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Garden design in England was entirely reinvented during the eighteenth century. The strictly symmetrical gardens of the French Baroque were replaced by artificial landscapes almost indistinguishable from natural scenery. What continues to govern our notions of a beautiful landscape, even today, is the ideal image of nature conceived by eighteenth-century English landscape gardeners. Hans von Trotha's journey through the history of the English garden introduces us to twelve of the most important, original, and beautiful parks in Britain, all of which can be visited today. On the way, we learn how the new landscape garden was born of the spirit of political opposition. We also learn the significance of imitation Greek temples and Gothic ruins. The foreword presents a historical outline of the origins of the English garden.

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Geoffrey Chaucer might be considered the quintessential English writer, but he drew much of his inspiration and material from Italy. Without the tremendous influences of Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, the author of The Canterbury Tales might never have assumed his place as the 'father' of English literature. Nevertheless, Richard Owen's Chaucer's Italy begins in London, where the poet dealt with Italian merchants in his roles as court diplomat and customs official, before his involvement in arranging the marriage of King Edward III's son Lionel in Milan and diplomatic missions to Genoa and Florence. Scrutinising his encounters with Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the mercenary knight John Hawkwood, Owen reveals the deep influence of Italy's people and towns on Chaucer's poems and stories. Much writing on Chaucer depicts a misleadingly parochial figure, but, as Owen's enlightening short study of Chaucer's Italian years makes clear, the poet's life was internationally eventful. The consequences have made the English canon what it is today.

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An intriguing chapter in the history of England's most famous church, these ten pen portraits include the stories of Martin Luther King and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

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When Abraham Lincoln said, ‘You can be anything you want to be,’ Americans, and eventually everybody everywhere, lifted their sights. Nowadays anybody can aspire to be a leader, and nearly everybody has to lead sometimes. In Leadership, Simon McDonald assumes that thinking about leadership before you lead helps you to lead better. No matter the circumstances in which we might be called to lead – be it at work, on the sports field, or in the community – the example of top leaders in politics and public service (both their successes and shortcomings) can help you figure out your own approach. As the head of HM Diplomatic Service, McDonald was responbile for over 14,000 staff in 270 posts worldwide, worked for six foreign secretaries, and saw five prime ministers operate at close quarters. Observing these people undertaking the most important and often the most difficult work in the country, he saw the behaviours that helped them to achieve their objectives, and those which hindered them.

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Britain's relationship with Russia is surprisingly under-explored. When the two formed a pragmatic alliance and fought together at Navarino in 1827, it was overwhelmingly the work of the British prime minister, George Canning. His death brought about a volte-face that would see the countries fighting on opposite sides in the Crimean War and jostling for power during the Great Game. It was not until the 1917 revolution that another statesman had a defining impact on relations between Britain and Russia: Winston Churchill opposed Bolshevism, yet he never stopped advocating diplomatic and military engagement with Russia. In the Second World War, he recognised earlier than most the necessity of allying with the Soviets against the menace of Nazi Germany - as well as the post-war threat to freedom posed by the Soviets themselves.Bringing us into the twenty-first century, Owen chronicles how both countries have responded to their geopolitical decline. Drawing on both imperial and Soviet history, he explains the unique nature of Putin's autocracy and addresses Britain's return to 'blue water' diplomacy. With Owen's characteristic insight and expertise, Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma depicts a relationship governed by principle as often as by suspicion, expediency, and outright necessity.

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No one grows up dreaming of becoming an economist. Until the late nineteenth century, economics couldn't even be studied at university and was the preserve of polymathic figures whose radical curiosity drew them to an evolving discipline that was little understood and often derided. Each of the thirteen chapters of this book tells the story of just such a figure. Each of their extraordinary lives is worthy of fiction, and the manner of their deaths, oddly, often illuminates their work. In the Long Run We're All Dead shows us how these economists developed the theories for which they became famous, even if, tragically, much too late for them to enjoy their fame. And these often-complex ideas - of Utilitarianism, of Social Costs, of the Endowment Effect, to name just a few - are explained here with reference to the lives of their creators in a style that is engaging, irreverent, and comic. Though Frank tells us about these lives is true, this is also a book of imaginative speculation that considers how economist's principles might be applied to problems of today and of the future. 'In the long run', said John Maynard Keynes, 'we are all dead.' A blandly straightforward statement but one, when uttered by perhaps the greatest economist of the twentieth century, intriguingly gnomic too. Keynes is but one of the eccentrics, radical, unconventional, and often revolutionary thinkers who lives Frank entertainingly recounts.

