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With its emphasis on
forgotten parts of
railway history, All
Change! Celebrates the
multi-layered diversity
that is the true story of
Britain's railway
network. This beautifully
illustrated book visits
the most intriguing and
least known of Britain's
minor lines: branch lines
long closed, branch
lines that against the
odds are alive, lines
that served industry and
docks - unsung railways,
found in every corner of
Great Britain, on which
the country's industrial,
commercial and social
life once depended.
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What made Arthur, Duke
of Wellington the
military genius who was
never defeated in battle?
In the vivid narrative
style that is his
trademark, Peter Snow
recalls how Wellington
evolved from a backward,
sensitive schoolboy into
the aloof but brilliant
commander-in-chief. He
tracks the development of
Wellington's leadership
and his relationship with
the extraordinary band of
men he led from Portugal
in 1808 to the final
destruction of Napoleon
at the Battle of
Waterloo. Having
described his soldiers as
the 'scum of the earth',
Wellington transformed
them into the finest
fighting force of their
time. Digging deep into
the rich treasure trove
of diaries and journals
that make this war the
first in history to be so
well recorded, Snow
examines Wellington's
prickly relationship with
generals such as the
irascible Thomas Picton
and the ruthless 'Black
Bob' Craufurd,
cavalrymen like the
daredevil Fred Ponsonby,
and soldiers including
jaunty Irishman Ned
Costello and failed actor
Thomas Todd. Using many
first-hand accounts,
Snow describes the horror
and the humanity of life
in and out of battle,
and he explains how
Wellington mastered the
battlefield to beat
Napoleon and change the
future of Europe.
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At 12:15pm on 10 April
1912 Titanic began her
first and final voyage.
For over 1, 500 people
this would be the last
time they would ever see
land. Published to
coincide with this
centenary Titanic
Remembered tells the
complete history of this
magnificent ship, from
its conception as the
most luxurious vessel in
seafaring history, to
the tragedy of its
sinking and its enduring
legacy. Included
throughout are extracts
from first-hand accounts
of those who designed,
built and sailed on
Titanic, as well as
those who lost their
lives when she sank. This
luxury commemorative
edition comes in a
presentation case with 40
beautifully reproduced
facsimiles of Titanic
memorabilia and a DVD
featuring footage of this
unsinkable ship and
authentic accounts from
Titanic survivors.
Removable facsimile
memorabilia include:
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Archibald Gracie was
probably among the last
to leave the sinking
Titanic on that cold
April night in 1912. His
is the most accurate
contemporary account of
what happened from the
moment that the great
liner hit the
ice-berg. Walter Lord in
A Night To Remember,
called him
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On 15 April 1912 the
largest, most expensive,
most luxurious ship ever
built sank beneath the
icy waves of the northern
Atlantic. Over 1, 500
people lost their lives.
Award-winning historian
Nick Barratt tells the
story of the Titanic for
the first time in the
words of those who
designed her, built her,
sailed her and those who
perished and survived
her.
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Philosophy: The Great
Thinkers showcases the
major philosophers of the
western tradition.
Written with the general
reader in mind, it
provides an ideal
introduction to their
ideas and the effect
those ideas have had on
the wider world. Concise
and informative, the
text introduces the basic
concepts behind each
philosopher's work
together with
biographical and
historical details Both
easy-to-use and a
stimulating read, this
book is an ideal
reference for anybody
interested in philosophy,
and especially for those
who want a clear,
entertaining exposition
of the ideas that shape
the way we think.
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Here is history with
everything: romance,
violence, eroticism,
drama, spectacular
personalities in gorgeous
settings and on an
international stage, God
and original research.. A
serious and irresistible
book.' Duncan Fallowell -
Daily Express. In 1501 a
fifteen-year-old Spanish
princess, Catherine of
Aragon, rode out from
the magnificent Alhambra
Palace in Granada. Ahead
lay a journey to distant
England, marriage to the
Prince of Wales - and
eventually a crucial
place in English history,
as the first wife of
Henry VIII. Bold at war,
loved by the people and
obstinate under attack,
Catherine's battle
against divorce and Anne
Boleyn changed the life
of England
forever. Giles
Tremlett's new biography
is the first in more than
four decades dedicated to
this tenacious woman and
it draws on fresh
material from Spanish
archives to trace the
dramatic events of her
life through Catherine's
own eyes.
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Such events are the
subject of Days that
Changed the World. Some
of the 50 days described
here mark the end of an
era; others the start of
something new Many are
the dates of bloody
battles or murders; of
momentous decisions or
breathtaking discoveries.
All are remembered as
powerful symbols of their
time, whose legacy
continues to reverberate
around the world. The
book begins almost 2, 500
years ago, on 28
September 480 BC, when
the Athenian navy
destroyed the Persian
invasion fleet in the Bay
of Salamis. Had the
Persians won, we might
never have heard the
names of Plato,
Aristotle or Alexander,
nor recognize the word
democracy. Taking in the
assassination of Julius
Caesar, the fall of
Constantinople, the
first day of the Somme,
Nelson Mandela's release
from prison and
concluding with 11
September 2001 and the
destruction of New York's
Twin Towers, Days that
Changed the World is a
unique and fascinating
way to tell the story of
world history.
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Throughout history,
soldiers have known that
they run the daily risk
of being killed in action
for their country. When
you are stationed on the
front line, it is an
ever-present danger.
