Search results for ""Author Dominic Sandbrook""

Harold Wilson's famous reference to 'white heat' captured the optimistic spirit of a society in the midst of breathtaking change. From the gaudy pleasures of Swinging London to the tragic bloodshed in Northern Ireland, from the intrigues of Westminster to the drama of the World Cup, British life seemed to have taken on a dramatic new momentum.The memories, images and colourful personalities of those heady times still resonate today: mop-tops and mini-skirts, strikes and demonstrations, Carnaby Street and Kings Road, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, Mary Quant and Jean Shrimpton, Enoch Powell and Mary Whitehouse, Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger.In this wonderfully rich and readable historical narrative, Dominic Sandbrook looks behind the myths of the Swinging Sixties to unearth the contradictions of a society caught between optimism and decline.

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true'An invisible tremor ran through the Aztecs on the rooftops, a breathless gasp of excitement. On the edge of the city the drummers struck up their rhythm. They were coming...'With its vast cities, soaring pyramids and glittering treasure, the Aztec Empire was one of the greatest civilizations in the world, at once beautiful and terrible. At its head was the Emperor Montezuma, master of millions, who spoke with the voice of the gods and fed the sun with the blood of his prisoners. Yet Montezuma was troubled by terrifying omens. And when Spanish explorers landed on his shore to seek their fortunes, nothing would ever be the same again...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true Prepare to meet the most terrifying raiders the world has ever known, as historian Dominic Sandbrook plunges us back into the thrilling drama of the Viking Age. We'll encounter gods and giants, axemen and shield-maidens, from the warlords rampaging through King Alfred's England to the sea-captains who first glimpsed the mountains of Iceland. For even in the most glittering cities on earth, no one is safe from the Northmen's fury...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true'Winter has come; and in a far distant land, a warrior queen is expecting a child...'Step through these pages into the Tudor world: a dangerous place, where one miss-step could cost your life. Through the eyes of Henry VIII's six very different queens, from a brave Spanish princess to a wise English widow, historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us on a thrilling journey through the twists and turns of a dramatic age. For no one is safe from the wheel of fortune: it can take you from a golden throne to the Tower of London...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019 BY THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, LONDON EVENING STANDARD, DAILY MAIL AND BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE'Magisterial ... If anyone wants to know what has been happening to Britain since the 1950s, it is difficult to imagine a more informative, or better-humoured guide ... a Thucydidean coolness, balance and wisdom that is superb.' - AN Wilson, The Times 'Who Dares Wins captures the period with clairvoyant vividness. Compulsively readable, the book will be indispensable to anyone who wants to understand these pivotal years.' - John Gray, New Statesman'Immaculately well-researched, breathtakingly broad and beautifully written ... Sandbrook leaves the reader impatient for the next volume.' - Simon Heffer, Daily TelegraphThe acclaimed historian of modern Britain, Dominic Sandbrook, tells the story of the early 1980s: the most dramatic, colourful and controversial years in our recent history. Margaret Thatcher had come to power in 1979 with a daring plan to reverse Britain's decline into shabbiness and chaos. But as factories closed their doors, dole queues lengthened and the inner cities exploded in flames, would her radical medicine rescue the Sick Man of Europe - or kill it off?Vivid, surprising and gloriously entertaining, Dominic Sandbrook's new book recreates the decisive turning point in Britain's recent story. For some people this was an age of unparalleled opportunity, the heyday of computers and credit cards, snooker, Sloane Rangers and Spandau Ballet. Yet for others it was an era of shocking bitterness, as industries collapsed, working-class communities buckled and the Labour Party tore itself apart. And when Argentine forces seized the Falkland Islands, it seemed the final humiliation for a wounded, unhappy country, its fortunes now standing on a knife-edge. Here are the early 1980s in all their gaudy glory. This is the story of Tony Benn, Ian Botham and Princess Diana; Joy Division, Chariots of Fire, the Austin Metro and Juliet Bravo; wine bars, Cruise missiles, the ZX Spectrum and the battle for the Falklands. And towering above them all, the most divisive Prime Minister of modern times - the Iron Lady.

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From the podcast legends who brought you The Rest is History comes The Rest is History Returns!This time Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook bring you an alphabetical miscellany, taking on some of history's best and most bizarre moments. Charge forth against the traitors of the American Revolution, journey through Baghdad to discover the origins of the Arabian Nights and head to Sicily to witness the first face-off between Carthage and Rome. Along the way you''ll find the answers to questions like: - Who was Jesus's wife? - What would it have been like to live-tweet through the eruption of Vesuvius? - Why did the Romans inspire so much American science fiction? - Which Mitford sister tried to seduce her girlish crush, Adolf Hitler? - Who are history''s top 10 monkeys? - Was Henry V's great-grandfather, Edward III, the biggest lad' in British history? But that's not all this

