26 Modern History


his mate Little Fred (8½ stone), “Flash” Lightning, Soapy Jim and Old Percy were five such men with whom the author worked, and reading of their antics had us chuckling away. His pen portraits of co-workers, bosses, customs and police officers, sailors, tea ladies, divers and others are so sharply observed you could almost be there with them. Photos, 96pp softback.


£10.99 NOW £4


71747 JFK IN IRELAND: Four Days that Changed a


President by Ryan Tubridy The idolised, handsome and glamorous John Fitzgerald Kennedy, great-grandson of Irish immigrants, was the first and only Irish-Catholic American to be elected President of the USA. Here is the story of JFK’s memorable four day trip to his homeland in June 1963, five


months before he was tragically assassinated. In this seminal historical publication, Tubridy captures the affection Kennedy felt for his fellow Irishmen and his Irish heritage and portrays how these sentiments were reciprocated by a nation enchanted by the young President. There was his much-vaunted visit for lunch with distant family in Dunganstown, the garden party that descended into chaos, formal speeches to the Dáil, and the casual encounters as he stopped to shake the hands with the waiting public. 302pp heavyweight paperback, colour illus.


£12.99 NOW £5


74554 THE FORSAKEN by Tim Tzouliadis Subtitled ‘From the Great Depression to the Gulags: Hope and Betrayal in Stalin’s Russia’. In the depths of the Depression of the 1930s, vast numbers of men, women and children emigrated to Stalin’s Russia. Where capitalism had failed them, Communism promised dignity for the working man, racial equality and honest labour. What awaited them however was the most monstrous betrayal. Among the thousands who vanished into the gulags were Gorky Park’s American baseball players. Tzouliadis focuses on two men, Thomas Sgovio and Victor Herman, who miraculously survived. 472pp with many disturbing pictures of emaciated children, NKVD execution squads, Stalin and other images. £10.99 NOW £4.50


72761 ELEVENTH DAY: The Ultimate Account of 9/11


by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan The 11th of September 2001 is a day that will be recalled for centuries. This book is the most detailed and painstaking account of 9/11 yet published. With access to thousands of recently released documents, new interviews with survivors and government officials and a decade of research and sober reflection it asks and answers the most intractable questions, such as: Why did the US military not intercept or bring down the hijacked airliners? How many of the “9/11 Truth” movement’s contentions are credible? How did US intelligence fail to pick up the build-up to the attack. Were the terrorists backed by powerful figures from other nations? Colour photos, 604pp.


£20 NOW £4.50


72781 READER’S DIGEST AND THE ROYALS foreword by Jennie Bond


A Jubilee celebration of the British Royal family from Reader’s Digest magazine’s archives. There are thoughtful portraits of Prince Charles as he approached his 21st birthday (‘A decent, ordinary sort of chap’) and of the Queen Mother at 75 (‘Full of mischief and warmth’). There is a super article called Dressed for Diplomacy by Norman Hartnell, 1957, Who Goes to the Queen’s Garden Party by Philip Blake 1985, Windsor’s Royal Pleasure Park by Peter Brown 1986 and Elizabeth II Forty Years On by Tim Heald 1992 among them. Facsimile with original colour artwork. 160pp.


£9.99 NOW £2


72958 100 HEADLINES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD by James Maloney


Penny Postage Pictures, The War Begun, Audible Speech by Telegraph, Edison Electric Light, Jesse James the Bandit Killed, The Whitechapel Horrors, The Woman’s Suffrage Bill Assented To, Oscar Wilde in Jail, The Conquest of the South Pole, Titanic Sunk, Ghandi Seized by British, Edward VIII Abdicates, First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan, Birth Control Pill Approved by Commission, King Elvis is Dead, Pope Shot, up until Steve Jobs Is Dead are some of the 100 headlines chosen. Stretching back over the last 170 years. 309 page paperback. £7.99 NOW £2.25


73380 SMOKE IN THE LANES by Dominic Reeve


In the 1950s the Romani people lived on the brink of great change. In their bright wooden wagons they journeyed between horse-fairs and traditional stopping places - stoic, humorous and wild, often poverty-stricken but protective of their freedom - on the fringes of a society that was soon to close around them. Evokes an unforgettable cast of fireside characters - bold children, fierce matriarchs and dandyish villains in snap-brimmed hats, policeman, love affairs, dances, feuds, fairs and open-air feasting. 343pp in paperback reprint of the 1958 original.


