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Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle
Belle: The True Story of Dido Belle
Paula Byrne
¥66.22
The inspiration behind the powerful new film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, this is the story of Dido Belle, whose adoption by an aristocratic family challenged the conventions of 18th century England. In one of the most famous portraits in the world, a pretty girl walks through the grounds of Kenwood House, a vision of aristocratic refinement. But the eye is drawn to the beautiful woman on her right. Pointing at her own cheek, she playfully acknowledges her remarkable position in eighteenth-century society. For Dido Belle was the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave woman, adopted by the Earl of Mansfield. As Lord Chief Justice of England he would preside over the notorious Zong case – the drowning of 142 slaves by an unscrupulous shipping company. His ruling provided the legal underpinning to the abolition of slavery in Britain. From the privileged yet unequal lives of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth, to the horrific treatment of African slaves, Paula Byrne – the bestselling author of ‘The Real Jane Austen’ – vividly narrates the story of a family that defied convention, the legal trial that exposed the cruelties of slavery and the woman who challenged notions of race at the highest rank.
Mussolini: History in an Hour
Mussolini: History in an Hour
Rupert Colley
¥18.05
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. ‘Il Duce’, Benito Mussolini, was one of the key figures in the creation of fascism. Famed for his dictatorial style, his political cunning and admired – initially – by Hitler, Mussolini led the National Fascist Party and ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 until his ousting in 1943. In so doing, he paved the way towards Italy’s defeat in World War Two, and some of the 20th century’s most destructive ideologies and practices. Following expulsion from Italian Socialist Party, Mussolini denounced all efforts of class conflict, and instead later commanded a Fascist March on Rome to become the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history. Thereafter he set about dismantling the apparatus of democracy and initiated what would become known as the one-party totalitarian state. With World War II came defeat, humiliation and his bloody deposing. Explaining his ideologies, policies, actions and flaws, ‘Mussolini: History in an Hour’ is the concise life of the man whose ideas helped create some of the worst horrors of the modern history. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…
Nature in Towns and Cities (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 127)
Nature in Towns and Cities (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 127)
David Goode
¥269.78
The latest in the New Naturalist series documents the parks and green spaces unique to Britain's cities – and the wildlife that has flourished in these habitats. Not since Richard Fitter’s landmark publication in 1945, ‘London’s Natural History’ – volume 3 in the New Naturalist series – has there been a comprehensive guide to urban natural history. Since then there have been major advances in the conservation of nature in our towns and cities, and there is even more to say about how animals and plants have adapted, in varying degrees, to urbanisation. But this is not merely an exploration of natural history within the urban environment – David Goode uses his knowledge of urban ecology to describe the range of habitats and species which exist within urban areas, and shows how our understanding is being applied to encourage a greater variety of nature into towns and cities. He illustrates how an ecological approach can be incorporated within planning and design to create a range of habitats from tiny oases to extensive new urban woodland and wetlands.
The Destruction of Guernica
The Destruction of Guernica
Paul Preston
¥18.65
The leading historian on the Spanish Civil War reveals the truth about one of the most horrifying events of the twentieth century – the destruction of Guernica. Guernica, a quiet market town in the Basque region of northern Spain. On Monday 26 April 1937, as the Spanish Civil War raged, the market square was busy with farmers and townspeople. Just before five o’clock in the afternoon the sky darkened as the Luftwaffe swarmed overhead and began an unrelentingly vicious assault, the first ever on an undefended civilian target in Europe. The savage attack on Guernica marked the birth of a horrific new kind of warfare. In this searing account of the tragedy, Paul Preston, the foremost historian of 20th century Spain, tells the whole story of the attack, from Franco’s tactics to how events unfolded on the day and how the world responded. Published to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the bombing this short ebook is a deeply moving account of what happened on that day in Guernica.
GI BRIDES – June’s Story:Exclusive Bonus Ebook
GI BRIDES – June’s Story:Exclusive Bonus Ebook
Duncan Barrett,Nuala Calvi
¥9.71
This short bonus ebook tells June’s story, a true account of a woman who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War. June noticed an American soldier walking towards her … In the drab setting of the churchyard he looked utterly out of place, as if a movie star had just dropped out of the sky. Raised in Birmingham, June marries a handsome GI called Borgy and looks forward to a new life in America. But when war ends, June is horrified to receive a letter from her husband telling her they are moving to Germany instead. June’s life soon takes a shocking turn. June’s story is an additional extra to the four tales in GI Brides, written by the bestselling authors of The Sugar Girls. It tells the true story of one of the 70,000 British women who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War.
