History 17 71109 UP AND HISTORY


Christmas is the day that holds all time together.


- Alexander Smith


71136 LEVANT: Splendour and Catastrophe on the


Mediterranean by Philip Mansel The eastern Mediterranean, collectively known as the Levant, paradoxically symbolises a tolerant, open society at the same time as the area is locked in bitter struggle. In this unusual study of the region the author looks at the history of three major cities: Smyrna in


Turkey, Beirut in Lebanon and Alexandria in Egypt. In the 19th century these were the key ports of the region and formed the gateway between the Ottoman Empire and Europe, east and west, maintaining a triangular tension between Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Frequently flouting orders that issued from the imperial capital, Constantinople, the Levant stood for “deals, not ideals”. The author examines whether these three cities have historically truly embodied cosmopolitanism and globalisation, or whether underneath the laissez-faire there has been a volcano waiting to erupt. Smyrna’s commercial role was frequently in tension with its strategic importance, while the British had occupied Alexandria in 1882 and continued to use the city as a strategic outpost. Finally the author focuses on Beirut as a model for the future of the area. From the mid-19th century Beirut re-Ottomanised, but towards the end of the 19th century the city also acquired cabarets and a racecourse. In Beirut “you feel freer from state surveillance than in Cairo, Istanbul and London”. The author concludes that Beirut is “an experimental laboratory for the future of the Middle East”. 470pp, black and white photos. £25 NOW £9


71013 RUNNING THE SHOW: Governors of the British Empire


by Stephanie Williams There is no denying that the Governors of British colonies, whether they were good or bad, and whether their decisions were wise or unwise,


were pioneers of globalisation whose decisions shaped the world we live in today. Catapulted into


running a district or even a country of which they knew absolutely nothing, they were controlled from London, thousands of miles away, in the days when communication over land and sea took weeks, so they had virtually no support. Some started wars, others fought disease, injustice and slavery. From Fiji to the Falkland Islands, from Malaysia to Australia and South Africa and from Lagos to Ottawa, this book is a glorious kaleidoscope of people, places and events. It draws on a vast range of unpublished sources, from Colonial Office dispatches to private letters, diaries and memoirs, revealing the day-to-day lives, obsessions, eccentricities, griefs and triumphs of governors at the height of empire, and their attempts to order the territories in their charge. We quote a few lines to whet readers’ appetites: The governor of St Lucia while on his journeys through tropical forest to visit various law courts ‘tripped over roots, fell down gullies and got covered, head to foot with… tiny red bugs… drenched by the rain, assaulted by ticks and sliced by razor grass… One day he left an umbrella and couple of pairs of boots on the shores of the Demerara to collect later. On his return, only the seams of his boots remained!’ 491 thrilling, incredible pages illustrated in b/w. £20 NOW £9


71207 HISTORICAL ATLAS OF DYNASTIES AND ROYAL HOUSES


by Jeremy Harwood A magnificent 400 page 25½ x 34cm tome with highly detailed maps in a comprehensive exploration of the dynasties and rulers who have shaped our world history. It presents more than


100 significant members of royalty and all the major players from centuries gone by including the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, the most significant Roman emperors, William the Conqueror and Frederick Barbarossa, Renaissance rulers such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, France’s Sun King Louis XIV, Maria Theresa of Austria, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte, Nicholas II, Kaiser Wilhelm II who was forced to abdicate and flee defeated imperial Germany to take refuge in Netherlands, Edward VIII who gave up his crown and coverage of contemporary monarchs such as Juan Carlos I of Spain who regained the Spanish throne after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and turned his country into a modern democracy. And our very own Elizabeth II, the longest reigning and probably best known of all the monarchs who survive today. The book is broken down into seven main sections starting with the birth of monarchy in the ancient Middle East and covering all the ruling dynasties stretching to the present day, each one of which has had a significant influence on the pattern of historical events. The maps show the reader at a glance which king controlled what in the ancient Middle and Near East, how the Roman empire expanded and contracted, the Hundred Years’ War, a profile of Emperor Hirohito of Japan and more with photos and contemporary illus.


£40 NOW £15 DOWNSTAIRS: The History of


the Country House Servant by Jeremy Musson In 1851, 2 million people were employed in domestic service. Without them, the country houses which were at the heart of British social, political and sporting life just could not have functioned. They catered for the owners’ and guests’ every need. The author delves into


memoirs, letters and household accounts, capturing the servants’ voices and piecing together their daily lives. He also looks at how these grand households have changed over time, from the conspicuous consumption of the Georgian period to the 20th century, when two world wars radically unsettled all tiers of domestic service. Here are servants of all ages from very young children to a 96-year-old, from skivvies who endured the hard grind and monotony of their manual duties to privileged housekeepers and butlers. Here too are young black slaves from the West Indies, valued head gardeners and the great British nanny, who presided daily over nursery tea, shared by all the family and visitors. 374 paperback pages illustrated with b/w photos.


