BookOdyssey

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Plato\'s Republic has influenced Western philosophers for centuries, with its main focus on what makes a well-balanced society and individual. Σελίδες: 432, Διαστάσεις: 11.1x11.1cm

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Unless I am allowed to tell the story of my life in my own way, I cannot tell it at all Mary Seacole – traveller, nurse, businesswoman and radical for her time – defied a prejudiced British government to care for soldiers wounded during the Crimean War. This ground breaking account, written by Seacole in 1857, brings to life her incredible journey from Jamaica to Central America and England, and then on to modern-day Ukraine, where she acted as nurse to injured soldiers while running her business, the \'British Hotel\'. A witness to key battles, she gives vivid accounts of how she coped with disease, bombardment and other adversities during the Crimean War. In this extraordinary autobiography, Seacole shows how she navigated her way through racial injustice, poverty and ignorance to become the first woman of colour in Britain to publish her memoirs. It is a testament to her enduring legacy. Σελίδες: 240, Διαστάσεις: 11.1x11.1cm

With an Introduction by Angus Calder. As Angus Calder states in his introduction to this edition, \'Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the major statements about the fighting experience of the First World War\'. Lawrence\'s younger brothers, Frank and Will, had been killed on the Western Front in 1915. Seven Pillars of Wisdom, written between 1919 and 1926, tells of the vastly different campaign against the Turks in the Middle East - one which encompasses gross acts of cruelty and revenge and ends in a welter of stink and corpses in the disgusting \'hospital\' in Damascus. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is no Boys Own Paper tale of Imperial triumph, but a complex work of high literary aspiration which stands in the tradition of Melville and Dostoevsky, and alongside the writings of Yeats, Eliot and Joyce. Σελίδες: 704, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Translated by J.J. Graham, revised by F.N. Maude Abridged and with an Introduction by Louise Willmot. On War is perhaps the greatest book ever written about war. Carl von Clausewitz, a Prussian soldier, had witnessed at first hand the immense destructive power of the French Revolutionary armies which swept across Europe between 1792 and 1815. His response was to write a comprehensive text covering every aspect of warfare. On War is both a philosophical and practical work in which Clausewitz defines the essential nature of war, debates the qualities of the great commander, assesses the relative strengths of defensive and offensive warfare, and - in highly controversial passages - considers the relationship between war and politics. His arguments are illustrated with vivid examples drawn from the campaigns of Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. For the student of society as well as the military historian, On War remains a compelling and indispensable source. Σελίδες: 400, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Translated with Notes by George Rawlinson. With an Introduction by Tom Griffith.Herodotus (c480-c425) is \'The Father of History\' and his Histories are the first piece of Western historical writing. They are also the most entertaining. Why did Pheidippides run the 26 miles and 385 yards (or 42.195 kilometres) from Marathon to Athens? And what did he do when he got there? Was the Battle of Salamis fought between sausage-sellers? Which is the oldest language in the world? Why did Leonidas and his 300 Spartans spend the morning before the battle of Thermopylae combing their hair? Why did every Babylonian woman have to sit in the Temple of Aphrodite until a man threw a coin into her lap, and how long was she likely to sit there? And what is the best way to kill a crocodile? This wide-ranging history provides the answers to all these fascinating questions as well as providing many fascinating insights into the Ancient World. Σελίδες: 768, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

William Marshal, born about 1147, was the son of a minor lord who held the hereditary title of ‘Marshal’, or head of the king’s security. He became a knight loyal to five kings, the most powerful man in the kingdom, the hero of Magna Carta and a saviour of England. At his funeral in the Temple Church, London, on 20 May 1219, he was described by the Archbishop of Canterbury as ‘the greatest knight in the world’. William’s son commissioned a biography of his father, The History of William Marshal, which brings William vividly to life and is the fullest and most dramatic such biography to reach us from the Middle Ages.  The Rotunda of the Temple Church still contains eight 13th-century effigies of knights in armour. Three of the Marshals – William and two of his sons – are known to have been buried in the Church. By the late 16th century, antiquarians were trying to identify William’s effigy among them; and since 1843 one effigy in particular has been universally accepted to be William’s.  This has recently been disputed by a set of drawings, dating to c. 1610, discovered in Washington, DC. These drawings show all the medieval effigies in the Temple Church – and a further, long-lost gravestone which matches the earliest descriptions of William’s tomb. This raises a fascinating question: has the real monument to William been lost? This book will uncover the details of this latest discovery and commemorate the greatest knight that ever lived.  Σελίδες: 32, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0502, Διαστάσεις: 17.2x17.2cm