The Majesty of the Horse:An Illustrated History
The Majesty of the Horse:An Illustrated History
Tamsin Pickeral,Astrid Harrisson
¥221.12
The Majesty of the Horse is a celebration of an animal that has shaped the fate of mankind. Written as a glorious celebration of this noblest of animals, the book explores the sheer beauty and grandeur of horses, revealing the central role they have played in human societies throughout the world and across the ages. The book showcases equine photographer Astrid Harrisson’s amazing portraiture and stunning images of horses in motion, with pictures that capture the essence of many different breeds. It pays homage not only to the physical splendour of the horse – its grace, strength,and extraordinary adaptability – but also to the animal’s remarkable diversity. Equestrian specialist Tamsin Pickeral traces the evolution of the most significant and fascinating breeds, among them , the tiny, fiery Caspian, a native of the Caspian Sea’s south shore; the proud Thoroughbred; the genetically pure Icelandic Pony; the heroic Shire horse; and many others. For millenia, horses have enabled mankind to work the land effectively, travel across vast territories, go to war, and ride for sport and pleasure. The Majesty of the Horse reveals the stories behind the breeds of horses that humans have bred to produce the most efficient horse to fight on, to pull a plough, to travel on, pull a coach, or work with. Equestrian expert Tamsin Pickeral and award-winning horse photographer Astrid Harrisson spent a year combing the world in search of the best horses for The Majesty of the Horse.
Vegetation of Britain and Ireland (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 122)
Vegetation of Britain and Ireland (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 122)
Michael Proctor
¥229.16
Another volume in the popular New Naturalist series, this book covers all aspects of the plant life of Britain and Ireland. Michael Proctor, an expert in his field, discusses the development of the landscape of Britain and Ireland from prehistoric times, including the influence of people and their agricultural practices on the vegetation. He provides a comprehensive account of all the different types of plant habitat in Britain and Ireland: from woodlands and scrubland to meadows and grasslands, from wetlands and peatlands to heaths, and from the mountain vegetation to the sea coast. He examines the history and ecology of each of these habitats, and describes the rich variety of flora found living there. The author concludes with an account of the changes to our landscape which have taken place during the twentieth century, and prospects for the future, including the effects of environmental change.
Woodsman
Woodsman
Ben Law
¥66.22
Ben Law’s incredible sense of the land and his respect for age old traditions offers a wonderful insight into the life of Prickly Nut Wood. Having travelled to Papua New Guinea and the Amazon, observing age-old techniques for living in, working in and preserving forests and woodland, Ben Law felt compelled to return home and apply his learnings to a 400 year old plot of woodland near where he grew up – Prickly Nut Wood. This is the story of how he came live off the land, how he coppiced and hedged and created charcoal, how he puddled and built shelter and finally how he carved out his famous woodland home that Kevin McCloud has cited as his favourite ever Grand Design. And it’s the story of the wood itself – how it lives and breathes and affects all those who encounter it, and how it’s developed over the twenty years Ben has shared in its lifespan. This transporting tale that will make you long to hear the dawn chorus and wake up every day to the serene beauty of Britain’s woodland.
Gwendolyn’s Story (GI Brides Shorts, Book 1)
Gwendolyn’s Story (GI Brides Shorts, Book 1)
Duncan Barrett,Nuala Calvi
¥9.71
This is Gwendolyn’s story, one of four true stories from the book GI Brides. They sat down together and Ben pulled her close. ‘Lyn,’ he whispered. ‘You know I’m head over heels in love with you. I’ll never love anyone else as long as I live.’ It was the most romantic thing Lyn had ever heard – and coming from Ben she knew that it was true. Gwendolyn’s hometown of Southampton is taken over by the Americans of the ‘friendly invasion’ as they prepare for D-Day. She falls in love with a romantic Italian-American officer, and excitedly travels to California to be with him. But once there, Gwendolyn clashes with a formidable mother-in-law, who tells her husband: ‘It’s her or me!’ Gwendolyn’s story is extracted from GI Brides, written by the bestselling authors of The Sugar Girls. It captures the memories of the thousands of women who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War.