£ 9.99 NOW £5


71183 BRITAIN’S GURKHAS by Christopher Bullock OBE MC


Here is the official history of the Brigade of Gurkhas with a foreword by the Colonel Commandant Brigade of Gurkhas. The author has spent nearly all his adult life with them - as platoon, company and battalion commander, as Brigadier and as curator, trustee and


Chairman of Trustees of the Gurkha Museum in Winchester. Who better, then, to write about them? He recounts how a tiny mountain kingdom of Nepal fought the might of British India in 1814 and inspired such a high regard for its fighting men that the British sought them out to form an élite in their own army. With unwavering loyalty, Gurkhas upheld their oath throughout the Indian Mutiny, defending the frontiers of British India, crossing the oceans to fight in the mud and blood of France in the 1914-18 War, almost changing the course of history in the same war at Gallipoli and turning the scale in Mesopotamia and Palestine. Nepal had supported Britain wholeheartedly in 1914 but, with Britain on the verge of defeat in 1940, in the darkest days after Dunkirk, would it do the same again in another world war? It would and did. From a population of 5,000,000 a torrent of 100,000 young Gurhkas came to fight in desert, jungle and snow. Later, in Malaya, Borneo, Hong Kong, The Falklands, The Balkans, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, they continued to keep faith with Britain. Here is their moving and inspirational story. 320 softback pages illustrated in colour with glossary of terms and maps. £19.95 NOW £8


71319 MEDIAEVAL COLCHESTER’S LOST LANDMARKS


by John Ashdown-Hill Colchester is ‘Britain’s oldest recorded town’ and its Roman past is well publicised. However until now medieval Colchester has been neglected but using archaeological evidence and clues from surviving buildings, this impressive volume recaptures the town towards the


end of the Middle Ages. It looks at the great lost religious landmarks of medieval Colchester including St John’s Abbey, the Greyfriars and St Botolph’s priory, plus its churches and abbeys, mills and markets, port and inns, private houses and its sanitation are also explored. Where did the inhabitants get their water and what did they do with their sewage? Who lived on the site of the modern Public Library in the 15th century and what could you buy in the market? We rediscover the town’s tennis court, its brothels and its bear-baiting area and even find out what Robert Cok the butcher was doing in East Stockwell Street in the 1480s which landed him in court! 191pp with maps, woodcuts and 100 illus. 192pp. £14.99 NOW £5


71268 LIFE UNDER THE PHARAOHS


by Leonard Cottrell A marvellous reconstruction of everyday life in the Egypt of 1500BCE. The central character, a real person whose tomb still exists, is Vizier Rekhmire and it is through him that the reader is taken on a fascinating tour of Ancient Egypt. Accompany him on his round of official duties, watch the craftsmen and the labourers work, go hunting


with his son, watch the surgeon performing an operation, or witness the ritual of ‘Healing Magic’. Here too is an overview of Egyptian history including the City of the Dead, Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, the building of the pyramids and important figures and places such as Ak Henaten and Amarna. Paperback facsimile reprint of the 1955 original book. 210pp. £8.99 NOW £3


71006 THE ENGLISH CIVIL


WARS 1640-1660 by Blair Worden


The author has recently been recognised by BBC History Magazine as ‘the pre-eminent historian of Cromwellian England’, and has many publications on the civil wars to his name. This particular book provides a crisp and lucid account of the complicated events which took place between 1640 and 1660 and deals not only


with the war between King and Parliament of 1642-6 but also with the second civil war, the execution of King Charles I, the rule of Cromwell and finally the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. But unlike most histories, this volume is not concerned with the preoccupations of later generations. The author wants to explain what soldiers of that time thought they were fighting for and against and what other events of the mid-17th century influenced men to side with the Parliament or the King, for many other factors played a