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The passion and emotion felt about the partition of Ireland has not dissipated in the 100 years since and, as the disorders occurred in Northern Ireland in the Spring 2021 show, it is as controversial now as it was then. To mark the centenary of partition, this much-acclaimed concise introductory history explains clearly and objectively why and how two states were created on the island.

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The United Kingdom has never had an easy relationship with its capital. Far and away the wealthiest and most populous city in the country, London is the political, financial and cultural centre of the UK and it is responsible for almost a quarter of its economic output. Yet the city's insatiable growth and perceived political dominance have caused national leaders grave concern for hundreds of years. This 'London as problem' perception has only increased as the city has become busier, dirtier and ever more powerful. The recent resurgence in anti-London sentiment and plans to rebalance power away from the capital should not be a surprise in a nation still feeling the effects of austerity. But will it be different this time? Will HS2 or the plan to move the House of Lords to northern England really redistribute power and wealth? Published on the eve of the delayed mayoral elections and in the wake of the greatest financial downturn in generations, London and the UK asks whether the capital's relentless growth and stranglehold on commerce and culture will ever leave room for other regions to compete.

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Named "Man of the Millennium" in 1999, Johannes Gutenberg was the creator of one of the most influential and revolutionary inventions in Europe's history: a printing press with mechanical movable type. This development sparked the printing revolution, which is regarded as the milestone of the second millennium and represents one of the central contributions in the turn to modernity. His printing press came to play a key role in the development of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Age of Enlightenment, providing the material foundation for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses. His invention revolutionized the way that information is shared and broadened the boundaries of who has access to written knowledge. Paving the way for bibliophiles of today, the Gutenberg Bible of 1454 remains one of the most famous books in history. Gutenberg's technical innovations remained unrivalled for almost 350 years, until industrialization of the printing industry and the digital revolution built on the advances that he began, increasing the rate at which information is spread. Despite his significance in forming the world as we know it, there has not yet been a rigorous and accessible biography of Gutenberg published in English. Written by the leading expert on Gutenberg, F ssel's biography brings together high academic standards and thorough historical details in a highly readable text that conveys everything you need to know about the man who changed printing forever.

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Journalism has the vital function to defend and promote truth in public discourse. And yet, at a time when seeking and finding the truth is at a premium, journalism has never been under so much pressure to move away from this critical role into more partial campaigns or commercial public relations exercises. In The Power of Journalists four of the UK's foremost journalists - Nick Robinson, Barbara Speed, Charlie Beckett and Gary Gibbon - introduce us to the role of the journalist as truth-teller and protector of impartiality as well as interpreter of controversial facts and trusted source of public opinion. The authors draw from their own fieldwork - including coverage of the Scottish independence referendum and the Brexit campaigns - to reflect on the necessity of maintaining an impartial and independent public information service and protecting quality information from the mounting pressure exerted by political parties and the business world. The role of new technology is also taken into consideration. While the explosion of social media has generated trends that threaten good quality journalism and contribute to the collapse of its traditional business model, the information silos caused by algorithms are simultaneously threatening democratic understanding and undermining the adequacy and effectiveness of journalism. The Power of Journalists is a mindful, rigorous and discerning examination of the role of journalism today and the reasons why journalists are conventionally regarded as powerful and tied to the establishment, yet often feel anything but.

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In the 1920s, before the establishment of Israel, a group of German Jews settled in a garden city on the outskirts of Jerusalem. During World War II, their quiet community, nicknamed Grunewald on the Orient, emerged as both an immigrant safe haven and a lively expatriate hotspot, welcoming many famous residents including poet-playwright Else Lasker-Schuler, historian Gershom Scholem, and philosopher Martin Buber. It was an idyllic setting, if fraught with unique tensions on the fringes of the long-divided holy city. After the war, despite the weight of the Shoah, the neighborhood miraculously repaired shattered bonds between German and Israeli residents. In German Jerusalem, Thomas Sparr opens up the history of this remarkable community and the forgotten borderland they called home.