Leviathan:The Rise of Britain as a World Power
Leviathan:The Rise of Britain as a World Power
David Scott
¥95.75
For viewers of BBC One’s ‘Britain and the Sea’, ‘Leviathan’ is a must-read; overturning long-held beliefs about our ancestry and weaving together the disparate strands that made the fabric of the Empire. The 350 years between the accession of the Tudors and the beginning of the Victorian era saw one of the great transformations of any nation in history:Britain emerged from its lowly position as European underdog to become the world's only maritime superpower. It was a period that saw the creation of Protestant kingdoms in England and Scotland, the gain and loss of American colonies and the beginnings of a new empire in Africa, India and Australasia. It is a slice of our past represented by some of the most compelling personalities to have graced the historical stage – Elizabeth I, Nelson, Cromwell and Byron amongst them. In this wide-ranging yet succinct history, David Scott challenges some of our longest held beliefs in how Britain achieved its constitutional might. Where other histories have concentrated on a narrow chronology, 'Leviathan:A World of Ships and Men' encompasses a broad spectrum, tracing the connections made across time as never before.
Titanic:History in an Hour
Titanic:History in an Hour
Sinead Fitzgibbon
¥14.81
Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. The sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago in 1912, and the subsequent deaths of over 1,500 passengers, sent shock waves around the world. Never before or since has a maritime disaster in a time of peace had such an impact. TITANIC: HISTORY IN AN HOUR is an entertaining and well researched account of the events leading up to the sinking of this ‘unsinkable’ ship, providing an fascinating commentary on the pressures of the White Star Line, the importance of class to Titanic’s unfortunate passengers and the legacy of the disaster in Britain and America. TITANIC:HISTORY IN AN HOUR is a gripping and accessible account. Know your stuff: read about the Titanic in just one hour.
Nature Near London (Collins Nature Library)
Nature Near London (Collins Nature Library)
Richard Jefferies,Robert Macfarlane
¥147.35
The Collins Nature Library is a new series of classic British nature writing – reissues of long-lost seminal works. The titles have been chosen by one of Britain’s best known and highly acclaimed nature writers, Robert Macfarlane, who has also written new introductions that put these classics into a modern context. Nature Near London is a collection of observational pieces from locations near London at the end of the 19th Century. The depth of knowledge and of familiarity with particular places and particular species gives the impression that each small piece is the product of many years of observation. His style of observation is a work in miniature – cataloguing the most minute details; the dancing of a flower in the wind or the darting of a cautious trout. The chapters centre on a special place, a certain species, geographical feature or habitat – everything from orchards and copses to rivers and streams. Jefferies always explains the typical behaviour of whatever he is describing, and often contrasts what he sees with what one would expect to see in another part of the country, or in a different season. His knowledge of flowers is wide-ranging, and his ability to describe one particular patch of a field in such a specific way brings tremendous variety to the chapters that make up the book. The final chapters are a departure – both from the character of the rest of the book, and from London itself, as Jefferies boards the train to Brighton. Suddenly he is describing people and their relationship to nature, as much as nature itself. The scope widens, less a work in miniature, more surging towards a triumphant end as Jefferies becomes ever more philosophical. 100 years on, the book becomes even more relevant than when it was published – as a reminder of the dangers of unrelenting urbanisation, but also the context of the trend that aims to recreate nature where we need it most – around our cities. Nature near London is a portrait of what we’ve lost, and a reminder of nature’s positive and calming influence. Going along with Jefferies is like taking an afternoon stroll out of the city, without having to leave your armchair.
Battle for the Falklands:The Winter War
Battle for the Falklands:The Winter War
Patrick Bishop,John Witherow
¥54.65
‘Boldly planned, bravely executed and brilliantly accomplished’ was Margaret Thatcher’s assessment of the Falklands campaign. But what did the war mean to the men in the trenches and below decks? This gripping first-hand account of the Falklands War, written by bestselling military historian Patrick Bishop and Sunday Times Editor John Witherow, reveals the true experiences of the British soldiers and seamen on the front line. The authors, then rookie reporters, lived alongside the fighting men, experiencing the daily realities of a British task force that was hugely outnumbered on a barren island 8,000 miles from home. The Falklands: The Winter War looks at the covert role of the SAS and the heroic death of Colonel ‘H’ Jones at Goose Green, and considers just how close Britain came to defeat. This is an extraordinarily frank and unsparing account of a military campaign that has held a defining place within the British national conscience since victory in 1982.