71333 COWBOY: The Illustrated History by Richard Slatta


Men on horseback have long symbolised power, authority, leadership, freedom and romance. In books, movies and on TV, whether hero or villain, they command our attention, and none more so than the cowboy. Preeminent historian and wild frontier expert, Richard Slatta’s knowledge and love of his subject is infectious, as he shows us that the reality of the cowboy life is even more fascinating and thrilling than the legend. He looks at the famed equestrians from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, China, France, Spain, Columbia and Venezuela and examines how the US frontiersmen adopted and adapted their methods and skills to create the distinctive all-American cowboy in his various guises - trail-driver, rancher, horse breeder and gun-for-hire. Hundreds of archive photos plus a selection of contemporary images take you on the trail, and there is a wealth of firsthand accounts from the men themselves, describing the hardships, deprivations and camaraderie of the cowboy life. Some of the photos and reminiscences, especially those of when the early spring cattle drives got caught out by terrifying late blizzards, and the ever- present threat of attack from hostile Indians or rustlers are utterly gripping. 206pp in luxuriously produced 9" × 11" softback.


$17.95 NOW £6.50


part. There were constitutional questions remaining from the earlier Tudor period, new ideas of liberty and reform, the European conflicts of that time, the wars in Scotland and Ireland from which the English conflict emerged and, always running through the whole complex affair, the issue of religion. The book stresses the unpredictability, not only of the military outcomes, but also the longer- term results. 192 authoritative and revelatory pages with a chronology of the main events. £12.99 NOW £6.50


71127 THE ENGLISH REBEL by David Horspool


A rebel is by definition a failure: rebels who succeed are no longer called rebels. In this big book packed with out-of-the-way information the author argues that the English character is dominated by a heroic resistance to tyranny and unfairness. Horspool’s rebels are not necessarily violent or left- wing, but they take serious risks with their lives and liberties.


Starting with resistance to the Norman Conquest, the author moves on to Thomas Becket and Magna Carta followed by the rebellions familiar from Shakespeare. Henry IV met challenges to his kingship head-on, and his fight against the rebellious Hotspur in 1403 was described by a contemporary as one of the “unkindest” battles in England. Sir John Oldcastle, the original model for Falstaff, was executed as a traitor by Henry V. Rebellions in the Tudor period were put down with equal ferocity, and although Mary Tudor has earned the title “Bloody Mary”, her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth presided over an unforgiving security operation in which Bartholomew Steer’s half-hearted rebellion over poverty and hunger was ruthlessly punished. The great English rebellion of the Civil War was accompanied not only by bloodshed but also by impassioned debate about the sort of government people wanted. The Gordon Riots, the Nore Mutiny, the Chartists, the Suffragettes and the Cable Street Riots are all covered, ending with the Poll Tax in 1990. A superb read. 453pp, black and white reproductions. £25 NOW £7.50


71002 MYSTERY OF THE


ANCIENT SEAFARERS: Early Maritime Civilizations by Robert D Ballard with Toni Eugene


From wall paintings of ancient ships through underwater shots of astonishingly well-preserved vessels that sank 1,500 years ago, to mind- blowing portraits of modern dhows that still navigate the Nile as they


did when the Pyramids were being built, the illustrations in this volume offer a vivid counterpoint to the text. The expert narrative about the great cultures of a bygone world, as well as exciting recent discoveries, sheds new light on the sailors who, for thousands of years, have plied the waters of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. They it was who spread their cultures and their goods along the coasts and laid the foundations of Western civilization. Some of these mariners have been celebrated for centuries, from the Greeks of the Odyssey to those who manned the elaborate war galleys of Rome and Carthage. Others, like the Phoenicians and the Minoans, have only just begun to yield their secrets. Drawing on sources as wide-ranging as myth, ancient frescoes and artefacts of the trade routes, and combining superb history with state-of-the-art underwater archaeology, the author explores six maritime civilisations: the Phoenicians, those of the Black Sea, the Egyptians, the Minoans, the Greeks and the Romans. Here are the submerged remnants of the famed Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria and here the enormous volcanic explosion of Thera, which some scholars call Atlantis. An inspired blend of speculation, theory and the use of high- tech equipment. 224 pages 26cm by 18cm enhanced by 110 full colour illustrations and maps. ONLY £6.50


70736 MOTHERLAND: A Philosophical History


of Russia by Leslie Chamberlain From 1815-1991, Russia was a country which sat uncertainly on the Western fringe in an alternative cultural space. The Russian Revolution and Russian philosophy share a common origin. They begin not with an idea but with a political class and its discontents. That class was the 19th century Russian intelligentsia which defines itself by agitating for social reform. Its members were critical thinkers who regretted the primitive political


state of their country under Tsarism. The first generation were active in the 1820s and the second was marked by the ‘beautiful souls’ of 1838-48. After 1848 the Populists arrived and in all these periods there were writers and also religious thinkers who fitted under no single heading. It was not until the eve of revolution in 1917 that Russian philosophers came to grips with individualism. The end of Communism and the rediscovery of that semi-concealed world have allowed us to see a continuous Russian philosophical tradition. 331pp in large paperback.