Hence, for more than
three centuries,
soldiers have been
writing farewell letters
to be read in the event
of their death providing
a final, enduring link
with that person, and a
haunting voice from
beyond the grave. Through
these letters, the final
thoughts of the men and
women killed are
reanimated and
remembered; making this a
poignant, timely and
ultimately uplifting book
that gets to the human
heart and real voice of
warfare.
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Scandal Nation analyses
twelve key events since
the foundation of the
Irish State that shaped
us as a nation. It
examines the culture
within these events
occurred, how they
unfolded and their impact
on the years that
followed. And it asks,
can an inspection of the
roots of our modern
failings - of government,
state agencies and
church - help us to pave
a way forward?
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In 1940, against the
backdrop of the Battle of
Britain, 66 Quadron's
commanding officer,
Squadron Leader Athol
Forbes, asked ten of his
pilots to record their
experiences of flying one
of the greatest aerial
battles ever waged. The
Ten Fighter Boys,
published in 1942,
comprised the first-hand
accounts of pilot
officers and sergeant
pilots from all walks of
life among them was
Sergeant Jimmy Corbin,
who wrote the third
chapter. He was 23 - old
by pilot standards - and,
like the rest of the
squadron, based at
Biggin Hill, Kent. Now,
sixty years later,
Flight Lieutenant Jimmy
Corbin, Spitfire pilot,
tells his extraordinary
wartime story. He
describes how an ordinary
working-class boy from
Maidstone was propelled
into the thick of action
in the skies over Kent
during the summer and
autumn of 1940. As the
sole survivor of the
original 'Ten Fighter
Boys', Jimmy's story is
all the more poignant now
that the men who fought
the Battle of Britain
pass from living memory.
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The car is the most
cherished and admired of
all contemporary objects,
and car design is one of
the distinctive, even
defining, art forms of
the twenty-first century.
From the 1908 Ford Model
T to the 2003 BMW 5,
more than 80 of the most
evocative and distinctive
designed cars spanning
century have been chosen
to feature in this book,
with each car specially
photographed to
specifically highlight
its form and shape.
Stephen Bayley, one of
the world's best known
commentators on modern
culture, provides a
persuasive aesthetic
appraisal of each vehicle
and reveals the
distinctive national
characteristics that
every car exudes in this
collectable read for any
car enthusiast.
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Illustrated Daughters of
Britannia is a highly
entertaining and moving
account of the courageous
and unusual women who,
for the last 250 years,
have been the hidden
backbone of the British
foreign service.
Accompanying their
husbands to postings
hundreds of miles away
from home, these women
attempted to bring their
civilisation and customs
with them - from ordering
English tea and biscuits
form the Army & navy
catalogues, to trekking
through Chinese Turkistan
holding a parasol.
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A military historian of
the first rank.. . a
completely
satisfying investigation
that
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The year 1588 marked a
turning point in our
national story. Victory
over the Armada
transformed us into a
seafaring nation and it
sparked a myth that one
day would become a
reality - that the
nation's new destiny,
the source of her future
wealth and power lay out
on the oceans. This book
tells the story of how
the navy expanded from a
tiny force to become the
most complex industrial
enterprise on earth; how
the need to organise it
laid the foundations of
our civil service and our
economy; and how it
transformed our culture,
our sense of national
identity and our
democracy. Exploring
deeper into the themes
raised by the television
series, Brian Lavery
documents the progress of
the Royal Navy from late
Tudor times to the First
World War. He discusses
its relationship with the
state and the British
people, analyses the
tactics and initiative
that created dramatic
victories, and the
failures and incompetence
that lead to
disaster. Rising through
the administrative
brilliance of Pepys,
Anson and Lord Sandwich
and the inspirational
leadership of Blake,
Hawke and Nelson, the
Royal Navy became the
most powerful force in
the world. But the
conviction of Britain's
navy as undisputed ruler
of the waves encouraged a
sterility in strategic
thinking and complacency
during the 'long peace'
of the nineteenth century
leading to the bruising
experience of the Battle
of Jutland.
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Britain has more historic
houses, great and small,
that are open to the
public than anywhere else
in the world. Stately
homes, ruined castles
and abbeys, merchants'
mansions, peasant
cottages - the stories of
such buildings and their
occupants, past and
present, add up to an
extraordinary record of
our history. Author Simon
Jenkins is a leading
writer on this rich
heritage. Here we present
his vision of 95 of the
most impressive,
interesting or unusual
dwellings to be seen in
Wales - from imposing
Caernarfon Castle to wild
Dolwyddelan, former
stronghold of Llywelyn
the Great, from
Victorian fantasy at
CasteII Coch to the
Georgian jewel of Erddig
- enhanced with
photographs selected by
the editors of Reader's
Digest.
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The comprehensive visual
encyclopaedia of every
king and queen of the
British Monarchy, and a
fascinating insight into
the world in which they
lived. Over 500 stunning
fine art paintings,
sculptures, engravings,
artefacts, photographs
and illustrations reveal
the heritage and
pageantry of royal
Britain from earliest
times to the present
day. Special feature
boxes highlight the major
events of each reign,
and detailed genealogical
data gives background
information on every
British dynasty and the
lines of succession.
