Search results for ""The History Press""
The History Press Ltd Slaughter on the Eastern Front: Hitler and Stalin’s War 1941-1945
In the summer of 1941, a collective madness overtook Adolf Hitler and his senior generals. They convinced themselves that they could take on and defeat a superpower in the making – the Soviet Union. Foolishly, they thought in a swift campaign they could smash the Red Army and force Stalin to sue for peace, despite dire warnings that Stalin was amassing a reserve army of more than 1 million men on the Volga. The end result would be such carnage that it would tear the German forces apart. In his major reassessment of the war on the Eastern Front, Anthony Tucker-Jones casts new light on the brutal fighting, including such astounding German defeats as at Stalingrad, Kursk, Minsk and, finally, Berlin. He controversially contends that from the very start intelligence officers on both sides failed to influence their leadership resulting in untold slaughter. He also reveals the shocking blunders by Hitler, Stalin and even Churchill that led to the appalling, needless destruction of Hitler’s armed forces as early as the winter of 1941–42. Step by step, Tucker-Jones describes how the German war machine fought to its very last against a relentless enemy, fully aware that defeat was inevitable.
£16.99
The History Press Ltd The Sister Queens: Isabella and Catherine de Valois
Isabella de Valois was 3 years old when, on a hot August day in 1392, her father suddenly went mad. Less than four years later, she was married by proxy to the English King Richard II and arrived in England with a French retinue and her doll’s house. Richard’s humiliating deposition and brutal murder by his cousin, the future Henry IV, forced Isabella’s desperate return to France where she found her country fatally divided. Isabella’s sister, Catherine de Valois, became the beautiful young bride of Henry V and is unique in history for being the daughter of a king, the wife of a king, the mother of a king and the grandmother of a king. Like her sister, Catherine was viewed as a bargaining chip in times of political turmoil, yet her passionate love affair with the young Owain Tudor established the entire Tudor dynasty and set in motion one of the most fascinating periods of British history. The Sister Queens is a gripping tale of love, exile and conflict in a time when even royal women had to fight for survival.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Pearls Before Poppies: The True Story of the Red Cross Pearls
In February 1918, when the First World War was still being bitterly fought, prominent society member Lady Northcliffe conceived an idea to help raise funds for the British Red Cross. Using her husband’s newspapers, The Times and the Daily Mail, she ran a campaign to collect enough pearls to create a necklace, intending to raffle the piece to raise money. The campaign captured the public’s imagination. Over the next nine months nearly 4,000 pearls poured in from around the world. Pearls were donated in tribute to lost brothers, husbands and sons, and groups of women came together to contribute one pearl on behalf of their communities. Those donated ranged from priceless heirlooms –one had survived the sinking of the Titanic – to imperfect yet treasured trinkets. Working with Christie’s and the International Fundraising Committee of the British Red Cross, author Rachel Trethewey expertly weaves the touching story of a generation of women who gave what they had to aid the war effort and commemorate their losses.
£10.99
The History Press Ltd Woodsmoke and Sage: The Five Senses 1485-1603: How the Tudors Experienced the World
Traditionally history is cerebral: what did they believe, what did they think, what did they know?Woodsmoke and Sage is not a traditional book. Using the five senses, historian Amy Licence presents a new perspective on the material culture of the past, exploring the Tudors’ relationship with the fabric of their existence, from the clothes on their backs, the roofs over their heads and the food on their tables, to the wider questions of how they interpreted and presented themselves, and what they believed about life, death and beyond.Take a journey back 500 years and experience the sixteenth century the way it was lived, through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd Robin Hood: Outlaw or Greenwood Myth
First mentioned by William Langland in the late fourteenth century, Robin Hood comes down to us through ballads and folksongs, old chronicles and plays, medieval allusions, folklore and place names. Today Robin Hood folk songs are found in the USA as well as in England and Scotland, and place names and traditions are widely located in England. The earliest stories are centred on Barnsdale in Yorkshire, but later the emphasis shifts to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. Originally a yeoman, Robin was upgraded to aristocrat in the sixteenth century, but he remains essentially a champion of the poor and oppressed and a social nonconformer. How far Robin Hood was based on a historical character and how far he is an archetypal outlaw or a Greenwood myth (who must withdraw from society and commune with nature) is the subject of the Doels' wide-ranging study. This new edition is complete with an updated gazetteer of Robin Hood sites and an annotated filmography. It includes almost 50 illustrations (including performances by present-day mummers).