What is the origin of the stories of the Round Table, of Excalibur and the Holy Grail, of Sir Launcelot and Guinevere? And where was Camelot? King Arthur’s name has echoed down the centuries, conjuring up rich images of mystery and power, chivalry and romance. But did he exist at all? There is no evidence to prove he reigned in the fifth and sixth centuries; no eye-witness accounts of his coronation and no reliable manuscripts outlining his deeds. This full-colour guide examines the facts of the legends in the tantalising puzzle of King Arthur and his knights. Learn about the origins of the Round Table, the cult of chivalry and conflict between knights, and Arthur\'s shape-shifting half-sister Moran le Fay. From the origins of Arthurian legend to the new phase in the Arthurian cyce in the romantic revival of the early nineteenth century, read about the tantalizing puzzle that is King Arthur. Look out for more Pitkin guides on the very best of British history, heritage and travel. Σελίδες: 32, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1128, Διαστάσεις: 22x22cm

The power of Frank Dikötter\'s ground-breaking work on the disaster that followed China\'s attempted ‘Great Leap Forward’ lies not in the detail of his evidence (though that shows that Mao\'s fumbled attempt at rapid industrialization probably cost 45 million Chinese lives). It stems from the exceptional reasoning skills that allowed Dikötter to turn years of researching in obscure Chinese archives into a compelling narrative of disaster, and above all to link two subjects that had been treated as distinct by most of his predecessors: the extent of the crisis in the countryside, and the actions (hence the responsibility) of the senior Chinese leadership. In Dikötter\'s view, ultimate responsibility for the catastrophe lies at the door of Mao Zedong himself; the Chairman conceived and ordered the policies that led to the famine, and he did nothing to reverse them or limit the damage that was being wrought when evidence for their disastrous impact reached him. Dikötter\'s ability to persuade his readers of the fundamental truth of these arguments – despite his admission that his access to sources was necessarily limited and incomplete – together with the clear structure of his presentation combine to produce a work that has had enormous influence on perceptions of Mao and of the Great Leap Forward itself. Σελίδες: 96, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

In the two decades following the fall of the Berlin Wall, global capitalism became entrenched in its modern, neoliberal form. Its triumph was so complete that the word \"capitalism\" itself fell out of use in the absence of credible political alternatives. But with the outbreak of financial crisis and global recession in the twenty-first century, capitalism is once again up for discussion. The status quo can no longer be taken for granted.As Eric Hobsbawm argues in his acute and elegant introduction to this modern edition, in such times The Communist Manifesto emerges as a work of great prescience and power despite being written over a century and a half ago. He highlights Marx and Engels\'s enduring insights into the capitalist system: its devastating impact on all aspects of human existence; its susceptibility to enormous convulsions and crises; and its fundamental weakness. Σελίδες: 96, Διαστάσεις: 14.2x14.2cm

Σελίδες: 86, Διαστάσεις: 15.2x15.2cm

In 334 BC the twenty-two-year-old King Alexander of Macedon led his army across the Bosphorus to challenge the mighty Persian empire. Ten years later his conquests had taken him to the edge of the known world. But, as Asia Minor, Egypt and parts of India lay at his feet, Alexander was dying, his huge empire soon to be split up. Alexander the Great celebrates his legendary life and his legacy to civilisation in a host of illustrations woven into the fascinating story, written by a renowned specialist in the history of the period. Σελίδες: 176, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1120, Διαστάσεις: 12.4x12.4cm

History is a rich, varied and fascinating subject, so it\'s rare to find the whole lot in one book ... until now. The History of the World in Bite-Sized Chunks pulls it all together, from the world\'s earliest civilizations in 3500 BC to the founding of the United Nations in 1945, passing by the likes of Charlemagne, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean War, to name a few.Here\'s your chance to introduce yourself to the full spectrum of world history, and discover just how the modern world came to be. Σελίδες: 192, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0908, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Σελίδες: 256, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1115, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

