Menzies makes the fascinating argument that the Chinese discovered the Americas a full 70 years before Columbus. Not only did the Chinese discover America first, but they also, according to the author, established a number of subsequently lost colonies in the Caribbean. Furthermore, he asserts that the Chinese circumnavigated the globe, desalinated water, and perfected the art of cartography. In fact, he believes that most of the renowned European explorers actually sailed with maps charted by the Chinese. Though most historical records were destroyed during centuries of turmoil in the Far East, he manages to cobble together some feasible evidence supporting his controversial conclusions. Sure to cause a stir among historians, this questionable tale of adventure on the high seas will be hotly debated in academic circles. Margaret Flanagan
"A finely written, brave, and very personal book."-Orhan Pamuk In 2001, Christopher de Bellaiguewrote a story for The New York Review of Books , in which hebriefly discussed the killing and deportation of half a millionArmenians from Turkey in 1915. These massacres, he suggested, werebest understood as part of the struggles that attended the end ofthe Ottoman Empire. Upon publication, the Review wasbesieged with letters asserting that this was not war but genocide.How had he gotten it so wrong? De Bellaigue set out for Turkey'stroubled southeast to discover what really happened. What emergedis both an intellectual detective story and a reckoning with memoryand identity. Rebel Land unravels the enigma of the Turkishtwentieth century-a time that contains the death of an empire, thefounding of a nation, and the near extinction of a people.
One of the most gifted and influential American journalists ofthe 20th century, A. J. Liebling spent five years reporting thedramatic events and myriad individual stories of World War II. As acorrespondent for The New Yorker , Liebling wrote with apassionate commitment to Allied victory, an unfailing attention totelling details, and an appreciation for the literary challengespresented by the “discursive, centrifugal, both repetitive anddisparate” nature of war. This volume brings together three booksalong with 26 uncollected New Yorker pieces and two excerptsfrom The Republic of Silence (1947), Liebling’s collectionof writing from the French Resistance. The Road Back to Paris (1944) narrates Liebling’sexperiences from September 1939 to March 1943, including his shockat the fall of France and dismay at isolationist indifference inthe United States; it contains classic accounts of a winter voyageon a Norwegian tanker during the Battle of the Atlantic, visits tofront-line airfields in
In this widely praised history of an infamous institution,award-winning scholar Marcus Rediker shines a light into thedarkest corners of the British and American slave ships of theeighteenth century. Drawing on thirty years of research in maritimearchives, court records, diaries, and firsthand accounts, TheSlave Ship is riveting and sobering in its revelations,reconstructing in chilling detail a world nearly lost to history:the “floating dungeons” at the forefront of the birth of AfricanAmerican culture.
Judged to be one of the greatest histories in English, thismonumental work culminated Adams' lifelong fascination with theintertwined pasts of his family and his country. Carefullyresearched and written in a strong, lively, and ironic style, the"History" chronicles the consolidation of American nationality andcharacter amidst the dangerous conflicts of the Napoleonic era. Theoriginal 9-volume edition, long out-of-print, is complete in thesetwo volumes.
Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuancedportrait of the father of our nation. With a breadth and depthmatched by no other onevolume life of George Washington, thiscrisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurousearly years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army, hispresiding over the Continental Convention, and his magnificentperformance as America's first president. In this groundbreakingwork, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever thestereotype of a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid lifea dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.
The best-selling novelist exposes the inner workings of thenuclear submarine, the core of America's nuclear arsenal, usingpreviously unrevealed diagrams and photographs along with formerlytop-secret information. 500,000 first printing. $200,000 ad/promo.--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
A fresh and acclaimed account of the Spanish Civil Warby the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Fall OfBerlin 1945 To mark the 70th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War’s outbreak,Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised accountof one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the twentiethcentury. With new material gleaned from the Russian archives andnumerous other sources, this brisk and accessible book (Spain’s #1bestseller for twelve weeks), provides a balanced and penetratingperspective, explaining the tensions that led to this terribleoverture to World War II and affording new insights into thewar—its causes, course, and consequences.