£12.99
The History Press Ltd The Cunard Colouring Book
In 1840, Sir Samuel Cunard set sail aboard Britannia and inaugurated the first regular transatlantic steamship service. From that time forward, the Cunard Line has owned and operated hundreds of ships: it has transported immigrants to the new world, undertaken wartime service, and adapted seamlessly into the new cruising world of the modern age. The Queens of the Cunard fleet are as iconic today as their illustrious forbears. This beautifully created colouring book celebrates the long heritage of the Cunard Line, the stunning interiors and exteriors of the vessels, and much more besides. Supplemented with fascinating text from celebrated maritime authors Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross, it is sure to captivate and educate children and adults alike.
£12.00
The History Press Ltd A History of Whitby
Whitby is well known today as a seaside resort and a picturesque place to visit, with its piers, boats, fine sands and, overlooking its tangle of red-roofed houses, the ruins of its Abbey in one of the most splendid settings in Britain for such romantic remains. But few of its many visitors would guess the long history of the town or its significance, from time to time, in national affairs. The only comprehensive history of Whitby, it rapidly sold out and Dr White, its author, of ancient Whitby stock, has now fully revised and updated his book, with some new illustrations and interpretations. This new edition will continue as the definitive work on Whitby.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd The Range Rover Story
It’s easy to forget that the original Range Rover, launched in 1970, created the luxury sport-utility vehicle market from scratch. A marvel of British ingenuity developed on a shoestring budget, it was the first four-wheel drive car that was as happy on tarmac as it was on rocky terrain. It truly blazed a trail for a worldwide motoring trend. The Range Rover Story is a timely and concise reminder of all that Range Rover has achieved since a tight-knit group of engineers first turned their thoughts to something ground-breaking.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Crossing the Line of Duty: How Corruption, Greed and Sleaze Brought Down the Flying Squad
The Metropolitan Police of the mid-twentieth century, in particular The Flying Squad and Obscene Publications Squad, has been described as ‘the most routinely corrupt organisation in London’. Larger-than-life characters such as Ken Drury and Alfred ‘Wicked Bill’ Moody routinely fraternised with underworld figures, paid off witnesses and struck dodgy deals to get their man – regardless of whether he was innocent or guilty. And the problem went far beyond a couple of ‘bent’ coppers: in the end, fifty officers were prosecuted, while 478 took early retirement. Using Metropolitan Police files obtained under Freedom of Information, which have not been accessed since the 1970s, author Neil Root can finally tell the real story of how the Met became systemically corrupt, and how Sir Robert Mark, who became commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 1972, finally cleaned it up.
£16.99
The History Press Ltd Fitzrovia, The Other Side of Oxford Street: A Social History 1900-1950
This is the other side of the story. Before the Second World War, Ann Basu’s family of Jewish tailors lived where the BT Tower stands today. At that time of high migration, the women’s fashion trade and the new car industry were sweeping into Fitzrovia, Russian and German anarchists argued in its clubs, Indian revolutionaries practised at the shooting range, and popular cafes such as Lyons’ transformed the social lives of workers. The Jews of Fitzrovia and Soho saw each other as being on the ‘other side’ of Oxford Street, and this book reflects Fitzrovia’s distinctive ‘inbetween-ness’ – at the inner edge of central London, but separate from the West End. Putting the spotlight on Fitzrovia’s enterprising twentieth-century immigrant workers, this is the history of working-class and outsider voices that have previously been muted.