This outstandingly vivid and accessible book, written by one of Britain\'s leading historians, provides the essential overview of Napoleon\'s career. Beginning in revolutionary France with a brilliant young Lieutenant who still styled himself Napoleone di Buonaparte, Holmes examines every facet of his subject\'s military career: his astonishing victories at the Battle of the Pyramids, Marengo, Jena and Austerlitz, through to defeat and exile under the immense weight of the great powers who were determined to stop the man who would be emperor of Europe. Σελίδες: 144, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0602, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

The expertly written text offers an insight into the private and public life of the heir to the throne of England, from his early years at Buckingham Palace through to his education at Gordonstoun and Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as his time in the Royal Navy. With a wide range of humanitarian and social interests, Charles is patron to a number of charities and organisations, including The Princes’s Trust, founded in 1976. He has played a central role as father to Princes William and Harry and his devotion and dedication to his mother, Queens Elizabeth II, is outstanding. This beautifully illustrated biography is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II. Σελίδες: 64, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0201, Διαστάσεις: 21x21cm

A graphic account of this long-running global drama, The Compact Guide: The Cold War is published in a new era of fear and uncertainty. It encompasses moments of high tension, such as the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the nuclear alerts of 1973 and 1983. At several times the world stood on the brink of nuclear Armageddon, but these dangerous moments all ended with both sides drawing back, until the long confrontation ended peacefully. Written by a leading American defence analyst, Dr Norman Friedman, The Compact Guide: The Cold War is supplemented with 60 photographs and documents that allow the reader to witness the events as they unfolded. Maps, diaries, letters and other items which, up till now, have remained filed or exhibited in the Imperial War Museum and other museum collections in Northern Europe and America include a 1963 nuclear attack protective booklet produced for homeowners by the British government and the official pack for US troops passing through Checkpoint Charlie, with practical advice on visiting Communist-controlled East Berlin. Σελίδες: 128, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0602, Διαστάσεις: 12.6x12.6cm

If your response to a mention of the Wars of the Roses, the Sumerians or the Reformation is, ‘Hmm, I’ve heard of that – what was that again?’, then this is the book for you. This entertaining yet informative book travels back through time to fill in those embarrassing gaps in your knowledge, from the invasions of Britain, the Renaissance and the Cold War, to the American, French and Russian Revolutions, the World Wars ... and everything else you have forgotten from your school history lessons. In I Used to Know That: History, information is broken down into manageable, bite-sized chunks, refreshing your memory of all those things you once knew but have forgotten, and filling you in on the bits that the school syllabus didn’t include. From building the pyramids in Egypt to the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything you used to know – and much that you didn’t – is here. Σελίδες: 192, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0910, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

As Napoleon himself once said, \'History is a version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.\' Noted down in historical documents, copied and widely repeated, it doesn\'t take long for a version of the truth to become accepted as fact. But who invents these false accounts in the first place, and why do they gain traction so quickly? Far from concerning the obscure and insignificant parts of our history, these fundamental inaccuracies and downright lies colour the depiction of many of those pivotal characters and events we learnt about at school. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Joan of Arc; most of us could reel off a fact or two about each. But as this intriguing book reveals, a closer examination of these core parts of our social and political history shows that often all was not as it seemed, and that the agendas of those responsible for recording these events had a huge impact on what was reported and what was covered up. Σελίδες: 256, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

Exam board: EdexcelLevel: A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2017Maximise your chance of coursework success; this Edexcel A-level History Workbook breaks the assignment down into manageable steps, builds the required skills and tracks students\' progress at every stage.Based on analysis of real students\' submissions and the challenges they faced, this coursework companion will:- Guide you step by step through the process, from choosing a topic to conducting research, constructing an argument and submitting the final work- Improve critical thinking, reading and writing skills with activities that involve finding, analysing and evaluating interpretations, plus activities that help students answer the question effectively- Enable students to work independently, using the Workbook to structure their thinking, record their progress and review their coursework against model paragraphs and a self-assessment checklist- Ensure that you understand the demands of the specification, providing a simplified mark scheme and targeted advice from authors with first-hand experience of marking Edexcel A-level coursework- Boost confidence and performance not only in coursework but also exams, as students can apply the skills developed throughout the project to examination questions Σελίδες: 80, Διαστάσεις: 20.8x20.8cm