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Using unrestricted access
to material from the
Royal Archives,
including previously
unpublished passages from
Queen Victoria's
celebrated journals,
Elizabeth Longford's
classic account remains
the definitive biography
of this extraordinary
woman. She shows the
queen tormented by an
unhappy childhood;
tantalised by an
all-too-brief happy
marriage; deeply shocked
at the Prince Consort's
death. She depicts the
gradual emergence of the
queen's renowned
qualities, together with
some surprising traits,
and presents her in a
fresh, affectionate and
thoroughly human light.
'Gives us more than the
general reader has ever
had, revealing the queen
as a character at once
simple and complex,
authoritarian and humble'
Daily
Telegraph 'Dazzlingly
readable, and very
enjoyable' Stella
Gibbons 'Longford has
brought Queen Victoria to
life again, and presents
to a new generation of
readers one of the most
truly remarkable
personalities of history
with scrupulous care,
fidelity and wit'
Spectator
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For the first time ever,
come face to face with
the ancient boy king
Tutankhamun, who has
fascinated and captivated
us since his tomb was
discovered more than 80
years ago. Now, after
nearly 30 years, the
priceless treasures of
Tutankhamun and other
kings of the 18th
dynasty, have returned
to the U.S. for a major
travelling exhibition.
This stunning companion
book offers a panoramic
portrait of Egyptian
culture at its zenith,
through dozens of
breathtaking photographs
that bring a flourishing
civilization's amazing
wealth and astonishing
workmanship to vivid
life.
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Witness to History is a
collection of first-hand
accounts written by
people who saw major
historic events take
place. Some of the
witnesses are bystanders
or non-players in the big
evens of history. They
are people like Jean
Hill, the American
schoolteacher who saw
from very close at hand
the assassination of
President John F.
Kennedy. They are
ordinary people, people
like us, who just
happened to be there when
some historic even took
place; we can identify
with them. Other
witnesses are major
players in the events
they describe: people
like Orville Wright
describing his historic
first flight. They are
the makers of history.
The mix of people who are
witnesses to history is
itself remarkable and
fascinating. It is their
testimonies,
collectively, with all
their intriguing and
sometimes mystifying
inconsistencies and
contradictions, which
become the raw material
of history.
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Captivating in its grace
and beauty, thrilling in
its speed and power, the
Spitfire's heroic role in
defending Britain made it
a national icon of
patriotic
courage. McKinstry tells
the gripping Spitfire
saga from its beginnings
as the brainchild of
brilliant designer R.J.
Mitchell, through its
epic battles in the
Second World War, to its
final days in the RAF of
the 1950s. Using a wealth
of unpublished material,
this critically acclaimed
book rediscovers the
plane that gave Britain
her finest hour.
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When It Happened is a
smart, wry account that
connects all the great
dates in history and puts
them into order from the
Roman invasion to the
twenty-first century.
Here are all good kings
and usurpers, low
dealings and acts of
heroism, moments of
great conquest, empire
or defeat - and through
it all the story of the
formation of Britain. It
also reveals occasionally
forgotten episodes such
as how the first Prince
of Wales got his title,
the Scots began the Civil
War, and England got its
name; which Roman emperor
was proclaimed in
Yorkshire and why King
John got the nickname
'softsword'.
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`A wonderful account of
how our railways came to
be and the extraordinary
revelation that since the
very beginning, whenever
a train has met a
politician coming down
the track there has
almost always been the
most appalling
pile-up.' JON SNOW `A
fresh account of how our
railways were made that
is by turns inspiring,
fascinating and when
privatization comes
around
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This book tells the
stories of the greatest
sights a world traveller
might have seen in
antiquity had they been
able to journey across
the globe and through the
centuries. It is a
complete list of themata
for a now sadly
impossible journey to see
what humanity once
achieved and to survey
the remains of the
greatest accomplishment
of civilisations which
today lie in
ruins. Wonder of the
Ancient World presents 40
of the most extraordinary
feats of human
engineering and design
created between the dawn
of human civilisation and
the onset of the medieval
period. Accompanying
timelines and boxed
features provide a wealth
of fascinating
information and about the
history of the site and
society, as well as the
latest archaeological
evidence and
understanding.
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The crusades provide some
of the most striking
images of the Middle
Ages. They were the stage
on which the familiar
figures of the great
medieval knights, the
flower of chivalry,
acted out their dramas.
They were the
battleground on which two
great and opposing
religions and cultures
met, . Yet what exactly
were the crusades? Why
were they fought? What
were the results of the
great confrontation
between Christianity and
Islam? And what were the
truths behind the myths
of chivalry and
knighthood? The author
reveals the bloody,
violent, occasionally
farcical reality behind
our images of the
crusades. His book traces
the chronology of the
Crusades from 1095, when
the first crusade was set
in motion by Pope Urban
II, to 1291, the fall
of Acre. It covers the
creation of the kingdom
of Jerusalem and the
other crusader states and
their struggle to
survive. It looks at the
successes and failures of
the third crusade and at
the legendary figures of
Richard the Lionheart and
Saladin, explores the
truth and the myths
behind the orders of
military monks like the
Hospitallers and examines
such strange historical
events as the Children
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British Steam Engines is
a stunningly illustrated,
comprehensive guide to
the history of the steam
railway in Britain. The
book tracks the
development of the steam
locomotive from its
earliest days in the
1800s through to the
great trains of the
present day. We see how
the success and rapid
growth of his new form of
power provided a vital
form of transport across
Britain and had a major
impact on people's lives.
Packed with historical
photographs and in-depth
information, this book
is a must-have for any
steam enthusiast.