£17.99
The History Press Ltd The Last Heroes: Voices of British and Commonwealth Veterans
The Second World War is famed for being the conflict that changed the face of warfare, and it is the last that changed the face of the world. In addition to remembering those that passed away in those dark days of war, a sincere debt of gratitude is owed to all those now in their twilight years who gave all that they had for King and Country. Here Gary Bridson-Daley presents forty-two of over a hundred interviews he conducted with veterans over recent years, adding to the history books the words and the original poetry of those that fought and supported the war effort to ensure freedom, peace and prosperity for generations to come. From each corner of the British Isles and every armed service, from Dam Buster George ‘Johnny’ Johnson through to riveter Susan Jones: heroes, all.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd Last of the Blue Water Liners: Passenger Ships Sailing the Seven Seas
This is the story of the last class-divided passenger ships that carried travellers from point to point. In the final years of activity, spanning from the 1940s to the 1960s, they carried Hollywood stars and even royalty on the Atlantic, businessmen to South America and Africa, migrants to Australia and New Zealand, and visitors returning to European homelands. Last of the Blue Water Liners nods to the Atlantic liners but also revels in the many other passenger ships that plied trades around the world: vessels like the Antilles, Oslofjord, Kampala and Changsha. Complete with rare images and the insight of the prolific maritime historian William H. Miller, this book is a nostalgic parade of a bygone age, a generation of ships all but swept away in the 1960s and 1970s as jet travel changed the world.
£17.99
The History Press Ltd A Companion to the Falklands War
The Falklands War is a story of occupation, fierce air battles, heavy naval losses and bitter encounters between ground forces amidst an inhospitable terrain and unforgiving climate. With complex political machinations and nationalist sentiment at the centre of the conflict, even today the sovereignty of the islands is hotly contested in political circles. For the first time, renowned military historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes has compiled a definitive A–Z guide to the British involvement in the Falklands conflict, including personalities, weapons, battles, ships, places, and much more. This accessible yet comprehensive companion to the Falklands War will be a welcome addition to any enthusiast’s shelves.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd Looking Down the Corridors: Allied Aerial Espionage Over East Germany and Berlin, 1945-1990
Between 1945 and 1990 the Western Allies mounted some of the most audacious and successful intelligence collection operations of the Cold War. Conducted in great secrecy, aircrews flew specially modified transport and training aircraft along the Berlin Air Corridors and Control Zone to gather intelligence on Soviet and East German military targets in the German Democratic Republic and around Berlin. The Air Corridors comprised three regulated airways for civil and military air traffic that connected West Berlin to West Germany. Operating under the guise of innocent transport and training flights, the pilots used their right of access to gather huge amounts of imagery for forty-five years. They also provided the western intelligence community with unique knowledge of the organisation and equipment used by Warsaw Pact forces. For the first time, using recently declassified materials and extensive interviews with those involved, Looking Down the Corridors provides a detailed account and analysis of these operations and their unique contribution to the Cold War.
£16.99
The History Press Ltd Amelia Earhart: Daring Women of History
A pioneering aviator and advocate of women’s equality, Amelia Earhart was, and continues to be, an inspiration to people the world over. Her fierce determination to break records and push the boundaries of aviation led her to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, as well as the first person (man or woman) to fly solo the trans-Pacific flight from Hawaii to California in 1935. Not content to leave it at that, Amelia set her sights on becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the world, but her brave attempt was cut short when she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished over the Pacific Ocean on the final stretch of the challenge in 1937. Eighty years on and our fascination with Amelia Earhart continues. Here, Mike Roussel charts her life and experiences, exploring the investigations and theories surrounding her mysterious disappearance and revealing the naturally courageous spirit that made her one of the most daring of twentieth-century women.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Dancing with Trees: Eco-Tales from the British Isles
The oral storytelling traditions of the British Isles have connected people to the land and to their plant and animal neighbours for centuries. This collection brings together story wisdom from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that speaks to the heart of humanity’s relationship with nature. Whether it’s traditional stories about native birds and animals or tales of living in harmony with the landscapes we call home, there’s something here for everyone who believes that a more beautiful world is within our reach. Richly illustrated with thirty original drawings, these enchanting tales will appeal to everyone interested in nature and in environmental conservation and will be enjoyed by readers, storytellers and listeners time and again.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Flying Boats: Air Travel in the Golden Age
Flying Boats: Air Travel in the Golden Age sets out to do justice to a time of glamorous, unhurried air travel, unrecognisable to most of today’s air travellers, but sorely missed by some. During the 1930s, long-distance air travel was the preserve of the flying boat, which transported well-heeled passengers in ocean-liner style and comfort across the oceans. But then the Second World War came, and things changed. Suddenly, landplanes were more efficient, and in abundance: long concrete runways had been constructed during the war that could be used by a new generation of large transport aircraft; and endless developments in aircraft meant they could fly faster and for further distances. Commercial flying boat services resumed, but their days would be numbered.