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Although it is approaching a century in existence, the Irish border is currently one of the most topical issues in British politics. For most of its existence, the border rarely impinged on the consciousness of most British people, until the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Now, twenty years on from the landmark Good Friday Agreement that helped to bring an end to British–Irish conflict, the question of the Irish border could scupper any final agreement on Britain’s exit from the European Union – threatening to derail Britain’s relationship not only with Ireland but with the entirety of Europe. This book charts the genesis of the Irish border in the early 20th century, and examines how the border’s existence soured relations between Ireland and Britain in the subsequent decades, leading to the emergence of extremist republican military campaigns to eradicate the border both in the 1950s and in the recent Troubles. The understanding at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement – that there will be no change in the status of the border unless and until there is a majority decision in Northern Ireland in favour – is now thrown into uncertainty as Brexit draws near. Once again, the Irish border is the crux of controversy at the forefront of British politics. Drawing the Line provides a concise explanation of the historic background to the current controversy by outlining how the border has continually bedevilled relations between the two countries, why the future of the Irish border after Brexit is of crucial importance, and why British indifference and ignorance about the impacts of the border must not continue.

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The Power of Whitehall provides rich and informative observations about the nature of the Civil Service, its values and effectiveness, what threatens it and how it should continue to adapt to a changing world. Journalist David Normington and historian Peter Hennessy address themes such as the importance of politicians trusting Civil Servants and the difficulties that arise when they don't; the role of Special Advisers and the extent to which they are a threat to the Minister-Civil Servant relationship; and of the effect of Select Committees and the media. Civil Servants are now exposed to the public in unprecedented ways, with both negative as well as positive consequences. What does it mean that the political neutrality of the Civil Service has been enshrined in law since 2010, approximately 150 years after it was first proposed by Northcott and Trevelyan? The Power of Whitehall is an accessible introduction to the life of the Civil Servant as well as the Civil Service itself.

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In his famous report of 1942, the economist and social reformer William Beveridgewrote that the war was a 'revolutionary moment in the world's history' and so a time 'forrevolutions, not for patching.' The Beveridge Report outlined the welfare state that Attlee'sgovernment would go on to implement after 1946, instituting, for the first time, a nationalsystem of benefits to protect all from 'cradle to the grave.' Since then the welfare system hasbeen patched, beset by muddled thinking and short-termism. The government spends overGBP171bn a year on welfare and yet, since the Beveridge Report, there has been no strategicreview of the system. Compare that to Defence which, with its comparatively small budgetof GBP35bn, is subject to a strategic review at least every decade. Reform of the welfare systemneed not mean dismantlement, but serious questions must be asked about how a welfarestate as we understand it remains sustainable into the 21st century.

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This richly illustrated book showcases a previously unseen and virtually unknown historical collection of Chinese ceramics, formed in the early twentieth century by George Eumorfopoulos, a pivotal figure in the appreciate of Asian art. Taken together, these artifacts, now located at the Benaki Museum in Athens, Greece, build a rare time capsule of Western tastes and preoccupations with the East in the decades prior to World War II. The years between the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911 and the establishment of the People s Republic of China in 1949 marked an opening up of China to the rest of the world and coincided with the first archaeological excavations of the country s early cultures. Working at the time in London, a center of imperialist power and global finance, Eumorfopoulos and his colleagues were instrumental in acquiring, assessing, interpreting, and manipulating the unearthed objects. The years of isolation that followed this period allowed aspects of his approach to become canonical, influencing later scholarly research on Chinese material culture.This groundbreaking exploration of approximately one hundred artifacts is not only an important account of Eumorfopoulos s work, but also a story about China and the West and the role antique materials played in their cultural interplay. "

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The Euro crisis has served as a stark reminder of the fundamental importance of Germany to the larger European project. But the image of Germany as the dominant power in Europe is at odds with much of its recent history. "Reluctant Meister "is a wide-ranging study of Germany from the Holy Roman Empire through the Second and Third Reichs, and it asks not only how such a mature and developed culture could have descended into the barbarism of Nazism but how it then rebuilt itself within a generation to become an economic powerhouse. Perhaps most important, Stephen Green examines to what extent Germany will come to dominate its relationship with its neighbors in the European Union, and what that will mean.

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A mountain peak above the Monastery of St Catherine in Egypt, Mount Sinai is best known as the site where Moses received the Ten Commandments in the biblical Book of Exodus. This book brings this rich history to light, exploring the ways in which the landscape of Mount Sinai s summit has been experienced and transformed over the centuries, from the third century BCE to World War I. As an important site for multiple religions, Mount Sinai has become a major destination for hundreds of visitors per day. In this multifaceted book, George Manginis delves into the natural environment of Mount Sinai, its importance in the Muslim tradition, the cult of Saint Catherine, the medieval pilgrimage phenomenon, modern-day tourism, and much more. Featuring notes, a bibliography, and illustrations from nineteenth-century travelers books, this deft blend of historical analysis, art history, textual criticism, and archaeological interpretation will appeal to tourists and scholars alike.