Provides a comprehensive look at both sides of the Vietnam Warthrough a collection of personal tales and delves into thepolitical and military events in the United States and elsewherethat originally caused the war and the brought it to an end.Reprint. TV tie-in."
This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies. First published as a lavish colour coffeetable book, this new expanded paperback edition has double the original number of contributions from many celebrities including Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Adie, Kevin Spacey, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Richard Mabey , Simon Jenkins, John Sergeant, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joan Bakewell, Antony Beevor, Libby Purves, Jonathan Dimbleby, and many more: and a new preface by HRH Prince Charles.
A valuable contribution to the growing field of historical research on immigra-ion...oncentrating on the demographics and everyday lives of immigrants to America in three periods: colonial times, 1820-1924, and the modern era A solid volume for readers in search of their roots. Perhaps the most authoritative and readable single-volume history of immigra-tion yet written. Nationality by nationality, Daniels traces the migration of refugees to this country as far back as the year 1500.Substantial, impressive. This book provides the first comprehensive history of immigration to the United States in twenty years [Coming to America] utilizes nearly all the existing scholarship on the topic to create a readable synthesis. It provides a quick reference source for nonspecialists and general readers From almost every comer of the globe, in numbers great and small, America has drawn people whose contributions are as varied as their origins. Historians have spent much of the tgeneration investigating the
A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius wasthe Empire's official chronicler, and his "History of the Wars ofJustinian" proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor'sreign. Yet all the while the dutiful scribe was working on a verydifferent - and dangerous - history to be published only once itsauthor was safely in his grave. "The Secret History" portrays the'great lawgiver' Justinian as a rampant king of corruption andtyranny, the Empress Theodora as a sorceress and whore, and thebrilliant general Belisarius as the pliable dupe of his schemingwife Antonina. Magnificently hyperbolic and highly opinionated,"The Secret History" is a work of explosive energy, depicting holyByzantium as a hell of murder and misrule.
A military leader of legendary genius, Caesar was also a greatwriter, recording the events of his life with incomparableimmediacy and power. "The Civil War" is a tense and grippingdepiction of his struggle with Pompey over the leadership ofRepublican Rome - a conflict that spanned the entire Roman world,from Gaul and Spain to Asia and Africa. Where Caesar's own accountleaves off in 48 BC, his lieutenants take up the history,describing the vital battles of Munda, Spain and Thapsus, and theinstallation of Cleopatra, later Caesar's mistress, as Queen ofEgypt. Together these narratives paint a full picture of the eventsthat brought Caesar supreme power - and paved the way for hisassassination only months later.
Did Eisenhower avoid a showdown with Stalin by not takingBerlin before the Soviets? What might have happened if JFK hadn'tbeen assassinated? This new volume in the widely praised seriespresents fascinating "what if..." scenarios by such prominenthistorians as: Robert Dallek, Caleb Carr, Antony Beevor, JohnLukacs, Jay Winick, Thomas Fleming, Tom Wicker, Theodore Rabb,Victor David Hansen, Cecelia Holland, Andrew Roberts, Ted Morgan,George Feifer, Robert L. O'Connell, Lawrence Malkin, and John F.Stacks. Included are two essential bonus essays reprinted from theoriginal New York Times bestseller What If? (tm)-DavidMcCullough imagines Washington's disastrous defeat at the Battle ofLong Island, and James McPherson envisions Lee's successfulinvasion of the North in 1862.
A renowned historian contends "that the Americanwarrior, not technology, wins wars." (Patrick K. O'Donnell, authorof Give Me Tomorrow ) John C. McManus coverssix decades of warfare in which the courage of American troopsproved the crucial difference between victory and defeat. Based onyears of archival research and personal interviews with veterans,Grunts demonstrates the vital, and too often forgotten, importanceof the human element in protecting the American nation, andadvances a passionate plea for fundamental change in ourunderstanding of war.