£17.99
The History Press Ltd Napoleon's Military Machine
That Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military commanders in history is never in doubt. His rise was meteoric, and his successes awesome; and they were founded almost entirely upon military prowess. But the reasons for his successes were many and complex, and did not solely rely on a magnetic personality with a genius for strategy, but on a combination of factors some within and others outside of Napoleon’s control. Napoleon’s Military Machine presents a compelling analysis of these factors: ultimately, how Napoleon turned the ragged armies of the French Revolutionary Wars into the most efficient and professional military body in Europe at the time. All aspects of his forces are covered: their composition, appearance, weaponry and capabilities, how they marched, fought and died for their Emperor. Haythornthwaite brings his reputation as a leading Napoleonic historian to bear on the examination of all parts of the French army: the cavalry, infantry, artillery, Imperial Guard, staff and supporting services. Napoleon’s innovations and tactics are described, from Austerlitz to Waterloo, demonstrating the reasons for his success and for his later decline.
£22.09
The History Press Ltd Have a Butcher's: The Making of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
When Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was released in 1998, few would have prophesied quite the impact this low-budget crime comedy would have. Almost overnight it became a cultural phenomenon, launched the careers of Guy Ritchie, Matthew Vaughn and Jason Statham, amongst others, and spawned a television series and numerous British gangster film rip-offs in the process. But box office gold didn’t come without huge upheaval, and the making of the film was often fraught. In Have a Butcher’s, actor Stephen Marcus (Nick The Greek in the film) recounts the on-set dramas, the behind-the-scenes banter, his initial meeting with Guy Ritchie, the subsequent trips to Hollywood as the boys basked in success and critical acclaim, and the numerous financial problems that were only solved when Sting and Trudie Styler came on board. Drawing upon interviews with his co-stars, never-before-seen photos and original storyboards, Stephen tells the story of a film that has become a firm cult favourite.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Hear The Boat Sing: Oxford and Cambridge Rowers Killed in World War I
During the First World War many sportsmen exchanged their sports field for the battlefield, switched their equipment for firearms. Here acclaimed author and screenwriter Nigel McCrery investigates over forty Oxbridge rowers all of whom put down their oars and gave their lives for their country. Complete with individual portraits, these brave men are remembered vividly in this poignant work and, together with a new memorial to be unveiled at the 2017 Boat Race, there is no more fitting tribute to these men who made the ultimate sacrifice.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd A Dangerous Place: The Story of the Railway Murders
Shortlisted for the Crime Writer's Association Gold Dagger award for non-fiction.In September 1970, two boys met in the playground on their first day at secondary school in North London. They formed what would be described at the Old Bailey thirty years later as ‘a unique and wicked bond’. Between 1982 and 1986, striking near lonely railway stations in London and the Home Counties, their partnership took them from rape to murder. Three police forces pooled their resources to catch them in the biggest criminal manhunt since the Yorkshire Ripper Enquiry. A Dangerous Place is the first full-length account of the crimes of John Duffy and David Mulcahy. Told by the son of one of the police officers who led the enquiry, exhaustively researched and with unprecedented access, this is the story of two of the most notorious serial killers of the twentieth century and the times they operated in. It is the story of the women who died at their hands. It is the story of the women who survived them, and who had the courage to ensure justice was done. And it is the story of a father, told by a son.
£11.99
The History Press Ltd Great Mediterranean Passenger Ships
It is hard to think of the passenger liners from the golden era of Mediterranean cruising without also conjuring the nostalgic, dream-like vision of azure-blue waters, bright sunshine and swimming pools with clusters of umbrellas and sunbathing passengers. The great age of Mediterranean passenger liners began in the 1920s when the Italians built their first big ships, such as the Augustus, Saturnia and Conte Grande. In the 1930s, things got really interesting with the creation of the superliners Rex and Conte di Savoia. In the 1950s and ’60s, as Italy built a huge post-war fleet, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Israel commissioned their biggest ships yet. William Miller has written ninety books on passenger ships and is an acknowledged world expert in his field. Full of colour and the first-hand memories of passengers and crew, this endearing reflection on the majestic world of Mediterranean travel cannot be missed. Quick, the whistles are sounding!