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true'His mind was clear. It was time to go east. Time to march into Asia, to confront the Persians and to meet his destiny...'Alexander has one, wild dream: to rule the world. And with his childhood friends and his beloved horse Bucephalas, he sets out from his home in Ancient Greece to do just that. With historian Dominic Sandbrook as our guide, join Alexander on his incredible journey through the deserts of Egypt and over the snow-capped mountains of Persia all the way to India, defeating all who stand in his way. For anything is possible with the help of the gods...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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Dominic Sandbrook's magnificent account of the late 1970s in Britain The late 1970s were Britain's years of strife and the good life. They saw inflation, riots, the peak of trade union power - and also the birth of home computers, the rise of the ready meal and the triumph of a Grantham grocer's daughter who would change everything. Dominic Sandbrook recreates this extraordinary period in all its chaos and contradiction, revealing it as a turning point in our recent history, where, in everything from families and schools to punk and Doctor Who, the future of the nation was being decided.'Magnificent ... if you lived through the late Seventies - or, for that matter, even if you didn't - don't miss this book' Mail on Sunday'Sandbrook has created a specific style of narrative history, blending high politics, social change and popular culture ... always readable and assured ... [A] splendid book' Stephen Robinson, Sunday Times'[Sandbrook] has a remarkable ability to turn a sow's ear into a sulk purse. His subject is depressing, but the book itself is a joy ... Sandbrook is, without doubt, superb ... Seasons in the Sun is a familiar story, yet seldom has it been told with such verve' Gerard DeGroot, Seven'A brilliant historian ... I had never fully appreciated what a truly horrible period it was until reading Sandbrook' A. N. Wilson, Spectator'Nuanced ... Sandbrook has rummaged deep into the cultural life of the era to remind us how rich it was, from Bowie to Dennis Potter, Martin Amis to William Golding' Damian Whitworth, The Times'Sharply and fluently written ... entertaining ... By making you quite nostalgic for the present, Sandbrook has done a public service' Evening Standard

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*NOW WITH A FUN PUB QUIZ*''An idiosyncratic ride through history'' Independent ''Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age'' The TimesThe nation's favourite historians, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn't even think to ask . . .- What was the most disastrous party in history?- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill's cover?- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from the people of Atlantis?- What made Alfred the Great so great?From a British political leader who allegedly plotted to feed his lover to alligators, to a Brazilian emperor whose subjects mistook him for a banana, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.

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State of Emergency : Britain 1970-74 is a brilliant history of the gaudy, schizophrenic atmosphere of the early Seventies. The early 1970s were the age of gloom and glam. Under Edward Heath, the optimism of the Sixties had become a distant memory. Now the headlines were dominated by social unrest, fuel shortages, unemployment and inflation. The seventies brought us miners' strikes, blackouts, IRA atrocities, tower blocks and the three-day week, yet they were also years of stunning change and cultural dynamism, heralding a social revolution that gave us celebrity footballers, high-street curry houses, package holidays, gay rights, green activists and progressive rock; the world of Enoch Powell and Tony Benn, David Bowie and Brian Clough, Germaine Greer and Mary Whitehouse. Dominic Sandbrook's State of Emergency is the perfect guide to a luridly colourful Seventies landscape that shaped our present, from the financial boardroom to the suburban bedroom. 'Hugely entertaining, always compelling, often hilarious' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Sunday Telegraph 'Thrillingly panoramic ... he vividly re-creates the texture of everyday life in a thousand telling details' Francis Wheen, Observer 'Masterly ... nothing escapes his gaze' Independent on Sunday 'Splendidly readable ... his almost pitch-perfect ability to recreate the mood and atmospherics of the time is remarkable' Economist

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true'An invisible tremor ran through the Aztecs on the rooftops, a breathless gasp of excitement. On the edge of the city the drummers struck up their rhythm. They were coming...'With its vast cities, soaring pyramids and glittering treasure, the Aztec Empire was one of the greatest civilizations in the world, at once beautiful and terrible. At its head was the Emperor Montezuma, master of millions, who spoke with the voice of the gods and fed the sun with the blood of his prisoners. Yet Montezuma was troubled by terrifying omens. And when Spanish explorers landed on his shore to seek their fortunes, nothing would ever be the same again... The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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'Alternately delightful and enlightening...a treat to read' Observer'A rich treasure-chest of a book' Sunday TelegraphIn 1956 the Suez Crisis finally shattered the old myths of the British Empire and paved the way for the tumultuous changes of the decades to come. Dominic Sandbrook looks at the dramatic story of affluence and decline between 1956 and 1963. Arguing that historians have until now been besotted by the supposed cultural revolution of the Sixties, Sandbrook re-examines the myths of this controversial period and paints a more complicated picture of a society caught between conservatism and change. He explores the growth of a modern consumer society, the impact of immigration, the invention of modern pop music and the British retreat from empire. And he tells the story of the colourful characters of the period, like Harold Macmillan, Kingsley Amis and Paul McCartney, bringing to life the experience of the first post-imperial generation, from the Notting Hill riots to the first Beatles hits, from the Profumo scandal to the cult of James Bond. In this strikingly impressive book, he combines academic verve and insight with colourful, dramatic writing to produce a classic, ground-breaking work that has changed forever how we think about the Sixties.