Exam board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2017Maximise your chance of coursework success; this OCR A-level History Workbook breaks the topic-based essay down into manageable steps, builds the required skills and tracks students\' progress at every stage.Based on analysis of real students\' submissions and the challenges they faced, this coursework companion will:- Guide you step by step through the process, from choosing a topic to conducting research, constructing an argument and submitting the final work- Improve critical thinking, reading and writing skills with activities that involve finding, analysing and evaluating sources and interpretations, plus activities that help students answer the question effectively- Enable students to work independently, using the Workbook to structure their thinking, record their progress and review their coursework against model paragraphs and a self-assessment checklist- Ensure that you understand the demands of the specification, providing a simplified mark scheme and targeted advice from authors with moderating experience- Boost confidence and performance not only in coursework but also exams, as students can apply the skills developed throughout the project to examination questions Σελίδες: 88, Διαστάσεις: 20.2x20.2cm

‘A fascinating, superbly researched and revelatory book – told with tremendous pace and excitement’ William Boyd‘Rick Stroud writes brilliantly about war … an astonishing book … a wonderful story’ Ben Macintyre\'Enthralling, edge-of-smart exciting and also heart-breaking...Stroud\'s book is a reminder and fitting testimony to their immense bravery\' James Holland On 18 June 1940 General de Gaulle broadcast from London to his countrymen in France about the catastrophe that had overtaken their nation – the victory of the invading Germans. He declared: ‘The flame of French Resistance must not and will not be extinguished.\' The Resistance began almost immediately. At first it was made up of small, disorganised groups working in isolation. But by the time of the liberation in 1944 around 400,000 French citizens, nearly 2 per cent of the population, were involved. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) set up by Winston Churchill in 1941 saw its role in France as helping the Resistance by recruiting and organising guerrilla fighters; supplying and training them; and then disrupting the invaders by any means necessary. The aim of this work was to prepare for the invasion of Europe by Allied forces and the eventual liberation of France. It was soon decided that women would play a vital role. There were 39 female agents recruited from all walks of life, ranging from a London shop assistant to a Polish aristocrat. They all knew France well, were fluent in French and were prepared to sacrifice everything. The women trained alongside the men, learning how to disappear into the background, how to operate a radio transmitter and how to kill a man with their bare hands. Once trained, they were infiltrated behind the lines; some went on to lead thousands of Resistance fighters, while others were arrested, brutally interrogated and sent to concentration camps.  Lonely Courage tells their remarkable story and sheds new light on what life was really like for these brave women. Σελίδες: 320, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0726, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

This extraordinary New York Times bestseller reexamines a pivotal event of the civil rights movement—the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till—“and demands that we do the one vital thing we aren’t often enough asked to do with history: learn from it” (The Atlantic). * A New York Times Notable Book * A Washington Post Notable Book * Longlisted for the National Book Award * Winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award *An NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution Best Book of the Year *In 1955, white men in the Mississippi Delta lynched a fourteen-year-old from Chicago named Emmett Till. His murder was part of a wave of white terrorism in the wake of the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared public school segregation unconstitutional. Only weeks later, Rosa Parks thought about young Emmett as she refused to move to the back of a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Five years later, Black students who called themselves “the Emmett Till generation” launched sit-in campaigns that turned the struggle for civil rights into a mass movement. Till’s lynching became the most notorious hate crime in American history. But what actually happened to Emmett Till—not the icon of injustice, but the flesh-and-blood boy? Part detective story, part political history, The Blood of Emmett Till “unfolds like a movie” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), drawing on a wealth of new evidence, including a shocking admission of Till’s innocence from the woman in whose name he was killed. “Jolting and powerful” (The Washington Post), the book “provides fresh insight into the way race has informed and deformed our democratic institutions” (Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Carry Me Home) and “calls us to the cause of justice today” (Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP). Σελίδες: 304, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0308, Διαστάσεις: 14x14cm