£17.99
The History Press Ltd Fighter Pilot
One of ‘The 30 Best Travel and Adventure Books of All Time’, as selected by Gear Patrol, Winner 2015 US Travel and Adventure website. Fighter Pilot was written from the immediate and unfettered personal journal that 23-year-old Flying Officer Paul Richey began on the day he and No. 1 Squadron landed their Hawker Hurricanes on a grass airfield in France. Originally published in September 1941, it was the first such account of air combat against the Luftwaffe in France in the Second World War, and it struck an immediate chord with a British public enthralled by the exploits of its young airmen. It is the story of a highly skilled group of young volunteer fighter pilots who patrolled, flew and fought at up to 30,000 feet in unheated cockpits, without radar and often from makeshift airfields, and who were finally confronted by the overwhelming might of Hitler’s Blitzkreig. It tells how this remarkable squadron adapted its tactics, its aircraft and itself to achieve a brilliant record of combat victories – in spite of the most extreme and testing circumstances. All the thrills, adrenalin rushes and the sheer terror of dog-fighting are here: simply, accurately and movingly described by a young airman discovering for himself the deadly nature of the combat in which he is engaged.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Churchill Comes of Age: Cuba 1895
Churchill’s 21st birthday and baptism of fire both took place in Cuba in 1895. This was the year he went on his first international adventure, wrote his first military and political analyses and engaged in his first dicey diplomatic mission. Finding his footing as a journalist - and indeed a war correspondent - he also became the centre of controversy in the American and British press and, while shamelessly exploiting his connections and developing the famous ‘Churchill style’ became known as a public figure in his own right. Attention has previously focused on Churchill’s Indian frontier and Boer War experience as the most formative moments in his youth. But now, with original research through untapped access to Spanish and Cuban archives and interviews, this book shows that his much earlier Cuban trip was really the moment when he ‘came of age’ and started down the path to become a man to be remembered throughout history.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd Trials and Errors: Experimental UK Test Flying in the 1970s
Mike Brooke’s successful RAF career had taken him from Cold War Canberra pilot to flying instructor at the Central Flying School in the 1970s. For his next step he undertook the demanding training regime at the UK’s Empire Test Pilots’ School. His goal: to become a fully qualified experimental test pilot. Trials and Errors follows his personal journey during five years of experimental test flying, during which he flew a wide variety of aircraft for research and development trials. Mike then returned to ETPS to teach pilots from all over the world to become test pilots. In this, the sequel to his successful debut book A Bucket of Sunshine and its follow-up Follow Me Through, he continues to use his personal experiences to reveal insights into trials of the times, successes and failures. Trials and Errors will prove fascinating reading for any aviation enthusiast.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Richard III's 'Beloved Cousyn': John Howard and the House of York
Richard III's Beloved Cousyn.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Narrow Boat
First published in 1944, and now reissued with new black-and-white illustrations and a foreword by Jo Bell, Canal Laureate, this book has become a classic on its subject, and may be said to have started a revival of interest in the English waterways. It was on a spring day in 1939 that L.T.C. Rolt first stepped aboard Cressy. This engaging book tells the story of how he and his wife adapted and fitted out the boat as a home, and recreates the journey of some 400 miles that they made along the network of waterways in the Midlands. It recalls the boatmen and their craft, and celebrates the then seemingly timeless nature of the English countryside through which they passed. As Sir Compton Mackenzie wrote, ‘it is an elegy of classic restraint unmarred by any trace of sentiment’ for a way of life and a rural landscape that have now all but disappeared.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Battle Story: Passchendaele 1917
Passchendaele 1917 is the story of one of the most pitiless and iconic battles of the First World War, known today as Third Ypres. Fought over three tortuous months in 1917, the fighting raged through some of the worst physical conditions of the entire war, across battlefields collapsing into endless mud and blood. Eventually, more than 500,000 casualties bought front-line changes measured only in hundreds of yards. If you truly want to understand what happened and why – read Battle Story.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd No Labour, No Battle: Military Labour during the First World War
From 1917 British soldiers who were unfit or too old for front-line service were to serve unarmed and within the range of German guns for weeks or even months at a time undertaking labouring tasks. Both at the time and since they have arguably not been given the recognition they deserve for this difficult and dangerous work. From non-existence in 1914, by November 1918 Military Labour had developed into an organised and efficient 350,000-strong Labour Corps, supported by Dominion and foreign labour of more than a million men. Following the war, the grim and solemn tasks of clearing battlefields and constructing cemeteries, which continued until 1921, were also the responsibility of the Corps. Here, John Starling and Ivor Lee bring together extensive research from both primary and secondary sources to reveal how the vital, yet largely unreported, role played by these brave soldiers was crucial to achieving victory in 1918.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd Women's Factory Work in World War One