£14.99 NOW £5


70924 LOST TO THE WEST by Lars Brownworth


Subtitled The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilisation. It is packed with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands! The Byzantine Empire was what was left of the Roman Empire when, in the 5th century, its western half fell. For more than a thousand years, Byzantium was to reign as the glittering seat of Christian civilisation. When literacy all but vanished in the west, Byzantium made primary education available to both sexes. It was this empire that preserved the great gifts of the classical world. Some 40,000 ancient Greek texts were transmitted to us by Byzantine scribes. The eastern empire also shielded Western Europe from invasion until it was ready to take its own place at the centre of the world stage. Filled with unforgettable stories. 329 pages with maps. $26 NOW £6


70610 ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE PRESIDENTS OF AMERICA


by Professor Jon Roper The President of America is arguably the most powerful person in the world, and this comprehensive history of 44 presidents gives full details about each holder of the office from


George Washington to Barack Obama, including major events during their term. American independence was founded on the principle that taxes could not be imposed without the consent of the people, and Jefferson, America’s third president, held King George III of England personally responsible for the unworkable Stamp Act which finally triggered rebellion. The new democratic America would have no king in accordance with Thomas Paine’s famous principle: “The Law is King”. Colour reproductions and highlighted boxes supplement the text: for instance, we learn that Washington was a slave owner who freed household slaves in his will, while a photograph of Lincoln shows him delivering the famous Gettysburg Address in a top hat which stands out above a seething mass of jostling soldiers and civilians. Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s was widely regarded as a nonentity, but major events of his presidency were the dedication of the Mount Rushmore Sculptures and the notorious Scopes trial at which John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching his students the theory of evolution. Another turbulent decade was the sixties when Civil Rights, Women’s Rights and the Vietnam War created political ferment for the doomed Robert Kennedy. 256pp, softback, over 400 colour and archive reproductions. ONLY £6.50


67493 ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH: The


Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg English has proved itself democratic and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. It remains the beating heart of international medicine, industry and diplomacy. The popular broadcaster Melvyn Bragg brings the reader from the early Anglo-Saxon tribes and Alfred the Great’s stubborn resistance to the Danes, through the impact of the Norman invasion in 1066 and on to the arrival of such early literary masterpieces as Beowulf and the bawdy Canterbury Tales. Bragg tells the tale of Henry VIII’s battles with the Church over bootleg Bibles and the influence of the ‘coarse’ playwright William Shakespeare, who alone contributed 2,000 new words to our language. 322pp, illus. $27.95 NOW £7


67498 BARBARIANS TO ANGELS: The Dark Ages Reconsidered by Peter Wells


The kingdoms of Christendom that emerged, starting with the reign of Charlemagne in the late 8th century, sprang from a robust, previously little-known European culture, which reached new heights in artistry, technology, architecture, craft production, commerce and learning, engineers and universities. A large number of new cities and urban centres were founded like Gudme in modern Denmark, Helgo in Sweden, Ralfwiek in Germany and Staraja Ladoga in Russia and these, are just a few of these previously unknown cities. 240pp, illus.


£17.99 NOW £3 69116 OFF WITH HER HEAD!


Henry VIII, The Life and Loves of Bluff King Hal by English Heritage


It is the power and the passion, the intrigues and in- fighting that make the reign of Henry VIII so fascinating. Whether or not he ever exclaimed ‘Off with her head!’, history suggests that the sentiment would have appealed to his fiery nature. Of his six spouses, one died, one survived, he divorced two and beheaded two. Henry stamped his formidable mark on English history. 92 pocket-sized pages illustrated in b/w. £7.99 NOW £1.50


69164 MEDIEVAL LIFE Manners, Customs and Dress During the Middle Ages by Paul Lacroix


This edition includes over 400 original woodcuts from the original and many colour plates and expounds upon such aspects as condition of persons and land, privileges and rights, private life in castles, towns and rural districts, food and cookery hunting, games and pastimes, commerce, guilds and trade corporations, taxes, money and finance, law and administration of justice, secret tribunals, punishments, gypsies, tramps and beggars, ceremonials, costumes, the Jewish communities and much more. A triumph of scholarship and the tour de force of the prolific writer Paul Lacroix (1806-1884), aka “Bibliophile Jacob”, it was first published in the 1870s. Facsimile edition. 554pp. £19.99 NOW £10


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