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Abd Al-Karim Ghallab s postcolonial "We Buried the Past," originally published in 1966, was the first breakthrough Moroccan novel written in Arabic instead of French. Newly translated into English, this edition brings Ghallab s most widely read and lauded work to a new audience. Written after the country gained independence, the historical novel follows two generations of al-Tihamis, a well-to-do family residing in Fez s ancient medina. The family members lives reflect the profound social changes taking place in Morocco during that time. Bridging two worlds, "We Buried the Past" begins during the quieter days of the late colonial period, a world of seemingly timeless tradition, in which the patriarch, al-Haj Muhammad, proudly presides over the family. Here, religion is unquestioned and permeates all aspects of daily life. But the coming upheaval and imminent social transition are reflected in al-Haj s three sons, particularly his second son, Abderrahman, who eventually defies his father and comes to symbolize the break between the old ways and the new.Noted for marrying classical Arabic style and European literary form, this book also offers insight into the life of Ghallab himself, who was deeply involved in the nationalist movement that led to Moroccan independence. A pioneering work, "We Buried the Past" beautifully characterizes an influential period in the history of Morocco."

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Is there any such thing as a European identity? Amidst all the kaleidoscopic variety what - if anything - do 28 members of the European Union have in common? The facts of history have created shared interests and cultural connections that are in the end more important than the differences. We know we are different from Asia; and we are more different from America than we - perhaps especially the British - think. So in a 21st century of globalisation and emerging great powers, Europe must discover and define that common identity. This is a challenge for all the big states of the EU.Europe clearly has something distinctive and vitally important to offer: it is the experience of a unique journey through centuries of exploration and conflict, errors and learnings, soul-searching and rebuilding. It is an experience of universal significance. One way or another, the world will have to learn these lessons, and it will certainly be the poorer if this European voice is not heard.

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In The Kingdom to Come, Peter Hennessy records the run-up to the Scottish Independence Referendum in September 2014, its immediate aftermath and describes the enormous constitutional building site opened up for the whole of the United Kingdom by the result. This fourth volume in the Haus Curiosities series includes Lord Hennessy's personal impressions of the time when the Act of Union, over 300-years-old, was called into question and when he, as the UK's foremost expert on our unwritten constitution and a Professor of Contemporary British History, became an important voice in what may happen next. The Kingdom to Come examines the possible agenda for the remaking of the constitution in the medium and long term.

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As the seat of prince-bishops it found wealth and power, as the birthplace of Mozart it found fame, and as a festival city it found its purpose and destiny. But can today’s Salzburg really be described by anything more than music and majestic baroque architecture? Hubert Nowak, who lived and worked in Salzburg for many years, sets out to find the lesser-known side of the city. Leaving the festival district, he plunges into the atmospheric old quarter and places known only to natives – and often not even to them. Through the stories of those who visited the city over the centuries, he gives the reader a fresh perspective and gives the old city new life. Salzburg: A City of Culture is essential reading for anyone interested in visiting the city.

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When Alejandro Luque receives a book of photographs taken in Sicily by the Argentinian writer, essayist, and poet Luis Borges, he decides to trace the writer's journey, setting off with a group of friends on his own Sicilian odyssey. Meticulously identifying the location of each photograph, Luque uses Borges's pictures to imagine the range of emotions that the renowned writer felt as he experienced the same views. As his hunt for the locations of the original photographs unfolds, Luque chronicles the ways in which he begins to fall in love with both the island itself and with his friend, Ro. This winding journey features literati both past and present, indigenous and foreign. These characters live alongside Luque's own comments and observations in a narrative that is rich in historical and personal detail. The writer who inspired this great journey, Borges himself, becomes a character in this narrative that is infused with extracts and reflections from his essays and poetry. Borges in Sicily acts as a travel diary, a guide to the most fascinating places in Sicily, a recounting of Borges's journey around the island, and a deeply poetic story of Luque's own adventures. The book also includes twenty-three photographs from the renowned Magnum photographer Ferdinando Scianna, and it won the 1st Premio International del Libros de Viajes.