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The Freemasons
Unlocking
the 1000-year old
mysteries of the
Brotherhood: the Masonic
rituals, codes, signs
and symbols explained
with over 200 photographs
and illustrations A full
and intriguing account of
the rituals, signs and
symbols associated with
the beliefs and history
of Freemasonry Explore
the mystical symbolism of
the Square and the
Compass, the
Five-Pointed Star,
All-seeing Eye, the Sun
and Moon, and many
others Find out about
the history of the
Masonic Movement, and
the myths and
preconceptions that have
grown up around
it Discover how the
rituals in Freemasonry
today are steeped in
mystery and symbolism
from the past
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The Second World War
produced hundreds of
actions and incidents at
sea which were packed
with drama and suspense,
and which evoked the
greatest heroism. Here is
a generous selection of
personal experience
written by the men and
women who were there: in
the British and
Commonwealth Navies, the
Fleet Air Arm, the
Merchant Navy, or
ashore. Names which have
passed into history
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Medieval Life describes
in meticulous yet vivid
detail manners, customs
and dress during the
Middle Ages and
Renaissance. Wide ranging
in its coverage, it
provides a complete
picture of what it must
have been like to be
alive at this momentous
point in
history. Profusely
illustrated, it is a
veritable treasure-trove
of information about
virtually every aspect of
existence
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In the sixteenth century
the king of Spain issues
his soldiers with a
three-pronged mission: to
find gold, spread the
word of Christianity and
claim new territories for
Spain. The conquistadors,
as they become know,
set off into the world to
do just that, and
nothing was to standing
their way. Their amazing
journeys took them from
Florida to Machu Picchu
via the Amazon and Lake
Titicaca at a time when,
thirty years after
Columbus discovered
America, Europeans still
thought that the lands he
had claimed were merely
islands between Europe
and Asia. The
conquistadors
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'a merry life and a short
one, shall be my
motto' What was it
really like to be a
pirate during the Golden
Age of Piracy? Fictional
works have coloured their
image into the romantic,
swashbuckling anti-hero,
who forced prisoners to
walk the plank and sought
buried treasures where X
marks the spot. Yet the
reality was often far
more extraordinary and
violent. Complied with
extracts from biographies
of the period, letters
and court documents,
news articles and
pamphlets offering the
latest gossip on pirate
trials and executions,
survivors
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The KNIGHTS TEMPLAR were
the most powerful
military religious order
of the Middle Ages. For
seven centuries
subsequently they have
exerted a unique
influence over European
history: orthodox
historians see them as
nothing more than
soldier-monks whose
arrogance was their
ultimate undoing, while
others see them as
occultists of the first
order, the founders of
Freemasonry, possessors
of the Holy Grail and
creators of the Turin
Shroud. Sean Martin
considers both the
orthodox and alternative
version of events, and
includes the latest
revelations from the
Vatican Library.
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Few relationships fire
the imagination like that
of Elizabeth I and the
Earl of Leicester,
Robert Dudley - the love
affair immortalized in
Phillipa Gregory's The
Virgin Lover - but nearly
fifty years have passed
since we have seen a dual
biography that explores
the truth about their
lifelong love.
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For more than 3, 000
years, Egypt was home to
the greatest civilization
on earth. Illustrated
with more than 1, 500
photographs and specially
commissioned
illustrations, this book
is a celebration of the
wonders of ancient Egypt,
from the mast of
Tutankhamen to the Valley
of the Kings and great
pyramids of Giza, and
from tomb hieroglyphs to
golden treasures
decorated with ankhs and
scarabs. Exploring the
history, religion,
literature and art of the
ancient Egyptians, as
well as the day-to day
experience of ordinary
citizens such as pyramids
builders, scribes and
craftsmen, this boom
brings to life the world
of the pharos in vivid
detail, providing a
wealth of information
about this fascinating
and mysterious culture.
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The period 1943-45 saw
some of the most
important events of
Second World War, and
few were fully aware of
the decisions that were
to affect the outcome of
a global conflict. Yet a
young wartime secretary,
Olive Christopher, spent
this remarkable time
working in Churchill
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Born as a Germanic tongue
with the arrival in
Britain of the
Anglo-Saxons in the early
medieval period, heavily
influenced by Norman
French from the 11th
century, and finally
emerging as modern
English from the late
Middle Ages, the English
language has grown to
become the linguistic
equivalent of a
superpower. Worldwide,
some 380-million people
speak English as a first
language and some
6000-million as a second
language. A staggering
one-billion people are
believed to be learning
it. English is the
premier international
language in
communications, science,
business, aviation,
entertainment,
diplomacy, and on the
Internet. It is thought
by many to be well on the
way to becoming the
world's first universal
language. Philip Gooden
tells the story of the
English language in all
its richness and variety.
From the intriguing
origins and changing
definitions of common
words such as 'OK',
'berserk', 'curfew',
'cabal', and 'pow-wow',
to the massive
transformations wrought
in the vocabulary and
structure of the language
by Anglo-Saxon and Norman
conquest, through to the
literary triumphs of
Beowulf, The Canterbury
Tales and the works of
Shakespeare, right up to
the profound and
surprising effect
electronic media have had
on its development. The
Story Of English is a
fascinating tale of
linguistic, social and
cultural transformation,
told accessibly and
authoritatively.