The Conversion of Europe (TEXT ONLY)
The Conversion of Europe (TEXT ONLY)
Richard Fletcher
¥117.82
The story of how Europe was converted to Christianity from 300AD until the barbarian Lithuanians finally capitulated at the astonishingly late date of 1386. It is an epic tale from one of the most gifted historians of today. This remarkable book examines the conversion of Europe to the Christian faith in the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire to approximately 1300 when the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire was firmly established. One of the book’s great strengths is the degree to which it shows how little was inevitable about this process, how surrounded by uncertainties. What was the origin of the missionary impulse? Who were the activists who engaged in this work – the toilsome, often unrewarding, sometimes dangerous work of evangelisation, and how did they set about putting over this faith? How did a structure of ecclesiastical government come into being? Above all, at what point can one say that an individual or a society has become Christian? Fletcher’s range, lucidity and mastery of his sources brings the answers to these and many other questions as far within our grasp as they probably ever can be. Like Alan Bullock and Simon Schama, Fletcher is a historian with the true gift of a storyteller and a wide general readership ahead of him. Fletcher’s previous book, The Quest for El Cid won both the Wolfson History Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for History. This book is even better – the most impressive achievement so far of this strikingly gifted historian.
The Sweethearts:Tales of love, laughter and hardship from the Yorkshire Rowntree
The Sweethearts:Tales of love, laughter and hardship from the Yorkshire Rowntree
Lynn Russell,Neil Hanson
¥54.84
Whether in wartime or peace, tales of love, laughter and hardship from the girls in the Rowntrees factory in Yorkshire “On a warm Monday morning in 1932, just two days after leaving school, fourteen-year-old Madge was about to join her nine brothers and sisters at Rowntree’s. The smell of chocolate was in the air but as she walked up the road, her footsteps slowed at the daunting thought of what lay ahead…” From the 1930s through to the 1980s, as Britain endured war, depression, hardship and strikes, the women at the Rowntree’s factory in York kept the chocolates coming. This is the true story of The Sweethearts, the women who roasted the cocoa beans, piped the icing and packed the boxes that became gifts for lovers, snacks for workers and treats for children across the country. More often than not, their working days provided welcome relief from bad husbands and bad housing, a community where they could find new confidence, friendship and when the supervisor wasn’t looking, the occasional chocolate.
The Birth of Modern Britain: A Journey into Britain’s Archaeological Past
The Birth of Modern Britain: A Journey into Britain’s Archaeological Past
Francis Pryor
¥76.91
From the author of ‘Britain BC’, ‘Britain AD’ and ‘Britain in the Middle Ages’ comes the fourth and final part in a critically acclaimed series on Britain's hidden past. The relevance of archaeology to the study of the ancient world is indisputable. But, when exploring our recent past, does it have any role to play? In ‘The Birth of Modern Britain’ Francis Pryor highlights archaeology’s continued importance to the world around us. The pioneers of the Industrial Revolution were too busy innovating to record what was happening around them but fortunately the buildings and machines they left behind bring the period to life. During the Second World War, the imminent threat of invasion meant that constructing strong defences was much more important than keeping precise records. As a result, when towns were flattened, archaeology provided the only real means of discovering what had been destroyed. Surveying the whole post-medieval period, from 1550 until the present day, Francis Pryor takes us on an exhilarating journey, bringing to a gripping conclusion his illuminating study of Britain’s hidden past.
The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World
The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World
Carl Honore
¥68.67
What do we do when things go wrong in a fast world? Many of us go for the quick fix that delays the problem rather than solving it. To make real progress we need real solutions – we need to take time for THE SLOW FIX. People have long been in search of a quick fix. Truth is, it doesn’t work. The problems facing us today are bigger and more urgent than ever before and we need to learn to start fixing things properly, rather than settling for short-term solutions. The Slow Fix offers real, life-changing solutions to tackling these problems and extends the movement defined by Carl Honore in his global bestseller, In Praise of Slow, to offer a recipe for problem-solving that can be applied to every walk of life, from business and politics to relationships, education and health reform.
Twenty-One: Coming of Age in World War II
Twenty-One: Coming of Age in World War II
James Holland
¥72.99
World War II affected the lives of ordinary men and women more directly than any other conflict before or since. This is an unprecedented look at the lives of twenty-one young men who answered their country’s call to arms and left their homes to fight in unfamiliar and far-reaching corners of the globe. Many never returned, and those who did found their homes and countries much changed by long years of war. Most discovered they had become different people: having seen death and destruction on a scale they had never imagined they would witness, the return to civilian life was often far from easy. Now, more than sixty years on, this remarkable generation is fading. Most are now over eighty and around the world more than two thousand veterans of the war are passing away every day. In this new book ‘Sunday Times’ bestselling author James Holland recounts the real-life stories of twenty-one young men from around the world who served in different services and theatres of the war. Whether it be the Byers brothers from Canada or Bill Laity from Cornwall, Wlad Rubnikowicz from Poland or Tom Finney from Preston, each began the war with little idea of what lay in store; and yet, each displayed astonishing courage, fortitude and resilience, united by a sense of honour and duty, and bound by the fellowship of their comrades. Often reacting in very different ways to the strange and frequently terrifying situations in which they found themselves, they each suffered hardships and loss, making sacrifices that have ensured a lasting peace amongst the warring nations; and if some of these survivors are perplexed by how the world has developed, none doubts the value of what they did all those years ago. Moving, poignant, and conveying all the drama, tension and fear experienced in war, ‘Twenty-One’ is an uplifting tribute to a passing generation, describing the wide range of experiences and extremes these remarkable men and women witnessed during World War II. Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.