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The siren-like qualities of the Sicilian capital are woven layer upon layer, each one revealing a stratum of the city's character. In Palermo, Robert Alajmo lays out a compelling series of reflections on the city's apparently endless facets. Disguised as a tourist's handbook but written from the view of a lifelong resident - with all the experience, affection, inside knowledge and frustrations that entails - Alajmo offers more than the ordinary recommendations for travellers. Palermo has been at history's crossroads since recorded time began; an archive of hidden cultural, architectural and culinary jewels. Its people, their politics and their secrets, are subtly revealed, as is the ineffable presence of the mafia in the cycles of daily life. Ultimately what is described is the essence of the city and its beauty.

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The Silk Road is a route from the edges of the European world to the central plains of China. For thousands of years, its history has been a traveller's history, of brief encounters in desert towns, snowbound passes and nameless forts. It was the conduit that first brought Buddhism, Christianity and Islam into China, and the site of much of the 'Great Game' between Victorian empires. Jonathan Clements guides the reader through the trackless wastes of the Taklamakan Desert, its black whirlwinds and dead lakes, its shimmering mirages, lost cities and mysterious mummies, but also its iconic statues and memorable modern pop songs. He explains the truth behind odd tales of horses that sweat blood, defaced statues and missing frescoes, and Marco Polo's stories of black gold that seeps from the earth.

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This book, available for the first time in English, is an exhilarating journey through Turkey s history and a perceptive look at the interactions between secularism, religion, and multiethnicity. Without a guide and driven only by his own curiosity, Klaus Reichert travels to Anatolia, Istanbul, and the Aegean coast. He explores the strip of land where Adam and Eve are said to have settled after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and where Moses struck water from stone. While following in the footsteps of the brilliant architect Mimar Sinan and investigating the mysteries of his mosques, Reichert speaks to an old stonemason and a young teacher, visits one of the last remaining colonies of a rare breed of ibis, and walks the wide expanses surrounding the archaeological sites of western Turkey. Finally, he draws parallels between Kilim weaving, minimal music, and modernity as a whole. Under Reichert s gaze, what is seen and learned becomes a colorful and provocative collection of images and patterns.A one-of-a-kind travelogue that touches on Turkey s traditions, natural history, and political divisions, "Turkey Rediscovered" shows us a new side to a land we thought we already knew. "

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How did Syria's revolution lose its way? Drawing on the author's firsthand knowledge of the country's complex religious and ethnic communities, this book illuminates the darker recesses of Syria's history, politics, and society. With the unique perspective of an Arabic-speaking British woman, Diana Darke became deeply embedded in all levels of Syrian society when she bought and restored a house in a mixed Sunni/Shi'a neighborhood of the walled Old City of Damascus. In September 2012, as fighting intensified and millions were forced to flee their homes, she offered her house as a sanctuary to friends. By following her experiences and struggles with the realities of life on the ground inside Syria, the reader will arrive at a clearer understanding of why the country remains locked in conflict and why most ordinary Syrians are caught between a repressive government and a splintering opposition.

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Patrice Lumumba (1925-61) is perhaps the most famous leader of the African independence movement. After his execution in 1961, when he had been prime minister of the newly-liberated Congo for only seven months, he became an icon of anti-imperialist struggle. As the news came out, his picture was brandished in demonstrations in capitals around the world, along with Che Guevara and Mao Zedong. His life and the independence that he sought for the Congo made him a pivotal figure of the 20th century, highlighting ongoing Western colonialism and the problematic nature of the independence granted to huge swathes of the globe after 1945. In this book, revised and updated to include new thinking on the Congo crisis and incorporating material recently released from British intelligence archives, Leo Zeilig tells the story of the Congo in the dying days of colonialism, and of Lumumba's transition from nationalist to revolutionary to international symbol of African liberation.

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In a riveting scene from the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko proclaims that "greed is good." The great philosopher David Hume, on the other hand, describes greed as the most destructive of the vices. The recent banking debacle and continuing uproar about executive bonus pay has placed the controversial issue of greed at the very heart of how we view modern society. Is Gekko's maxim simply in need of some moderation? Or is Hume's view too extreme? In Greed, Stewart Sutherland examines these conflicting notions and discusses how we might approach the problem of greed today. He looks at the concept of incentives, which are essential for achieving results, and whether the desire for money is really as dangerous as it might seem. Powerful and timely, Greed is a much-needed look at an attitude that, for better or worse, is an unavoidable driving force in modern society.