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The effects of World War
II had far-reaching
implications, echoing
around the world. Many
millions of lives were
lost as a direct result
of the war, and many
survivors had a story to
tell. This book contains
stories from people who
lived through these
extraordinary times. They
are memories that simply
scratch the surface and
give an important insight
into how the soldiers
themselves, and their
friends and family, were
affected by the enormity
of the conflict.
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The road into the the
light of reason has not
always been an easy one:
skepticism, mockery,
threats and worse have
often been the lot of the
experimental scientist
who has dared to
challenge the accepted
'truths'. Yet they have
persevered, and in doing
so haver provided a
shining example for the
rest of humanity. The
great scientists have
burned, in Betrand
Russell's telling
phrrase, 'with all the
noonday brightness of
human genius'. The Great
Scientists tells their
story.
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After a prolonged period
of peace in Europe, the
outbreak of war in August
1914 came as a shock.. By
examining the accounts of
people who were actually
caught up in the
conflict, we came to
realise just how
harrowing life was in the
early 20th century. This
book is a collection of
witness accounts of World
War I from many different
aspects. The fascination
of war, however
gruelling, never seems
to fade and these
compelling anecdotes give
an insight into exactly
what life was like in the
trenches and for those
that were left behind to
keep up morale.
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Because the 1960s is seen
as a meaningful decade of
peace, love and
understanding, the 1970s
seems, in contrast, a
shallow time of glitter,
glam and sham. But what
was it actually like?
Gerard DeGroot peels away
the polyester to examine
the reality of a decade
that began with the death
of Jimi Hendrix and ended
with Ronald Reagan in the
White House and Margaret
Thatcher in Downing
Street.
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The English reformers of
the 1530s, with Thomas
Cromwell at their head,
continued to have a
strong belief in kingly
rule and authority,
despite their radical
approach to the power of
the Pope and the Roman
Catholic Church.
Resisting the king was
tantamount to resisting
God in their eyes, and
even on a matter of
conscience the will of
the king should prevail.
Yet just over 100 years
later, Charles I was
called the
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Details:
1854. As the
Cardiff-bound train puffs
out of Paddington
Station, young Hugh
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Here is the whole of
recorded British royal
history, from the
earliest kings onwards,
including the monarchies
of England, Scotland,
Wales and the United
Kingdom for over a
thousand years.
Individual royal
portraits, beginning
with Alfred the Great and
following royal lineages
up to the present House
of Windsor, are threaded
into a history of
division and eventual
union of the British
Isles
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-
How did the Victorians
make their daily bread?
Why were Edwardian
shopkeepers so much more
polite than today's? Just
how tough was rationing?
How many Green Shield
Stamps did you need to
buy a colour television?
And when could one pound
feed the whole family for
a week? From the boom
years of the Victorian
High Street to the 1970s
supermarket, discover
what life was really like
on the great British High
Street and how
shopkeepers and their
customers have adapted to
both good times and bad.
Written to accompany BBC
One's living history
experiment, Turn Back
Time... The High Street
charts the extraordinary
journey of a group of
modern day butchers,
bakers, caterers and
retailers who run their
shops using exactly the
same foods, fashions and
shopkeeping skills as
yesteryear.
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Details:
The Wars Of
The Roses is the
definitive account of one
of the bloodiest
episodes
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During the Second World
War, over 1.5 million
women found themselves
thrust into the
previously male dominated
domain of the workplace,
having to learn new
skills within a matter of
weeks. Their contribution
to the war effort often
remains unheralded, but
it is without doubt that
these women played a
central role in an Allied
victory. Kathleen
Church-Bliss and Elsie
Whiteman were two such
women. The previous
owners of genteel
restaurant, they
volunteered for war work
and soon found themselves
in an aircraft components
factory. Thrown into
tough industrial work,
they kept a joint diary
providing a unique
insight into life in a
wartime factory. Working
for Victory reveals the
poor conditions suffered
on the factory floor, as
well as the general
disorganization and bad
management of this
essential part of the war
effort, but it also
describes how war work
opened up a new world of
social freedom for many
women. This diary, both
tragic and humorous,
brings women
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Through the diaries of
nine men and women We
Shall Never Surrender
tells the story of the
war as they experienced
it, whether at home
struggling simply to keep
going, in high office
with direct influence on
its outcome, or
protesting against it.
Some of them, like Alan
Brooke, who became Chief
of the General Staff,
the politician Harold
Nicolson or the pacifist
writer Vera Brittain,
are well known. Others -
Anne Garnett, the wife
of a country solicitor,
George Beardmore, a
young husband and father
with ambitions to become
a novelist, or Clara
Milburn, a contented
wife and mother of a son
in the forces - are not.
But, together with the
diplomat, Charles
Ritchie, the novelist
Naomi Mitchison and the
resourceful and
frequently unconventional
Hermione, Countess of
Ranfurly, they all
followed the war in their
diaries from outbreak to
victory.
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The Age Of The Train:
From the Rocket to the
Bullet charts the history
of the beautiful machine
which, more than any
other form of transport,
has changed the face of
the world we live in
today. We journey from
the origin of rail travel
in the seventeenth
century, though the
atmospheric glorious age
of steam, to the
high-speed electric
trains of today.
Beautiful photographs,
facsimile documents and
concise authoritative
text make this book an
appealing package for
both rail enthusiasts and
those interested in
general social history.
Produced in association
with the National Railway
Museum, York.