The Book of Seconds reveals the exciting, intriguing and heroic runners-up who until now have been kept in the shadow of the firsts.Did you know that the winner of the second Tour de France rode 25 miles on two flat tyres?Or that the second crew to land on the Moon danced to a pop song in zero gravity?Step forward all the nearly-men and nearly-women, the nearly skyscrapers, nearly-LPs and nearly deserts. Your time in the spotlight has come at last. Σελίδες: 224, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0630, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

\'This thought-provoking book is a must-read for anyone interested in the Holocaust\' – Ariana Neumann​The extraordinarily moving memoir by Australian Slovakian Holocaust survivor Magda Hellinger, who saved an untold number of lives at Auschwitz through everyday acts of courage, kindness and ingenuity. In the camps during the Second World War, prisoner Magda Hellinger Blau was selected by the SS as a Jewish prison leader and she eventually rises to the senior position of Lagerälteste (Camp Elder). Madga used her proximity to her fellow prisoners and the SS to engage in numerous acts of kindness, bravery and compassion to keep the prisoners alive in frightening and uncertain circumstances. Now, her daughter Maya Lee tells the definitive story of her mother, a woman who showed great bravery and compassion when stuck between worlds of authority and imprisonment. Using her mother’s short memoir as a starting point, this book is Maya Lee’s deep-dive into her mother’s life and the power of kindness in the face of adversity, as she connects with fellow Auschwitz survivors and forms new friendships throughout her journey.The Nazis Knew My Name is a poignant and personal exploration of the prisoners in the Holocaust camps and the need to still tell these stories almost 70 years on. Σελίδες: 304, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0105, Διαστάσεις: 13x13cm

The past is capricious enough to support every stance - no matter how questionable. In 2002, the Bush administration decided that dealing with Saddam Hussein was like appeasing Hitler or Mussolini, and promptly invaded Iraq. Were they wrong to look to history for guidance? No; their mistake was to exaggerate one of its lessons while suppressing others of equal importance. History is often hijacked through suppression, manipulation, and, sometimes, even outright deception. MacMillan\'s book is packed full of examples of the abuses of history. In response, she urges us to treat the past with care and respect. Σελίδες: 208, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

Σελίδες: 256, Διαστάσεις: 15.3x15.3cm

Taking the history of the world as its basis might seem a mammoth task but this fascinating book does just that, breaking the whole lot down into ten enthralling chapters that cover the ages and the world, from the Bronze Age up until the end of the Second World War.With over 5,500 years to choose from, and a whole world of events, you can be sure there is no shortage of intriguing history to explore. From the first empires and civilizations, through the Ancient world of the Middle East and Africa; the Parthian Empire; the Golden Age of India; the ancient dynasties of China; the founding of Rome and the Roman republic; Peruvian cultures; The Middle Ages; the Byzantine Empire; Mayan culture; the Crusades; the rise of the Ottoman Empire; the Renaissance – this far-reaching book will test the knowledge of any history lover and provide the ultimate challenge for even the most knowledgeable historian.With questions ranging through multiple choice, truth or fiction, maps and pictures, you will find there is always something new to learn about the world. Σελίδες: 224, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0419, Διαστάσεις: 15.3x15.3cm

A great variety of activities to test your knowledge, whether highbrow or low culture. Proving you know it all about history has never been such fun – or so tricky.Do you think you know all about history? Can you tell your Tudors from your Habsburgs, and the Ming dynasty from the Mughals? Could you put the US presidents in order? Can you say what century the Elgin Marbles or Benin bronzes were crafted, or who were the husbands of famous women? Perhaps you like the history of art or of great inventions? Or maybe you think you know all about the great battles of the world?Whatever your area of interest or depth of knowledge, this quiz will have some testing questions for you. From the Stone Age up to the Second World War and covering all corners of the earth as well as all areas of human endeavour, Think You Know It All: History will challenge your knowledge of what happened, who did it, where and when.Along with the straightforward quizzes, there are maps questions, silhouettes to identify, mazes to follow – a great variety of activities to test your knowledge, whether highbrow or low culture. Proving you know it all about history has never been such fun – or so tricky. Σελίδες: 224, Διαστάσεις: 15.3x15.3cm