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While Portuguese-speaking Brazil declared war on Germany, in the First World War, the rest of South America held back. In the end no other South American nation joined the fighting. But four - Bolivia, Equador, Peru and Uruguay - did break off diplomatic relations with Germany in 1917, in sympathy with US policy and with the Allies in Europe. Their reward was a place at the Paris Peace Conference table and for the first time a chance to play a role on the world stage rather than just in their own backyard.

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Melville's major biography of the Russian impresario brings to life an age of daring sophistication and hedonistic pleasure set against the backdrop of a swiftly changing world. In Paris and London, Diaghilev drew together an amazingly talented group of artists such as Picasso, Bakst and Fokine, as well as dancers like Nijinsky, Lifar and Karsavina, and the composers Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Diaghilev's destructive and tempestuous affair with his protege Nijinsky and his friendship with Jean Cocteau are closely examined.

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White aster flowers, on sale on the streets of Budapest on the eve of All Souls' Day, are made the symbol of a revolution which brings Mihaly Karolyi (1875-1955) to power at the head of a National Council. Karoly concludes an armistice which leaves large areas of Hungarian territory under occupation by French, Romanian and Serbian forces. Following the King-Emperor's abdication in November 1918, Hungary is declared an independent republic with Karolyi as its President. He sets about meeting Hungary's most pressing social need, for land reform. But Karolyi's liberal regime is soon beset by strong opposition from the right and from the left. The Allies seal Karolyi's fate by refusing to end the economic blockade of Hungary and by imposing, even in advance of a peace settlement (Hungary is denied an invitation until the Conference is virtually over), even harsher armistice terms. Karolyi flinches from opposing these measures by force. The small socialist element in his government of well-meaning aristocrats defects and forms an alliance with Hungary's fledgling Communist Party. Karolyi resigns and chooses exile. The Communists, led by Bela Kun, take power. Kun raises a Red Army, which defeats a Czech invasion but fails to stem the Romanian advance, which enters Budapest in defiance of orders from Paris and engages in an orgy of pillage and destruction. The Peace Conference despatches a British diplomat, Sir George Clerk, to Budapest to broker a Romanian withdrawal. Clerk succeeds in forming a coalition government of right-wing parties, with token representation for the centre-left, which he recognises in the name of the Peace Conference and invites to send a delegation to Paris. It includes Counts Istvan Bethlen (1874-1946) and Pal Teleki, both future prime ministers. The delegation is presented on arrival, on 6 January 1920, with the draft peace treaty for Hungary which the expert committees of the Conference have produced and which the Council has approved without amendment. The Hungarians are appalled to find that the treaty will deprive their country of two-thirds of her territory and over half of her population. The injustice of the Treaty will drive Hungary into the arms of Nazi Germany, a fatal alliance which will doom Hungary's Jews to annihilation and Hungary to defeat and destruction in the Second World War.

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The Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos (1864-1936) was one of the stars of the Paris Peace Conference, impressing many of the Western delegates, already possessed of a romantic view of 'the grandeur that was Greece', with his charm and oratorical style. He won support for his country's territorial ambitions in Asia Minor, the 'Great Idea' of a revived Hellenic empire controlling the Aegean and stretching to the Black Sea. Venizelos had won this support by bringing Greece into the war on the Allied side, but in doing so he had split his country, and in order to secure his government's position he had to deliver territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. It was the Greek occupation of Asia Minor, however, that spurred the Turks to support Mustafa Kemal and resulted not in the creation of a Greater Greece but the modern Republic of Turkey. The conflict between Greece and Turkey began the tension between the two states that has continued for the past 90 years and is most clearly seen in the dispute over the divided island of Cyprus. The Paris Peace Conferences were where the modern Near East, with all its problems of competing nationalisms and ethnic divisions, was created, and Venizelos' Greece was the key player in this process.

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The end of the First World War saw Britain at the height of its power. Its fleet and air force were the largest in the world. Its armies had triumphed in the Middle East and spearheaded the final attacks in Western Europe that had driven the defeated Germans to seek an armistice. Britain now had to translate this military victory into the achievement of its war aims and future security and prosperity. Its main negotiator at the forthcoming peace conference would be its prime minister, the ebullient and enigmatic David Lloyd George (1863-1945), the "Welsh Wizard" - "the man who had won the war". Lloyd George's energy had maintained the war effort through the dark days of 1917 and early 1918, but now he anticipated, with relish, the prospect of winning the peace. Few were better equipped. He was a skilled and accomplished negotiator with the knack of reconciling the apparently irreconcilable. His admirers, of whom there were many, pointed to his brilliant and agile mind, his rapid grasp of complex questions and his powers of persuasion. His critics, who were also numerous, distrusted his sleight of hand, fleetness of foot and, frankly, his word. His six months in Paris in 1919, as he pitted his wits against formidable world leaders like Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau, were among the most enjoyable but exhausting of his life. This study investigates the extent to which Lloyd George succeeded in his aims and evaluates the immediate and longer-term results of his negotiations for Britain.