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![endif]-->Arthur Moeller
Van Den Bruck was a
prolific writer,
historian, art critic,
translator and publisher;
the
quintessential Bohemian
fin-de-siecle artist. In
the turbulent years that
followed the end of
the First World War, he
became politically active
as the leader of the
young conservative
revolutionaries in Weimar
Germany. Moeller van den
Bruck expressed his ideas
for a German
authoritarian state
in his major work Das
Dritte Reich (The Third
Reich), first published
in 1923. Adolf Hitler was
profoundly influenced by
the ideas in Das Dritte
Reich and regarded
himself as the activist
who could implement them.
As Moeller van den Bruck
watched Hitler become the
personification of the
violent dynamism he had
recommended in his book,
he anticipated the
horrors to come and saw
no way out but to commit
suicide. This
remarkable biography
gives a compelling
insight into the tragic
life of Moeller van
den Bruck and uses
personal interviews with
contempories such as
Kafka, Munch
and Dietrich to explore
the political and
artistic whirlpools of
Weimar Germany in which
he lived.
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The Schutzstaffel, or SS
- the brutal elite of the
Nazi Party - was founded
by Hitler in 1925 to be
his personal bodyguard.
From 1929 it was headed
by Heinrich Himmler, who
built its numbers up from
under 300 to well over a
million by 1945 as the SS
grew to be the backbone
of Nazi Germany, taking
over almost every
function of the state. SS
members were chosen not
only to be the living
embodiment of Hitler's
notion of `Aryan
supremacy', but also to
cement undying loyalty to
the Fuhrer at every level
of German society.
Handpicked to run the
concentration camps and
to spearhead the
Holocaust, they spread
death and destruction
wherever they went -
their crimes can never be
erased from human
memory. Merciless
fanatics in black uniform
and jackboots, the SS
systematically
slaughtered, tortured
and enslaved millions.
This is the story of the
rise and fall of one of
the most evil
organizations the world
has ever seen.
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The best known but least
understood organ of the
Nazi state, the SS grew
from a minor politician's
small, unpaid bodyguard
into a force which
dominated the racial,
cultural and professional
spheres of the most
powerful empire Europe
has ever seen. Often
referred to as 'the state
within a state', the SS
was Heinrich Himmler's
personal fiefdom and its
influence pervaded all
walks of German life,
both private and public.
Its tentacles extended
into the army and police,
the business world and
of course the death
camps. The author reveals
Himmler to be a man
despised but indulged by
Hitler who was obsessed
with crackpot theories of
Germanic mythology and
deeply involved in the
Final Solution. He
assesses the career of
Reinhard Heydrich, who
put the organisational
muscle and ruthlessness
into the SS. The
Totenkopf Brigade, set
up specifically to run
the concentration camps
and death camps, is
examined, as is the
Waffen-SS, the military
formation which killed
thousands of Jews and
partisans across Eastern
Europe and fought
bitterly against the
Allies in Normandy. The
postwar story of the SS
is also outlined, from
clandestine organisations
of former SS men to the
activities of ex-Nazis
and neo-Nazis
today. Supported by
photographs and the words
of former SS men, their
close friends and
colleagues, Guido Knopp
brings back to life a
generation whose
fanaticism and violence
shaped the identity of
the Third Reich.
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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.
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The first Britons did
very little to impose
upon or alter the
landscape they inhabited,
and the gods they
worshipped were those of
nature itself. From as
early as 5000 BC, farm
tools, stone axes,
pottery and antler combs
were in common use by a
nomadic community who
lived entirely off the
land. These people
disposed of their dead
using a burial rite known
as ï ½corpse exposureï ½,
which means simply
leaving a body in the
open air to be devoured
by animals and birds. It
goes without saying that
much has changed in
Britain throughout the
centuries, from the
building of Stone Henge
as a possible
astronomical observatory
or a temple for ritual
worship in 2500 BC, to
the Industrial revolution
and the invention of the
flying shuttle by John
Kay in 1733. Timeline of
Britain charts the rich
history of our green and
pleasant land, from its
birth in prehistory to
the present day.
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Victorian Pharmacy
follows the fascinating
story of the emergence of
high street healthcare in
the form of the chemist's
shop and the products on
offer. Follow Ruth
Goodman, Nick Barber and
Tom Quick as they
investigate which pills,
potions, tonics and
cures were available -
some effective, some
deadly and some still
with us today.
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This remarkable title
follows the lives of
raiders, settlers,
kings, queens,
politicians and the
common people of the
British Isles. It
explains how England,
Scotland, Wales and
Ireland came into being,
and how the United
Kingdom and the Republic
of Ireland were formed.
Thousands of years of
complex history are
presented in eight
comprehensive sections,
ranging from 500, 000 BC
to the present
day. Timelines, Superb
Artwork and Photographs,
Boxed Features History ï
½makers of the British
Isles
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For almost forty years,
John Simpson has been
covering the biggest news
stories of the day and is
widely regarded as one
our foremost
commentators. Now, after
decades of groundbreaking
journalism, he turns his
attention to the way the
British press has
reported key moments in
our history and chart's
the development of the
reporter's art over the
course of the last one
hundred years. From the
young Churchill on the
Boer War to the creation
of the Daily Mail, from
the coverage of two world
wars to Suez, from the
Sun's propping up of the
Thatcher government to
Blair's press machine and
weapons of mass
destruction, Simpson
tells the true stories
behind the headlines. The
result is an engaging and
astute of how Britain has
been transformed by its
free press. Simpson also
examines the ways in
which the press itself
has changed and reveals,
in typically trenchant
fashion, how the British
press has often knowingly
- and at times
irresponsibly -
manipulated events. With
his forensic eye for the
telling detail, Simpson
also asks some searching
questions of his own
profession, such as
whether the press can
ever be truly independent
- and, if it can, would
we really want it to
be. Always incisive,
brilliantly readable and
never shy of controversy,
Unreliable Sources is
John Simpson at his
considerable best.