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all trueBorn into the richest dynasty in the world, young Cleopatra has always dreamed of glory and empire. And when she defeats her brother and sister to become Pharaoh of Egypt, she is certain the gods have chosen her for greatness. But then Julius Caesar's war-fleet sails into her harbour -- and suddenly her country's destiny hangs by a thread ...Join Dominic Sandbrook as we follow the most famous queen of all from Alexandria to Rome, through doomed love affairs and epic battles, to the serpent's bite which will change the course of history.

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Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all truePrepare to enter the most dramatic conflict the world has ever seen, as historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us on a spine-tingling, heart-stopping adventure. We witness the Second World War first-hand through the eyes of ordinary people living in extraordinary times, from the women who worked all night in factories to the chess players who cracked unbreakable codes. Because in total war, no life is left untouched...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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*A Children's Book of the Year 2021 as chosen by The Times and Daily Mail*Take a journey to a vanished world with the ADVENTURES IN TIME series - stories so exciting you won't believe they're all true'The whistles blew, the cheers went up, and thousands of men were scrambling up into the rolling fields of No Man's Land . . .'Travel back in time to the First World War, as historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us from the soaring heights of an aeroplane cockpit to the desperate depths of the enemy trenches. We are plunged first hand into a conflict like no other as, amid the greatest clash of empires ever known, the future of the world hangs in the balance...The Adventures in Time series brings the past alive for twenty-first century children. These stories are every bit as exciting as those of Harry Potter or Matilda Wormwood. The only difference is they actually happened...

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'Delightfully good ... an exuberant and learned celebration of British culture ... full of love for and fascination with everything from the origins of heavy metal in the metal-bashing industries of the West Midlands to John Lennon's and Damien Hirst's lust for money' Nick Cohen, Observer'Terrific ... I defy you not to be swept up in a narrative that's as colourful as it is dramatic' - John Preston, Mail on Sunday'Dramatic, perceptive and often extremely funny' Spectator, Books of the YearBritain's empire has gone. We no longer matter as we once did. And yet there is still one area in which we can legitimately claim superpower status: our popular culture. It is extraordinary to think that one British writer, J. K. Rowling, has sold more than 400 million books; that Doctor Who is watched in almost every developed country in the world; that James Bond has been the central character in the longest-running film series in history; that The Lord of the Rings is the second best-selling novel ever written (behind only A Tale of Two Cities); that the Beatles are still the best-selling musical group of all time; and that only Shakespeare and the Bible have sold more books than Agatha Christie. To put it simply, no country on earth, relative to its size, has contributed more to the modern imagination.This is a book about the success and the meaning of Britain's modern popular culture, from Bond and the Beatles to Catherine Cookson and Coronation Street, from Harry Potter, heavy metal and Kate Bush to Damien Hirst, Downton Abbey and Grand Theft Auto.Dominic Sandbrook's superbly rich, entertaining and thought-provoking book makes it clear that The Great British Dream Factory is a very strange and wonderful place indeed.

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Make room Herodotus, stand down Bede, pipe down Pepys – there’s a new history book in town. From the chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, a whistle-stop tour through the past – from Alexander the Great to Tolkien, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate. The nation’s favourite historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn’t even think to ask: - Did the Trojan War actually happen? - What was the most disastrous party in history? - Was Richard Nixon more like Caligula or Claudius? - How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill’s cover? - Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from Atlantis? Whether it is sending historical figures to Casa Amor in a series of Love Island, ranking history’s most famous eunuchs and pigeons (including Winkie, the unsung hero of the Second World War), or debating the meaning of greatness, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick. So run your Egyptian milk bath, strap up your best Spartan sandals, and prepare for a journey down the highways and byways of the human past. . . WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: HISTORY

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Will the twenty-first century be the next American Century? Will American power and ideas dominate the globe in the coming years? Or is the prestige of the United States likely to crumble beneath the pressure of new international challenges? This ground-breaking book explores the changing patterns of American thought and culture at the dawn of the new millennium, when the world's richest nation has never been more powerful or more controversial. It brings together some of the most eminent North American and European thinkers to investigate the crucial issues and challenges facing the United States during the early years of our new century. From the subterranean political shifts beneath the electoral landscape to the latest biomedical advances, from the literary response to 9/11 to the rise of reality television, this book explores the political, social and cultural contours of contemporary American life - but it also places the United States within a global narrative of commerce, cultural exchange, international diplomacy, ideological conflict and war. These eighteen new essays address such pressing issues as leadership, foreign policy, propaganda, religion, health, technology, immigration, 9/11 culture and digital media. Searching for the roots of our contemporary concerns, the authors look back to the Clinton years and even earlier periods of twentieth-century American life. But they also look forward to the new horizons of the century to come - to the unanticipated dangers of a global future and to the soaring possibilities of American enterprise and imagination.

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