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Douglas-Home had a complex career between the two Houses of Parliament, disclaiming his peerage to become Prime Minister. His term in office was short elected in 1963 he lost the election of 1964.

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Asquith's administration laid the foundation of Britain's welfare state, but he was plunged into a major power struggle with the House of Lords. The budget of 1909 was vetoed by the hereditary upper chamber, and in 1910 Asquith called and won two elections on this constitutional issue. The Lords eventually passed the 1911 Parliament Act, ending their veto of financial legislation. Asquith was Prime Minister on the outbreak of World War I, but his government fell in 1916 as a result of the 'Shells Scandal'.

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This is a biography of the first Prime Minister of the 20th Century during the height of the British Empire.

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In recent years Naples has become, for better or worse, the new ‘destination’ in Italy. While many of its more esoteric features are on display for all to see the stories behind them remain largely hidden. In Marius Kociejowski’s portrait of this baffling city, the serpent can be many things ― Vesuvius, the mafia-like camorra, the outlying Phlegrean Fields (which, geologically speaking, constitute the second most dangerous area on the planet). It is all these things that have, at one time or another, put paid to the higher aspirations of Neapolitans themselves.Naples is simultaneously the city of light, sometimes blindingly so, and the city of darkness, although often the stuff of cliché. The boundary that separates death from life is porous in the extreme: the dead inhabit the world of the living and vice versa. The Serpent Coiled in Naples is a travelogue, a meditation on mortality, and much else besides.

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When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the forces of resistance were disparate and divided mujahideen groups, as interested in fighting each other and competing for Western arms as opposing the Russians. The exception was Ahmed Shah Massoud, the military strategist and political operator who solidified the resistance and undermined the Russian occupation by leading its members to a series of defensive victories. Sandy Gall was embedded with Massoud during Soviet offences and reported on the war in Afghanistan for a number of years. He has now written an illuminating biography of this charismatic guerrilla commander, which contains excerpts from the surviving volumes of Massoud's diaries. Massoud's prolific diary-keeping was little known during his lifetime, and his entries detail crucial moments in his life and throw fascinating light on his struggles, both in the resistance and in his personal life. Born into an ostensibly liberalising Afghanistan in the 1960s, Massoud ardently opposed communism and Mohammed Daoud, Afghanistan's puppet leader. He quickly rose to prominence and distinguished himself by coordinating the defence of the Panjshir Valley against repeated Soviet offensives. As the occupation wore on, Massoud became the resistance's unifying force. Massoud's assassination in 2001 presaged the attack on the Twin Towers just two days later and it is widely believed to have been ordered by Osama bin Laden. Forever the underdog in a life dominated by conflict, Massoud's attempts to build political consensus in Afghanistan were ultimately frustrated. Despite that, he is recognised today as a national hero.

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Using the Cabinet papers from the National Archives, former Foreign Secretary David Owen has written a new history of the pivotal British War Cabinet meetings of May 1940. Eight months into the war defeat seemed to many a certainty. With the United States and Russia over a year away from entering the conflict, Britain found herself in a perilous and lonely position. The Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax was pushing Churchill, his Prime Minister, to explore the possibility of a negotiated peace with Hitler, using Mussolini as a conduit. Ignored in Churchill's later account of the con--flict, the question before the War Cabinet was straightforward: should Britain fight on in the face of overwhelming odds, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives, or seek a negotiated peace? The minutes of these meetings reveal just how close Halifax came to convincing the Cabinet that negotiations should be sought.

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The history of the island of Cyprus is in many ways a world history. Its strategic position means it has been coveted by one foreign power after another. All came here: the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Venetians, Genoese, Ottomans, British, and they all left their mark. Aside from the Roman and early-Byzantine ruins of Salamis, the most impressive monuments date from the Frankish and Venetian times: the Abbey of Bellapais, the fortified harbour of Kyrenia, the magnificent cathedrals of Nicosia and Famagusta, the setting for Shakespeare's Othello. Sartorius lived in Cyprus for three years. In My Cyprus he returns to the cultures and legends, to the colours and the light of the Levant, sifting the sediments of the island's history, including its division after the Turkish invasion of 1974 and the difficulties that followed. Yet this is not the work of a historian or a political scientist, but of a poet, who with the help of friends, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, tries to understand this unique place.