£5.99 NOW £4


73570 ON NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR: Orwell and Our Future


edited by Abbott Gleason et al 


Among the most widely read books in the world, George Orwell’s 1984 has for more than 50 years been regarded as a morality tale for the possible future of modern society, a future involving nothing less than extinction of humanity itself. Does it remain relevant today? The editors of this book assembled a distinguished group of philosophers, literary specialists, political commentators, historians and lawyers, and asked them to take a wide- ranging and an inhibited look at that question. Censorship, scientific surveillance, power worship, the autonomy of art, the meaning of democracy, relations between men and women and many other questions are brought to bear. 312pp in large softback.


£21.95 NOW £6


ORDER HOTLINE: 020 74 74 24 74


73817 FAMILY BRITAIN: 1951-1957


by David Kynaston This heavyweight doorstopper actually comprises two books, The Certainties of Place and A Thicker Cut, which are themselves part of David Kynaston’s magnificent four volume history of Britain from 1945 to 1979, entitled Tales of a New Jerusalem. In this colourful tapestry events like the death of George VI


and coronation of Elizabeth II, the Festival of Britain, the hanging of Ruth Ellis and the Suez Crisis are seamlessly interwoven with everything that gave 1950s Britain its distinctive flavour; Butlins, teddy boys, Hancock’s Half Hour, skiffle and some of the best war films ever made. Diarist Nella Last shops assiduously at Barrow market and bemoans the drunken and lewd behaviour of the “rough” families from the Yorkshire mill towns as they descend upon Scarborough. Here too are Doris Lessing, John Arlott and the David Beckham of his day, Roy “of the Rovers”. A magisterial account of British society. 808pp, 32 pages, photos. £20 NOW £7


73510 SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE: Global


Infographics by Claire Cock-Starkey This is a visual encyclopedia that covers a range of over 70 topics from the whole of human life and society, including Billionaires, Homicide, Overseas Aid, Population, Online Dating, Women in Power, Happiness, Road Fatalities, Coca Cola, Unemployment, Obesity and Prisons. There are fascinating number-crunching stats: for instance, can you guess how many babies are born worldwide per second? (Four.) How do we rate for carbon dioxide emissions, percentages of women in parliament, average age at marriage and average hours of internet use? 192pp, colour.


£14.99 NOW £4


73957 GREAT SILENCE Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age by Juliet Nicolson


Between two landmark occasions two years apart, a rich slice of British history unfolds. The first, Armistice Day 1918, brings cheering crowds into the streets.


Revolutionary surgeon Harold Gillies


brings hope with his miraculous skin-grafting procedure. Women win the vote, skirt hems leap from ankle to knee and aristocrats and servants alike forget their troubles at packed dance halls. November 11th 1920 brings closure. The Great Silence, the two minutes observed in memory of those lost, halts an entire nation as Big Ben strikes 11. A lively cast of characters from the Prince of Wales to T. E. Lawrence and from Nancy Astor to Vera Brittain bring these two years to life. 302 pages, archive photos. $25 NOW £4


73005 MI6: The History of the Secret


Intelligence Service 1909-49 by Keith Jeffery Here, for the first time, based on unprecedented full and unrestricted access to the closed archives of the Service, is the history of the SIS, with its triumphs and failures all laid bare. MI6 is the best-known intelligence organisation in the world. From the early days countering German challenges in Europe, to the global menace of Soviet Communism after 1917, and Axis threats in Europe, the Middle East and Asia before and during the Second World War, it explores liaison between the British foreign intelligence service and other foreign intelligence agencies which have influenced SIS’s work in both peace and war. Among a host of vivid accounts are TR/16 gathering vital and timely German naval intelligence during 1914-18, Paul Dukes and the ‘Ace of Spies’ Sidney Reilly working undercover in post- revolutionary Russia, and brave ship-watchers working along the Norwegian coast during the Second World War. 810 pages, b/w photos, maps, list of abbreviations.


£30 NOW £8.50


73610 CONSPIRATOR: Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport


Conspirator is the compelling and meticulously researched story of Lenin’s 17 years of exile from Russia, working toward the event which transformed the face of Europe: the Russian Revolution of 1917. Constantly under observation by the secret police, Lenin and his closest allies took huge risks in smuggling back into Russia the samizdat literature which spread the revolutionary message. Lenin was always on the move between London, Paris, Geneva, Brussels and Munich, and the rural backwaters of Poland and Finland. Rappaport examines the toll that this life - his long-suffering wife Nadezhda, his mother-in-law and his mistress Inessa Armand. Here too are his holiday to Capri with Maxim Gorky, visits to the working men’s music halls of Montmartre and the London detective who kept Lenin and company under surveillance. 373pp, photos.