The 2007–08 subprime financial crisis is the jumping-off point for Smick's (Johnson Smick International) examination of current threats to global prosperity. He explains that although the subprime losses are small in the context of world financial markets, a lack of transparency has diminished investor confidence, dried up financial liquidity, and threatened the very foundations of our world financial system. He says that the growth of global financial markets has made it more difficult for central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve to intercede effectively in times of crisis. Smick compares the subprime crisis to past events like the UK's forced devaluation of the pound in 1992 and Japan's economic stagnation in the 1990s. He warns of pending dangers like an overheating of the Chinese development juggernaut and the present calls for protectionism by U.S. politicians. He favors a global financial system built on transparency and trust. Smick's role for some 30 years as an economic adviser to central banker
‘A precious book….a work that is in the highest degree pedagogical which stands above the conflicts of parties and opinion’ – Albert Einstein Remains unchallenged as the perfect introduction to its subject ... exactly the kind of philosophy that most people would like to read, but which only Russell could possibly have written. - Ray Monk, University of Southampton, UK Beautiful and luminous prose, not merely classically clear but scrupulously honest. - Isaiah Berlin It is a witty birds-eye view of the main figures in Western thought enlivened by references to the personalities and quirks of the thinkers themselves. - The Week A great philosophers lucid and magisterial look at the history of his own subject, wonderfully readable and enlightening. - The Observer Now in a special gift edition, and featuring a brand new foreword by Anthony Gottlieb, this is a dazzlingly unique exploration of the works of significant philosophers throughout the ages and a definitive must-have title tha
Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), who led the Macedonian armyto victory in Egypt, Syria, Persia and India, was perhaps the mostsuccessful conqueror the world has ever seen. Yet although no otherindividual has attracted so much speculation across the centuries,Alexander himself remains an enigma. Curtius' History offers agreat deal of information unobtainable from other sources of thetime. A compelling narrative of a turbulent era, the work recountsevents on a heroic scale, detailing court intrigue, stirringspeeches and brutal battles - among them, those of Macedonia'sgreat war with Persia, which was to culminate in Alexander's finaltriumph over King Darius and the defeat of an ancient and mightyempire. It also provides by far the most plausible and hauntingportrait of Alexander we possess: a brilliantly realized image of aman ruined by constant good fortune in his youth.
Shortly before noon on October 28, 1728, General Yue Zhongqi,the most powerful military and civilian official in northwestChina, was en route to his headquarters. Suddenly, out of thecrowd, a stranger ran toward Yue and passed him an envelope-anenvelope containing details of a treasonous plot to overthrow theManchu government. This thrilling story of a conspiracy against the Qing dynasty in1728 is a captivating tale of intrigue and a fascinatingexploration of what it means to rule and be ruled. Once again,Jonathan Spence has created a vivid portrait of the rich culturethat surrounds a most dramatic moment in Chinese history. "An infectiously readable narrative . . . on a par withbestselling works of historical reconstruction such as Dava Sobel'sLongitude . . . Eighteenth-century China springs to life." (TheDallas Morning News) "A slice of history told in the lively manner of a novel." (IanBuruma, The New York Times Book Review) "A work of history that pulses with emotion, with v
Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published between 1776 and 1788, is the undisputed masterpiece of English historical writhing which can only perish with the language itself. Its length alone is a measure of its monumental quality: seventy-one chapters, of which twenty-eight appear in full in the edition, With style, learning and wit, Gibbon takes the reader through the history of Europe from the second century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453-an enthralling account by ‘the greates of the historians of the Englightenment'. This edition includes Gibbon's footnotes and quotation, here translated for the first time, togerther with brief explanatory comments, a precis of the chapters not included, 16 maps, a glossary, and a list of emperors.
In The War with Hannibal, Livy (59 BC AD 17) chronicles theevents of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, until theBattle of Zama in 202 BC. He vividly recreates the immense armiesof Hannibal, complete with elephants, crossing the Alps; the panicas they approached the gates of Rome; and the decimation of theRoman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Yet it is also theclash of personalities that fascinates Livy, from great debates inthe Senate to the historic meeting between Scipio and Hannibalbefore the decisive battle. Livy never hesitates to introduce bothintense drama and moral lessons into his work, and here he brings aturbulent episode in history powerfully to life.