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When the cynical divorce lawyer Thomas Clarin finds himself at a table on the terrace of the Bellavista Hotel beside Thomas Loos, an eccentric, ageing philologist, they strike up an unlikely conversation. Soon Clarin's questions tease out stories from Loos' past, and as both men slowly reveal more of themselves they are forced to question their opinions on love and life. The men are opposites; they intrigue and repel each other. But as the mystery of Loos' past deepens, we begin it wonder if all as it seems.

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In November 1913, three German shipbuilders, led by master shipwright Anton Ru ter, were ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm II to dismantle a steam ship, send the parts to German East Africa, and reassemble it on Lake Tanganyi- ka. Their initial aim of getting the task done quickly and returning home to claim an excellent salary is quickly eclipsed by the enchantment of the exotic landscape, the governor's beautiful wife, and the violent machinery of colonialism. At the same time, Winston Churchill sends Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson to transport two dilapidated and incongruously named gun-boats, Mimi and Toutou, to the other side of the lake. When World War I breaks out the Germans and British are facing each other, and the boat-builders reluctantly find themselves having to fight under the unsympathetic Captain-Lieutenant Gustav von Zimmer.

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World War I sounded the death knell of empires. The forces of disintegration affected several empires simultaneously. To that extent they were impersonal. But prudent statesmen could delay the death of empires, rulers such as Emperor Franz Josef II of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. Adventurous rulers Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Enver Pasha in the Ottoman Empire hastened it. Enver's decision to enter the war on the side of Germany destroyed the Ottoman state. It may have been doomed in any case, but he was the agent of its doom. The last Sultan Mehmet VI Vahdettin thought he could salvage the Ottoman state in something like its old form. But Vahdettin and his ministers could not succeed because the victorious Allies had decided on the final partition of the Ottoman state. The chief proponent of partition was Lloyd George, heir to the Turcophobe tradition of British liberals, who fell under the spell of the Greek irredentist politician Venizelos. With these two in the lead, the Allies sought to impose partition on the Sultan's state. When the Sultan sent his emissaries to the Paris peace conference they could not win a reprieve. The Treaty of Sevres which the Sultan's government signed put an end to Ottoman independence. The Treaty of Sevres was not ratified. Turkish nationalists, with military officers in the lead, defied the Allies, who promptly broke ranks, each one trying to win concessions for himself at the expense of the others. Mustafa Kemal emerged as the leader of the military resistance. Diplomacy allowed Mustafa Kemal to isolate his people's enemies: Greek and Armenian irredentists. Having done so, he defeated them by force of arms. In effect, the defeat of the Ottoman empire in the First World War was followed by the Turks' victory in two separate wars: a brief military campaign against the Armenians and a long one against the Greeks. Lausanne where General Ismet succeeded in securing peace on Turkey's terms was the founding charter of the modern Turkish nation state. But more than that it showed that empires could no longer rule people against their wishes. This need not be disastrous: Mustafa Kemal demonstrated that the interests of developed countries were compatible with those of developing ones. He fought the West in order to become like it. Where his domestic critics wanted to go on defying the West, Mustafa Kemal saw that his country could fare best in cooperation with the West.

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Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) always stood in the shadow of her lover and teacher, Jean-Paul Sartre, despite the fact that she was a brilliant writer and philosopher in her own right. Her monumental study "The Second Sex" made her a cult figure of the Feminist movement.

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In Dickens's Kent, Peter Clark follows the writer's footsteps.

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The Conservative Party have been in power for 47 of the 65 years since the end of the Second World War. During that time the division within the party over Europe has been the enduring drama of British politics - from Churchill's decision not to join the original European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 to Cameron's decision to hold an In/Out referendum in 2016. Other leaders came and went, but the issue was always there - sometimes centre-stage, at others behind the scenes - destabilising foreign policy, corroding the body politic, and destroying several of the party's leaders. These questions, and how they panned out, created a deep, grumbling discontent - the worm in the apple - that, over time, turned the Conservative Party and, by extension, a significant section of the electorate against British membership of the EU. By telling the story of the arguments and divisions within the Conservative Party, The Worm in the Apple explains why Britain voted to leave in 2016. It is by no means the whole story, but they are an important part of it.

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