£20 NOW £4


73973 NOTES TO THE FUTURE: Words of Wisdom by Nelson Mandela


The definitive book of quotations from one of the great leaders of our time, here gathered from privileged access to Mandela’s vast personal archive of private papers, speeches, correspondence and audio recordings, are more than 300 quotations spanning more than 60 years. The volume includes his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Organised into four sections, Struggle, Victory, Wisdom and Future, we see Nelson Mandela’s sense of humour, his loneliness and despair, his thoughts on fatherhood and the reluctant leader who had no choice but to become the man his people demanded. Remember such one liners as ‘I think the United States has become drunk with power’, ‘People are human beings, produced by the society in which they live’, ‘You encourage people by seeing the good in them’. From a letter written on Robben Island 1980, ‘A good pen can also remind us of the happiest moments in our lives, bring noble ideas into our dens, our blood and our souls. It can turn tragedy into hope and victory.’ 176pp.


$20 NOW £4 74655 THE MABINOGION MYTHOLOGY


He who has no sympathy with myths has no sympathy with men.


- G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man


74666 ANIMAL STORY BOOK by Andrew Lang Scottish scholar and literary figure Andrew Lang (1844-1912) is best remembered for compiling the famous series ‘Fairy Tales of Many Colours’. Here he focuses on stories about the friends of children and fairies - the beast. Here are 66 charming stories adapted and translated from tales by Dumas, Gautier, Pliny and many are by Mrs Lang. They range from


delightful narratives about the tiniest creatures (Stories of Ants) to large four legged mammals (The Ship of the Desert). Here too are Snake Stories, What Elephants Can Do, How A Beaver Builds his House, The Battle of the Mullets and the Dolphins, Dolphins at Play and Eccentric Bird Builders among them. With charming woodcut facsimile illustrations this is a reprint of the 1896 edition, unabridged. 400 page paperback.


£11.49 NOW £5


75077 OLD WIVES’ LORE: A Book of Old-Fashioned Tips


and Remedies by Polly Bloom A great deal of traditional wisdom does have its practical merits, as anyone browsing in this endearing little book will find out, but let the reader beware - there is a wealth of tales, superstitions and hearsay that is not to be relied on. This volume explores a combination of folklore and time-honoured teachings,


illuminating the history behind female wisdom from yesteryear. It offers both seasoned advice and peculiar cures for a huge range of problems from recipes for health and well-being to practical guidance for home and garden, and from tips on predicting the weather to banishing spots, warts, boils and blackheads. You will be grateful to know that, having invested in this book, you will no longer suffer from coughs, colds, stings, skin irritation, insect bites or head lice and other critters, nor need you worry about how to get that ingrained grease off your oven or remove stains from carpets, upholstery and furniture - but do take note of the Not So Wholesome Recipes. 224 pages with line drawings. £12.99 NOW £5


74465 ULTIMATE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF


FANTASY by David Pringle First, there is a run-down of the major story types, then comes fantasy cinema, including feature film info, cast lists, plot points, commentary and notes of interest. Television fantasy is first of all chronologically arranged then


alphabetically by title and even includes coverage of relevant radio shows from the 1930s up to today. There is an


alphabetical Who’s Who, an A-Z of fantasy characters and entities, a look at some of the most popular fantasy worlds, and fantasy games. Foreword by Terry Pratchett. 304 large paperback, colour and b/w photos and list of fantasy magazines.


$27.95 NOW £6


52778 DRACULA’S GUEST AND OTHER STORIES by Bram Stoker


In this rich collection of 13 macabre tales, Bram Stoker, creator of the Gothic masterpiece ‘Dracula’ presents us with a weird and chilling variety of unsettling stories. You will encounter the devilishly dangerous haunted room in ‘The Judge’s House’, the fatalistic tragedy in ‘The Burial of the Rats’, the terror of revenge from beyond the grave in ‘The Secret of Growing Gold’ and the surprising twist in the tail in ‘The Gypsy’s Prophecy’, amongst other strange and frightening episodes. 224 page paperback.


ONLY £3


74471 BLACK SHIPS BEFORE TROY: The Story of The Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff


This retelling of The Iliad has all the adventure and heroism of her classic books like Eagle of the Ninth. It evocatively recreates past landscapes and customs, and unfolds the mighty conflict between the Greeks and Trojans that ended so dramatically with the epic deception of the Trojan Horse. Women are at the heart of the story, starting with Paris’s kidnap of Helen from under the nose of her husband Menelaus, followed by a stalemate in the Greek camp when Achilles refuses to fight because Agamemnon has taken his girl. The killing of Achilles’ friend Patroclus brings the hero back into the battle to wreak his revenge on the Trojan champion Hector. Meanwhile Odysseus, inventor of the Trojan horse, is playing his own game, making a foray behind enemy lines where he is recognised by Helen. Colour illus by Alan Lee. 128pp, paperback.