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For over eight hundred
years, Newgate Prison
was the grimly axle
around which British
society slowly twisted.
Immortalised by Charles
Dickens, this was where
such legendary outlaws as
Robin Hood and Captain
Kidd met their fates,
where the rapier-wielding
playwrights Ben Jonson
and Christopher Marlowe
sharpened their quills,
and where flamboyant
highwaymen like Claude
Duval and James Maclaine
made legions of women
swoon. By piercing
together the lives of
forgotten figures as well
as re-examining the
prison's link with more
famous individuals from
Dick Whittington to
Daniel Defoe, this
thrilling history goes in
search of a ghostly
place, erased by time,
which has inspired more
poems and plays,
paintings and novels,
than any other structure
in British history.
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Three beautiful volumes
exploring the mythologies
of the world's ancient
civilizations in one
classic boxed set: a
journey into the myths
and legends of Greece,
Rome, Egypt, the Celts,
the Norse, India,
China, Japan, the
Native Americans, Inuit,
Aztecs, Incas and the
Maya. Includes special
features on significant
themes such as deities
and sacred spirits,
traditional rites and
rituals, epic journeys
and heroic combats, and
creation myths.
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Kings & Queens of England
is an entertaining
account of the
larger-than-life
characters that have
ruled England through the
ages. Divided into easy
to reference chapters
based on the ruling
dynasties of England, it
follows the fascinating
history of monarchs from
the first Saxon kings to
the Windsors of present
day. Author Nigel
Cawthorne paints vivid
portraits of a mixed
bunch of rulers ranging
from the drunken and
debauched merry monarch
Charles II to the
idealized domesticity and
colonial ambition of
Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert.
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From the mysteries of
Cheddar Man to revolting
peasants, from the
ribald rhythms of Chaucer
to the Glorious
Revolution, from the
Battle of the Boyne to
The Origin of Species to
the discovery of DNA,
Robert Lacey takes us on
a captivating tour of the
nation's landmark moments
from prehistory to modern
times. Drawing on the
most up-to-date research
and packed with insight,
humour and fascinating
detail, Lacey brings the
stories of England's
making brilliantly to
life.
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ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF
SPLENDOUR AND
SQUALOR Beginning with
the arrival of Henry
Tudor and his army, at
Milford in 1485, and
ending with the death of
the great Queen Elizabeth
I, in 1603, this is a
vivid account of a hugely
eventful and
contradictory age. Here
is a life in London and
in the country, the
costumes, travel, food
and medicine, the sports
and the pastimes, and
the wonderful flowering
of English drama,
juxtaposed with the
stultifying narrowness of
peasant life, the harsh
treatment of heretics and
traitors, and the misery
of the plague. An
astonishing picture of
England of great beauty
and violence,
achievements and despair.
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The Childrens World
History Encyclopedia is a
rich, visual
representation of how
life around the world has
changed throughout the
ages. Discover the
answers to questions such
as: - why did the Ancient
Egyptians make mummies?
- what caused the Black
Death? - who was the
first explorer to sail
right around the world? -
what was the cause of
World War II?
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-
14, 000 people were
inside the Twin Towers in
New York. To them it was
just the start of another
routine day at work. Over
the next 102 minutes each
would become part of a
drama that changed the
world forever. Of the
millions of words written
about that unforgettable
day, most have been by
outsiders. But New York
Times reporters Jim Dwyer
and Kevin Flynn report
solely from the
perspective of those
struggling to survive
inside the towers; 102
Minutes is the epic story
of ordinary men and women
finding the bravery and
courage to overcome
unbelievable
odds. Fateful
split-second decisions,
chance encounters in
smoke-filled stairwells,
the heroism of the
emergency services who
climbed up as everyone
else was coming down
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Britain achieved
unparalleled global
pre-eminence through one
critical advantage ï ½
her naval power. While
other nations looked to
armies for their
security, Britain looked
to the sea and for more
than three hundred years
the Royal Navy dominated
the ocean. Eminent naval
historian Andrew Lambert
celebrates the rare
talents of the men who
shaped the most
successful fighting force
in world history, from
the Armada to the
Napoleonic Wars to the
Second World War. Through
their lives and battles,
Admirals charts the
evolution of naval
command across four
centuries, while proving
that maritime power is
still a vital and living
element of modern
Britain.
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-
From medieval Runnymede
to twentieth-century
Jarrow, from King Alfred
to George Orwell, by way
of Robin Hood, Wat Tyler
and Mary Wollstonecraft,
a rich and colourful
thread of radicalism,
both real and mythic,
runs through a thousand
years of British history.
In this fascinating and
vibrant book, Edward
Vallance traces a
national tendency towards
revolution, irreverence
and reform wherever it
surfaces and in all its
variety. Vallance unveils
the British yeomen and
preachers, millworkers,
miners and intellectuals
who fought and died for
religious freedom,
universal suffrage,
justice and liberty - and
shows why, now more than
ever, their heroic
achievements must be
recognised and
celebrated. Rousing,
brilliant and hugely
readable, this is a
panoramic and invaluable
study of a millennium of
one nation's
free-thinking.