During World War One, as the casualties mounted and with the introduction of conscription, over a million women were employed for the first time in industry, replacing the men recruited for the armed services. Many of these women worked in industries which had previously been regarded as the preserve of men, often involving heavy or skilled labour. This illustrated history chronicles the increasing participation of women in the war effort, as well as the untold story of a small group of remarkable Women Factory Inspectors, who grasped the opportunity to record the conditions and work of women in all forms of industry, as a means of providing a record for future campaigns to improve the working conditions and health of women. The work of this group of Women Factory Inspectors created the foundations for the Home Office Industrial Museum, which later displayed modern health and safety equipment for industry, as well as providing the organisational drive to create an archive to record the contribution of women to the Home Front, which became part of the founding archive of the Imperial War Museum.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Unseen Newcastle-under-Lyme: Britain in Old Photographs
Unseen Newcastle-under-Lyme, a collaboration between Neil Collingwood and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Museum and Art Gallery, features 200 beautiful photographs mostly selected from the extensive archives held at the museum. Accompanied by informative captions, these rare, unusual and sometimes unique images show streets and houses, shops and pubs, everyday life and celebrations and offer a glimpse into Newcastle-under-Lyme in days gone by. This fascinating book is sure to awaken memories of a bygone time for all who know this historic Staffordshire market town.
£13.99
The History Press Ltd Missions Impossible: History's Most Daring Moments
Missions Impossible: History's Most Daring Moments reveals stories of amazing acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, endurance, and sheer grit that in many instances remain unbelievable. Whether these are the product of the extreme pressures of warfare, acts of faith or compassion, or examples of utter tenacity and determination against all odds, the outcomes are incredible. No other book gathers together so many riveting and heroic tales of rescue and survival in a single volume. The stories range from Hannibal defying impossible conditions to cross the Alps, the sheer physical courage of Shackleton surviving the frozen elements of Antarctica to numerous stories of barely believable bravery in times of war. Missions Impossible recounts the meticulous planning behind numerous kidnaps, assassinations, clandestine raids and rescues from the siege of Troy to the capture of bin Laden. Missions Impossible provides revealing insights and explains the significance of each operation, although not all proved to be successful. Detailed timelines, maps, diagrams, archival photographs, and step-by-step accounts accompany these gripping stories.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd A Century of Llandudno: Events, People and Places Over the 20th Century
This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Llandudno during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Llandudno's recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnesses. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered Llandudno's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Llandudno has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Eat Thy Neighbour: A History of Cannibalism
Cannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock's 'Psycho' and 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' were based on the crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In 'Eat Thy Neighbour' the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its social and historical perspective.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Brian Trubshaw: Test Pilot
Here is the full and fascinating story of Brian Trubshaw's life as an experimental test pilot, written from his own unique viewpoint on the flight deck and covering a period of tremendous upheaval in the British aircraft industry.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Birmingham Past and Present: In My Father's Footsteps
In the 1950s and '60s, aware of what was about to happen to Birmingham, Dennis Norton took his camera and went to work. Photographing buildings along the route of the forthcoming inner ring road, around New Street station and in other areas of the city due for redevelopment, he captured a Birmingha, that is now long gone but fondly remembered by many. Almost half a century later Mark Norton discovered these photographs, taken by the father he never knew: Dennis died just nine weeks before his son was born. Mark set about retracing his father's footsteps, to discover what has been lost and to compare past with present. In the process he gained a respect for Birmingham that had been missing when he grew up amid the concrete, subways and urban motorways of the 1970s.Anyone who remembers Birmingham as it was in the 1950s and '60s will be fascinated by these recently rediscovered photographs, while those who only know the city of today will be astonished to see the changes that have taken place.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd The Discovery of King Arthur