Explore the places that time forgot. These abandoned, mysterious, sleeping monuments around the world have been relegated to the margins of history. From ancient ruins and crumbling castles to more recent relics – an art deco New York subway station, a Soviet ghost town in the Arctic Circle, a flooded Thai mall teeming with aquatic life – Travis Elborough takes you on a journey into these strange, overlooked and disappearing worlds and immortalises them in this book of original maps, accompanied by moving historic and geographic accounts of each site. The featured locations are a stark reminder of what was, and the accounts in this investigative book help to bring their stories back to life, telling us what happened, when and why, and to whom. The book features 40 sites, including: Santa Claus, Arizona, USA: A festive tourist resort-turned-ghost town deep in the desert where you could once meet Santa Claus any day of the year; Crystal Palace Subway, London, UK: One of the city’s best-kept secrets is an underground, cathedral-like relic that many Victorian commuters bustled through; Montserrat, West Indies: The small Caribbean island with a population of 5,000 that was evacuated when its volcano erupted in 1995. The volcano is still active and nearly half the island remains a designated exclusion zone; Balaklava Submarine Base, Crimea: The former top-secret Soviet submarine base that was kept off all official maps and known as Object 825 GTS; Volterra Psychiatric Hospital, Tuscany, Italy: Once dubbed ‘the place of no return’, this long-closed lunatic asylum once housed 6,000 patients who were never allowed to leave. From eerie ghost towns to epic undersea monuments, armchair travellers and adventure seekers will be captivated by this curious atlas of strange and surreal abandoned sites across the world. It follows on from the success of the award-winning title Atlas of Vanishing Places, and forms part of an atlas series that offers lesser-known histories of hidden, fascinating locations worldwide.Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of Untamed Places, Atlas of the Unexpected and Atlas of Vanishing Places (WINNER Illustrated Book of the Year - Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2020). Σελίδες: 224, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0620, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

From the author of bestseller Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars in history. \'A brilliant book.\' James O\'BrienWhether it\'s virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputation? Exploring everything from Captain Scott\'s reckless hunt for glory to Coco Chanel\'s murky Nazi past, Otto English turns his attention to some of history\'s biggest (and most beloved) figures, bringing to light the darker truths that they would rather have kept buried away, while also celebrating the unsung heroes. Fake Heroes exposes the truths of the past and helps us understand why they matter today. \'The most controversial book of the year.\' Daily Express \'A fascinating mixture of subjects and lots of offbeat information... Eye-opening.\' Andrew Lownie Σελίδες: 432, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0611, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

\'Wise and thorough\' Spectator \'Brisk and readable ... very valuable\' Financial Times \'He is an engaging guide ... and writes with the same flair demonstrated in his previous bestseller Afgantsy\' Sunday Telegraph \'A scholarly yet highly readable gallop through the last 1000 years of Russian history ... To understand this tormented nation, you can do no better than read this illuminating portrait\' Jonathan Dimbleby With its attack on Ukraine, Russia\'s future seems almost as uncertain as its past. The largest country in the world - with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons - has been known over the past thousand years as Rus, Muscovy, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Thirty years ago it was reinvented as the Russian Federation. Russia is not an enigma but its past is violent, tragic, sometimes glorious, and certainly complicated. Like the rest of us, the Russians constantly rewrite their history. They too omit episodes of national disgrace in favour of patriotic anecdotes, sometimes more rooted in myth than reality. Expert and former ambassador Rodric Braithwaite unpicks fact from fiction to discover what lies at the root of the Russian story, more relevant to the rest of the world now than ever before. Σελίδες: 288, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

What difference do individuals make to history? Are we all swept up in the great forces like industrialisation or globalisation, or is the world we inhabit shaped just as much by real people - leaders for example - and the decisions that they make? For better or for worse, the personalities of the powerful can affect millions of people and the future of countries: it matters who is in the driving seat, and who is making plans. Equally important: how is history itself made by those who keep the records? In History\'s People Margaret Macmillan explores the lives of the great and lesser-known figures of the past: men, women, explorers, rulers, dreamers, politicians, observers, campaigners. She looks at the concept of leadership, from Bismarck to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but also at the role of observers such as Babur, first Mughal emperor of India, and asks how explorers and visionaries such as Fanny Parkes and Elizabeth Simcoe managed to defy or ignore the constraints of their own societies. And, in doing so, she uncovers the important and complex relationship between biography and history, and between individuals and their times. Like all the best history, this book will change the way you see the past, as well as your own times - and perhaps introduce you to some people you didn\'t know. Σελίδες: 288, Έτος Έκδοσης: 0209, Διαστάσεις: 12.8x12.8cm