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Grab a seat and travel to
every corner of the
globe. Inviting readers
on voyages by land, sea,
and air, this book
follows in the footsteps
of famous travellers
throughout history,
literature, and ancient
mythology. Discover the
routes and regular haunts
of Alexander the Great,
Leif Eriksson, Ernest
Shackleton, Casanova,
Jane Austen, and the
Dalai Lama. You'll
find100 Great Journeys is
packed with both
inspirational and
practical information for
anyone planning a great
journey of their own.
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-
As night fell in Picardy
on Thursday 24 October
1415, Henry V and his
English troops, worn
down by their long march
and diminished
by dysentery, can little
have dreamt that the
battle of the next day
would give them one of
the most complete
victories ever
won. `Brilliant... a tour
de force that will remain
the definitive account of
the battle for years to
come' ALISON
WEIR `Overturns a host of
assumptions about this
most famous of English
victories, and does so
with impeccable use of
primary sources. This is
the book on the battle.'
RICHARD HOLMES `A highly
distinguished and
convincing account of one
of the decisive battles
of the Western world.'
CHRISTOPHER
HIBBERT `Based on
unequalled knowledge of
the sources... thoroughly
readable.' THE TIMES
LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
`Anne Curry is the first
academic to untangle the
true extent of Henry's
victory in 1415.' THE
SUNDAY TIMES `An
impeccably researched
account... argues that
there were more English
soldiers present and
fewer French, the
numbers having been
exaggerated by Henry V's
propagandists. This is
deeply controversial...
the result of a lifetime
immersed in study of this
most mythologised of
English victories.' BBC
HISTORY MAGAZINE, Books
of the Year 2005 `A fine
book... has done Henry V
and his troops proud.'
PROFESSOR MICHAEL
PRESTWICH `At the cutting
edge of medieval military
history.' PROFESSOR GARY
SHEFFIELD
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-
In this remarkable,
landmark publication,
countryside historian Sir
Johnny Scott evokes the
romantic heritage of the
British landscape.
Through affectionately
told stories and an
encyclopaedic knowledge
of bygone times, he
explores its people,
customs and traditions.
Each gloriously
illustrated page is a
celebration and a tribute
to a forgotten but
vibrant culture, and
encourages us all to
rediscover our beautiful
Britain.
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-
In his landmark
television series, Carl
MacDougall told the story
of the language, its
decline and revival and
pointed a way forward.
Here he features the work
of almost fifty writers
covering more than 800
years. Scotland's
greatest writers are
here, alongside the
anonymous folk-song and
ballad singers and the
unknown writers whose
work appeared in the
nineteenth-century
newspapers and magazines.
And, like the series it
accompanies, this book
is full of surprises,
telling the story of the
language with fine
examples and adding a
valuable contribution to
the debate about its
future.
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-
Twenty-Five Hundred years
ago, Sun Tzu wrote this
classic book of military
strategy based on Chinese
warfare and military
thought. Since that time,
all levels of military
have used the teaching on
Sun Tzu to warfare and
cilivzation have adapted
these teachings for use
in politics, business
and everyday life. The
Art of War is a book
which should be used to
gain advantage of
opponents in the
boardroom and battlefield
alike.
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-
Philpott displays a great
mastery of detail... A
meticulous work of
revisionist military
history dedicated to
proving that if
Stalingrad provided the
tipping point of the
Second World War then the
Battle of the Somme
served exactly the same
purpose in the First.'
Anthony Howard, Daily
Telegraph. 1 July 1916:
the hot hellish first day
of the Battle of the
Somme has dominated our
perception of the First
World War for nearly a
century. This powerful
new account argues that
our view has been
obscured by this myth of
tragedy, and that we
need to see the Somme as
contemporaries saw it: as
a necessary stage in an
intensive and brutal war
of attrition.
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-
September 1939.
Overnight, Jewish
nineteen-year-old Emma
Bau's world is turned
upside down when Germany
invades Poland. And after
only six weeks of
marriage, her husband
Jacob, a member of the
Resistance, is forced to
flee. Escaping the
ghetto, Emma assumes a
new, Christian identity
and finds work at Nazi
headquarters. As
secretary to the
charismatic Kommandant
Richwalder, Emma vows to
use her unique position
to gather intelligence
for the Resistance, by
any means necessary.
Poignant, affecting and
gripping, Kommandant's
Girl is the beautifully
written story of one
woman's struggle to
survive one of the
darkest periods in human
history.
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-
Between 1271 and 1275
Marco Polo accompanied
his father and uncle on a
journey along the fabled
Silk Road to Central
Asia. Reaching China and
the court of the Great
Khan, Polo travelled
extensively through the
lands of the Mongols for
the next seventeen years.
In 1925 the party set
sail for home, calling
at Sumatra, southern
India and Persia along
the way, before
completing their journey
overland to Venice. From
the dazzling glories of
13th-century Venice to
the haunting bleakness of
the Asian steppe and the
splendours of the court
of Kublai Khan,
acclaimed popular
historian Laurence
Bergreen offers us a
thrilling and masterly
reconstruction of Marco
Polo's life and writings.
This is narrative history
at its most accomplished,
by a writer at the
height of his descriptive
and story-telling powers.
Availability: In Stock
£2.99
Denmark