brings you just about bang up to date. Very readable. * Paul Braithwaite, BBC Radio Cumbria & BBC Tees *Table of ContentsList of illustrations Introduction 1 Behind the "big bang": The roots of country music 2 "Wildwood flowers": Country music goes mainstream: 1923-1930 3 "Back in the saddle again": The birth of the singing cowboy, 1930s-1945 4 "Honky-tonkin'": Postwar country music: 1945-1959 5 "Make the world go away": Nashville and countrypolitan sounds, 1957-1980 6 "Mama tried": Country alternatives, from Bakersfield to Austin, 1965-1980 7 "Friends in low places": Retro-country and country-pop since 1980 Coda: Country music in a new millennium Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Race, slavery, and ideology in colonial North America Chapter 2: Resistance and African American identity before the Civil War Chapter 3: War, freedom, and a nation reconsidered Chapter 4: Civilization, race, and the politics of uplift Chapter 5: The making of the modern Civil Rights Movement(s) Chapter 6: The paradoxes of post-civil rights America Epilogue: Stony the road we trod References Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisAn utterly splendid book, quite the most brilliantly written, balanced, and explanative general work on the Vikings ever to appear in English or in any language.'' Scandinavian StudiesThe subject of this book is the Viking realms, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, their civilization and culture, and their many sided achievements at home and abroad. A highly readable narrative follows the development of these Northern peoples - the Nordmenn - from their origins and the legendary pre-history to the military triumphs of Canute and the defeat of Harald Hardrádi at Stamford Bridge in 1066, which symbolically ended the Viking age. The book recounts the Vikings'' exploits in war, trade, and colonization: the assault on Western Christendom; the trading and military ventures to the Slav and Muslim worlds and to Byzantium; and the western voyages of discovery and settlement to Greenland, Iceland, and America. Numerous photographs, maps, and drawings contribute to Gwyn Jones''s rounded portrait of Viking civilization and vividly evoke the importance in their culture of religion, art, and seafaring.Trade ReviewWhat a superb book this is! Wise, well-informed, judicious and infinitely readable. * Magnus Magnusson, Scotsman *an utterly splendid book, quite the most brilliantly written, balanced and explanative general work on the Vikings ever to appear in English or...in any language. * Erik Wahlgren, Scandinavian Studies *A highly readable history. * Oxford Time *no better book on the Vikings has ever been written, and it is one which every educated person with any interest in history should know about ... Readers will be delighted to discover the eloquent and sparkling prose of a natural Welsh bard and storyteller who was one of the shining lights of University College, Cardiff. The man writes beautifully. There are not many history books one can pick up and start reading anywhere just for the sheer enjoyment of literary craftsmanship and even fewer as authoritative as this. * Lloyds List 13/04/1994 *Table of ContentsPART 1 - THE NORTHERN PEOPLES TO AD 700; 1. THE SCANDINAVIAN COMMUNITY, I: DIVERSITY AND UNITY; PART 3 - THE VIKING MOVEMENT OVERSEAS; PART 4 - THE VIKING AGE ENDS

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Book SynopsisJust days into the miners'' strike of 1984-1985, a few women in coalfield communities around Britain began to meet to consider how they could support the strike, a clash with the Thatcher government over the future of the coal industry. Women ultimately formed a national network of groups that some observers saw as an ''alternative welfare state'', helping to keep the strike going for just under a year. This book is the first study of this national movement, illuminating its achievements, but also telling the less well-known story of arguments and divisions with men in the National Union of Mineworkers and feminists in the women''s liberation movement. Many women in the movement, despite their activism, resolutely denied that they were ''political'' at all, defining themselves as ''ordinary'' women, housewives, mothers, and workers; and, despite some claims that women activists had been transformed for ever by their experiences, most of those involved felt they had been changed only inTable of Contents1: Introduction 2: Before the strike 3: Early days: Spring 1984 4: High noon: Summer 1984 5: Crisis and drift: Autumn 1984 6: Flood back to defeat: Winter 1984-1985 7: Aftermath 8: Remembering the strike Appendix I: Details of project interviewees Appendix II: Details of key sociological studies of the strike and aftermath Appendix III: Chronology

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