From the bestselling author Simon Winchester, a human history of land around the world: who mapped it, owned it, stole it, cared for it, fought for it and gave it back. In 1889, thousands of hopeful people raced southward from the Kansas state line and westward from the Arkansas boundary to stake claims on the thousands of acres of unclaimed pastures and meadows. Across the twentieth century, water was dammed and drained in Holland so that a new province, Flevoland, rose up, unchartered and requiring new thinking. In 1850, California legislated the theft of land from Native Americans. An apology came in 2019 from the governor, but what of the call for reparations or return? What of government confiscation of land in India, or questions of fairness when it comes to New Zealand’s Maori population and the legacy of settlers? The ownership of land has always been complicated, opaque, and more than a little anarchic when viewed from the outside. In this book, Simon Winchester explores the the stewardship of land, the ways it is delineated and changes hands, the great disputes, and the questions of restoration – particularly in the light of climate change and colonialist reparation. A global study, this is an exquisite exploration of what the ownership of land might really mean – not in dry-as-dust legal terms, but for the people who live on it. Σελίδες: 464, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

\'Go to your \"books to read\" list and place Elisabeth\'s Lists right at the top\' Damian Barr The vivacious and moving true story of a lost era and a lost grandmother, pieced together from an inherited book of handwritten lists Many years after the death of her grandmother, Lulah Ellender inherited a curious object - a book of handwritten lists. On the face of it, Elisabeth\'s lists seemed rather ordinary - shopping lists, items to be packed for a foreign trip, a tally of the eggs laid by her hens. But from these everyday fragments, Lulah began to weave together the extraordinary life of the grandmother she never knew - a life lived in the most rarefied and glamorous of circles, from Elisabeth\'s early years as an ambassador\'s daughter in 1930s China, to her marriage to a British diplomat and postings in Madrid under Franco\'s regime, post-war Beirut, Rio de Janeiro and Paris. But it was also a life of stark contrasts - between the opulent excess of embassy banquets and the deprivations of wartime rationing in England, between the unfailing charm she displayed in public and the dark depressions that blanketed her in private, between her great appetite for life and her sudden, early death. As Lulah learns that she is losing her own mother, she finds herself turning to her grandmother\'s life, and to her much-travelled book of lists, in search of meaning and solace. Elisabeth\'s Lists is both a vivid memoir and a moving study of the familial threads that binds us, even beyond death. \'This is a hauntingly beautiful meditation on life and death\' Guardian Σελίδες: 336, Διαστάσεις: 12.9x12.9cm

You probably know, or think you know, quite a bit about what happened in the 20th century - chances are, if you\'re reading this, you lived through at least some of it - and you may have referenced the Cuban Missile Crisis, the double helix, or the Wall Street Crash in conversation. But even for people who were there, it was the fastest-moving hundred years in history, so refresh your memory with these pacey profiles on everything from Sputnik to Stonewall.30-Second Twentieth Century presents a unique approach to modern history, condensing 100 years of innovation and art, politics and conflict, triumph and disaster, into 50 graphic snapshots that offer an instant appreciation of the way the world revolves and evolves. Consider which events define a period of history and why. From the Red Army to Black Monday, from Woodstock to the World Wide Web, this is the fastest way to travel in time. Σελίδες: 160, Έτος Έκδοσης: 1101, Διαστάσεις: 15x15cm

The French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolours. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine\'s blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such as the enduring ideology of human rights, and decimalization. In this Very Short Introduction, William Doyle introduces the French old regime and considers how and why it collapsed. Retelling the unfolding events of the revolution, he analyses why the revolutionaries quarrelled with the king, the church and the rest of Europe, why this produced Terror, and finally how it accomplished rule by a general. Doyle also discusses how and why the revolution destroyed the age-old cultural, institutional, and social structures in France and beyond. In this new edition, Doyle includes new sections highlighting the main developments in the field since the first edition, before exploring the legacy of the revolution in the form of rationality in public affairs and responsible government. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Σελίδες: 176, Διαστάσεις: 11.2x11.2cm