Attempts to find the person (if any) behind the legend of King Arthur have been going on for a long time. The search has revealed many interesting facts and it has also led to sharp disagreements. By the 1980s, the search was more or less abandoned, having reached a dead-end.The Discovery of King Arthur presents an investigation that broke the deadlock. Arthur emerged from it with a firmer status in history. He was also more interesting - more like his legend - than once appeared likely. It became possible to see better why he became the kind of figure he did. The delay in running him to earth was due to the nature of the problem he posed.Medieval authors who gave him his literary grandeur fitted him into what they claimed was Britain's history several centuries later. Not much of that history can stand up in the light of present day knowledge - it is mostly legend. So historians who looked for Arthur swept the medieval matter aside and searched for him in the scanty older records. But the search was inconclusive. A convincing answer called for a different approach.This books shows that the Arthurian legend itself needs to be taken seriously and sifted for clues. The right questions to ask are not the direct ones, 'Who was Arthur?' or 'Did he exist?', but 'Where did his legend come from?' and 'What facts is the legend rooted in?'. If we line up the legend side by side with the facts as we know them today, the problem of Arthur's identity can be solved.
£11.99
The History Press Ltd Merlin: The Prophet and His History
Geoffrey Ashe's book on this legendary figure offers a succession of surprises. The Merlin of legend was born to be a magician. He was 'immaculately' conceived and was able to interpret dreams and utter prophecies. Even his fate was imbued with magic. Like Arthur, he acquired immortality and sleeps on Bardsey Island, in a subterranean chamber with nine companions. Ashe reveals the man behind the myth, establishing beyond doubt the historicity of a Welsh prophet called Myrddin Emrys. Despite his 'supernatural' status it is Merlin, of all the great characters of the Arthurian world, who has the strongest claim to have existed.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd The Robin Hood Handbook: The Outlaw in History, Myth and Legend
Robin Hood, whether riding through the glen, robbing the rich to pay the poor or giving the Sheriff of Nottingham his come-uppance, is one of the most captivating and controversial legendary figures. Was there a historical figure behind the legends? Did Robin and his Merry Men rampage through Sherwood Forest? Or did he spend most of his time in Barnsdale Wood in Yorkshire? And is the story of the freedom-loving Saxons refusing to be put under the Norman yoke, as portrayed in the Errol Flynn films, true?
£27.00
The History Press Ltd Kings, Queens, Bones and Bastards: Who's Who in the English Monarchy From Egbert to Elizabeth II
Who invented the 'House of Windsor' as a royal name? Who founded Westminster Abbey? Which king had twenty-one illegitimate children? David Halliam answers all these questions and more. Here is a continuous history of the English monarchy, showing how the nine dynasties rose and fell.The book describes the most memorable features of the life and times of each king or queen - from Egbert, crowned in 802 and considered the first king of England, to Queen Elizabeth II - as well as recording the extraordinary lives of their queens, consorts, mistresses and bastard children. It also tells the story of the Saxons, describes what has happened to the monarchs' mortal remains, and relates many lively incidents of royal history that rarely appear in the text books.Read of the saintly Edward the Confessor, who is believed to have refused to consummate his marriage; of the rumbustious Henry VIII, given to beheading those who displeased him; of the 'little gentleman in black velvet', who caused the death of William III; and of Queen Victoria's strange servant, the 'Munshi', Queen Emma, who endured a trial by ordeal; and Anne Boleyn, widely suspected of being a witch.A complete list of the monarchs' reigns and a genealogical table showing the royal descent down thirty-seven generations from Egbert to Elizabeth II adds to the volume's reference value.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Penicillin Man
The history of penicillin.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Tipton
This third selection of Tipton In Old Photographs will bring back happy memories for all those who know and love the town.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd The Great Stink of London: Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the Cleansing of the Victorian Metropolis
‘An extraordinary history’ PETER ACKROYD, The Times‘A lively account of (Bazalgette’s) magnificent achievements. . . graphically illustrated’ HERMIONE HOBHOUSE‘Halliday is good on sanitary engineering and even better on cloaca, crud and putrefaction . . . (he) writes with the relish of one who savours his subject and has deeply researched it. . . splendidly illustrated’ RUTH RENDELLIn the sweltering summer of 1858, sewage generated by over two million Londoners was pouring into the Thames, producing a stink so offensive that it drove Members of Parliament from the chamber of the House of Commons.The Times called the crisis ‘The Great Stink’. Parliament had to act – drastic measures were required to clean the Thames and to improve London’s primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted with this enormous task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who rose to the challenge and built the system of intercepting sewers, pumping stations and treatment works that serves London to this day. In the process, he cleansed the Thames and helped banish cholera.The Great Stink of London offers a vivid insight into Bazalgette’s achievements and the era in which he worked and lived, including his heroic battles with politicians and bureaucrats that would transform the face and health of the world’s then largest city.