£9.99 NOW £5


translated by C. E. Guest Bibliophile Books reprinted this classic Welsh text way back in the late 1980s and persuaded our friend Gareth at the Lost Library to reprint this 1841 classic text. This important collection of tales draws on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, historical accounts and international folk tale motifs - the product of a highly developed medieval Welsh narrative tradition, both oral and


written. Originally published in several volumes, here are all of Lady Charlotte Guest’s 19th century translations in one single edition from the Welsh of the Llysr Coch O Hergst (The Red Book of Hergst) in the library of Jesus College, Oxford. Woodcut illus in facsimile reprint. 504pp in paperback. £9.99 NOW £5


74371 ELEMENT


ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NATIVE AMERICANS by Adele Nozedar


Sub-titled ‘The Ultimate A-Z of the Tribes, Symbols and Wisdom of the Native Americans of North America’. This impressive book is a complete A-Z guide to the tribes of both the United States and Canada, their history, culture and religious beliefs and practices, shamanism,


sacred sites, the Reservations, wars and leaders, rituals and ceremonies, with descriptions of totem animals and symbols belonging to each clan and maps of tribal areas, ancestors and spirits, altogether a celebration of the Native American spirit and culture, both past and present. 564 paperback pages illustrated in b/w, with maps charting territories and tribal areas. Portraits.


ONLY £7


23958 ANDERSEN’S FAIRY TALES: SELECTED STORIES


Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense, the son of a shoemaker. His early life was wretched, but he was adopted by a patron and became a short-story writer, novelist and playwright, though he remains best known for his magical fairy tales, which were published between 1835 and 1872. For 150 years his stories have been delighting both adults and children. Packed with light-hearted whimsy combined with mature wisdom they are as entrancing as ever. Here over 40 of Andersen’s 168 tales, and among the favourites are The Red Shoes, The Mermaid, The Real Princess, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Tinder-Box and, of course, The Ugly Duckling. Illus. throughout. 400pp. Paperback.


ONLY £2 72233 ENGLISH GYPSY LANGUAGE: Word


Book of the Romany by G. Borrow Gypsy language is a medley of various Eastern and Western languages - some Arabic, many Persian, some Sclavo-Wallachian, others genuine Sclavomian, modern Greek, Hungarian, English, but only one French word tass or dass meaning cup. The gypsy language has a decidedly Indian origin, being connected with the Sanskrit or some other Indian dialect. George Henry Borrow was born in Norfolk in 1803, the son of an army recruiting officer. Along with this dictionary he wrote essays and novels based on his travels around Europe. Over the course of his wanderings, he is said to have developed a close affinity with the nomadic peoples. He died in 1881. In addition to a dictionary of English Romany words, this book includes chapters on names, fortune-telling, and rare translations of traditional gypsy songs. ‘Said the youthful earl to the gypsy girl, as the moon was casting its silver shine: brown little lady, Egyptian lady, let me kiss those sweet lips of thine.’ A facsimile reprint of the 1874 original of this important rare and esoteric text. 274pp in paperback and enchanting for the gypsy songs alone. £7.99 NOW £3.50


73493 BLACK CATS AND EVIL EYES by Chloe Roberts


Spilling salt was bad luck in the ancient world, and the belief that Judas spilled the salt at the Last Supper cemented the superstition. The curse of breaking a mirror, popularised by Tennyson in “The Lady of Shalott”, is also of ancient origin because primitive peoples believed that the mirror image was your soul. Black cats feature in many mythologies: Freya, the Norse goddess of fertility, drove a chariot pulled by black cats, and in Great Britain it has always been a sign of good luck. Animals to whom superstations cling include owls, robins, swallows and spiders. 192pp, line drawings.


£9.99 NOW £4.50 72584 THREE YOUNG RATS AND OTHER


RHYMES by Alexander Calder A Woman in Love with a Pig, Lucy Locket, London Bridge is Broken Down, I Went to Frankfort and Got Drunk, Lizzie Borden Took an Axe, I’ll Sing You 12 O Green Grow the Rushes O, and Three Young Rats with Black Felt Hats are among the adult rhymes based on the nursery rhymes of England and other popular tales and comic verse, but with a rather adult angle. Alexander Calder is well known for inventing the mobile, but here his 85 distinctive line drawings, originally published in 1944, are frank depictions of nudes adding a new depth and resonance to a host of familiar chants and verses. Large softback, 132pp. £14.49 NOW £2


73513 WHEN THE EARTH WAS FLAT:


All the Bits of Science We Got Wrong by Graeme Donald





The idea of “flat earthers” was a 19th century joke perpetrated by the humorist Washington Irving, and it passed into folklore. A whole list of dubious medical procedures testify to the public’s unquestioning faith in doctors, from Queen Victoria’s opium dependency to Pan-Am’s courtesy packs of Benzedrine in the 1950s. 192pp, line drawings. £9.99 NOW £3


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