The Last Veteran: Harry Patch and the Legacy of War
The Last Veteran: Harry Patch and the Legacy of War
Peter Parker
¥73.58
This moving and timely book explores the way the First World War has been thought about and commemorated, and how it has affected its own, and later, generations. On 11 November 1920, huge crowds lined the streets of London for the funeral of the Unknown Warrior. As the coffin was drawn on a gun carriage from the Cenotaph to Westminster Abbey, the King and Ministers of State followed silently behind. The modern world had tilted on its axis, but it had been saved. Armistice Day was born, the acknowledgement of the great sacrifice made by a whole generation of British men and women. Now, almost a century later, Harry Patch, the last British veteran who saw active service, has died. Our final link with the First World War is broken. Harry Patch was born in 1898 and was con*ed in 1916. He served with a Lewis gun team at the Battle of Passchendaele and in September 1917 was wounded by a shell that killed three of his comrades. After the war, Patch returned to Somerset to work as a plumber, a job he continued to do until his retirement. The First World War was fought not by a professional army but by ordinary civilians like Patch, who epitomised Edwardian Britain and the sense, now lost, of what Britain stood for and why it was worth fighting for. The Last Veteran tells Patch's story, and explores the meaning of the war to those who fought in it and the generations that have followed. Peter Parker's illuminating and timely book is a moving tribute to a remarkable generation.
The Nineties: When Surface was Depth
The Nineties: When Surface was Depth
Michael Bracewell
¥72.99
the first clear anatomy of a confused decade, the 1990s – ‘Bracewell, with great verve and style, animates the cultural conversation’, Greil Marcus 'Michael Bracewell is the most adroitly gifted writer of his generation.' Morrissey Michael Bracewell is now clearly established as one of the most subtle, penetrating, amusing and far-sighted of all observers of the contemporary scene in Britain. His writing on culture high and low is coveted by every broadsheet, every stylish glossy monthly magazine and on radio and TV punditry platforms. His book, England Is Mine, about the distinctive Englishness of these islands’ twentieth-century popular culture, earned him incredible reviews and an unchallenged position as the first person any right-minded arts producer/editor turns to when they need a definitive opinion about how English or otherwise some new-fangled cultural phenomenon is. With this book Bracewell gives us the first consideration of that still-warm, still-bizarre, still-confused and confusing decade. He talks to and talks about a host of representative Nineties figures, some already forgotten, some absolutely emblematic of their times – from Hanson to Alexander McQueen, from Tracey Emin to Ulrika Jonsson, from the Spice Girls to Duran Duran (yes, Duran Duran). Painstakingly, sometimes painfully, he puts all the pieces together and starts to make sense of it all…
The Sugar Girls – Ethel’s Story
The Sugar Girls – Ethel’s Story
Duncan Barrett,Nuala Calvi
¥63.77
During the Blitz, the Sugar Girls kept Britain sweet. The work was back-breakingly hard, but the Tate & Lyle factory was more than just a workplace - it was a community, a calling, a place of love and support and an uproarious, tribal part of East London. This is Ethel’s story, one of four stories from The Sugar Girls. ‘On an autumn day in 1944, Ethel Alleyne walked the short distance from her house to Tate & Lyle’s refinery on the shining curve of the Thames. Looking up at the giant gates, Ethel felt like she had been preparing for this moment all her life. She smoothed down her frizzy hair, scraped a bit of dirt off the corner of her shoe and strode through. She was quite unprepared for the sight that met her eyes …’ In the years leading up to and after the Second World War thousands of women left school at fourteen to work in the bustling factories of London’s East End. Despite long hours, hard and often hazardous work, factory life afforded exciting opportunities for independence, friendship and romance. Of all the factories that lined the docks, it was at Tate and Lyle’s where you could earn the most generous wages and enjoy the best social life, and it was here where The Sugar Girls worked. This is an evocative, moving story of hunger, hardship and happiness, providing a moving insight into a lost way of life, as well as a timeless testament to the experience of being young and female.