£16.99
The History Press Ltd Victory 1918: Celebrating the Armistice in Photographs
Eleven o’clock on the morning of 11 November 1918 was the end of an era. It marked the end of the bloody fighting and worldwide loss that characterised the First World War. It was finally time to set aside sadness and mourning as best the world could, and begin to celebrate and commemorate. In 120 black and white images from Mirrorpix’s formidable photograph archive, Victory 1918 provides a vivid look at the 1918 Armistice, from exhausted relief and vindication on the front line to jubilation on the streets of London and France. Fully up to date with remembrance ceremonies over the past 100 years, it is a book that celebrates the close of one of the world’s most catastrophic wars.
£11.69
The History Press Ltd Humphry Davy: Life Beyond the Lamp: Poet and Philosopher
Born in Penzance in 1778, Humphry Davy's scientific reputation grew with his pioneering discoveries of nitrous oxide (laughing gas), sodium, calcium and the invention of the miners' Davy lamp.
£13.49
The History Press Ltd Leicestershire Past and Present: Britain in Old Photographs
From the multicultural bustle of Leicester to the smaller market towns of Market Harborough and Lutterworth and evens smaller picturesque villages, Leicestershire is a unique and varied county with a rich cultural heritage. Leicestershire Past & Present contrasts a selection of 300 old and new photographs, juxtaposed to demonstrate the changes that have occurred in the scene over the intervening years. Fascinating images of town centres, housing, shops, and people at work and play bring Leicestershire’s history to life. It is a captivating insight into the changes and developments that have taken place over the years, and an enjoyable read from cover to cover.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Golf
Golf is one of the most popular games in the world. That is a strange thing to say, since almost all serious golfers actually have a love-hate relationship with it. A good round can bring great joy and satisfaction, while a bad round can end in depression, a binge at the bar, arguments with one’s partner and the need for prompt evasive action by the family cat. Although this book is written in a light-hearted manner, it contains a wealth of information about every aspect of the game. Learn about its long and speckled history and some of the quirky characters who have graced the links. It also has some advice on putting and chipping, two parts of the game which cause the occasional golfer frustration, heartache and sore knees after repeated attempts to break the clubs. Failing that you will find a selection of fascinating anecdotes about the game’s greats and plenty of intriguing trivia.
£8.99
The History Press Ltd Tommy Atkins: The Story of the English Soldier
Tommy Atkins is the English soldier, who joking broke the cavalry of France at Minden, who singing marched with the Great Duke to the Danube, who grumbling shattered Napoleon's dreams at Waterloo, who sweating in his red coat tramped back and forth across Indis, who kept his six-rounds-to-the-minute at Mons, and who died in the mud at Passchendaele, the sands of the Western Desert, and the jungles of Burma. If his name has been eclipsed by his more illustrious commanders - Cromwell, Marlborough, Moore, Wolfe, Wellington, Allenby, Slim - they at least will accord him his rightful place beside them. They knew his worth. Tommy Atkins is his story - the story of this most versatile, most adaptable, most un-military soldier.
£8.99