www.bibliophilebooks.com 76829 ROYAL DATES WITH


DESTINY by Robert Easton Royalty has a certain mystique, so we should not be surprised to find that they often meet their maker in ways more exotic, unlikely, unlucky, horrifying or just plain silly than the rest of us. This rather addictive collection of regal bucket-kicking presents, in calendar form, the oddball ways in which the great and good have shuffled off this mortal


coil. For every day of the year Robert Easton has unearthed an unusual aristocratic demise, from the famous, such as Julius Caesar and his fellow countrymen in the Senate (15 March 44BC, as he should have known) and Cleopatra and her bosom-loving asp (12 August 30BC), to the less well known, like Anna, Contessa Trotti (3 May 1589), sliced to bits by her cuckolded husband, ably assisted by her own brother, and the appropriately named Roger II of Sicily (26 February 1154), “worn down by his immense efforts and more devoted to sexual activity than the body’s good health requires.” Based on a wide range of sources, these 400-odd “summaries of royal mortality” provide an idiosyncratic and bizarre look at the ways in which the world’s most powerful has perished. B/w illus. 240pp. £20 NOW £8


76938 PRAIRIE FEVER How British Aristocrats Staked a Claim to the American West


by Peter Pagnamenta In 1851, Captain Mayne Reid wrote: ‘The prairie fever! I feel it now… my fingers twitch to grasp the reins - my knees quiver to press the sides of my noble horse, and wildly wander over the verdant billows of the prairie sea’. He was not the only one. This vivid narrative,


based on letters, diaries and contemporary accounts, tracks the romantic appeal that the wide horizons and exhilarating air of the prairies held for so many Britons, until a harsher political reality finally overtook them. This is the extraordinary story of the British aristocracy’s brief encounter with the Far West of the United States in the 19th century. Excited by the prospect of an untouched Eden, as early as the 1930s, grandees began to arrive in what was then the great American wilderness. They yearned to see Indians, and hunt buffalo and bears. They brought their dogs, valets, sporting guns and all the attitudes of their class. Accustomed to deference at home, they had difficulty in contending with the most robustly democratic part of the new republic where no-one cared who your father was. With compelling and often comic detail, this volume shows how they fared. In the 1870s, they tried to establish their younger sons on farms. They played polo and cricket on the prairies and, with the cattle boom, bought up vast acreages, but ended up being reviled as ‘land grabbers. Fascinating. 338 pages with b/w archive photos, maps. £20 NOW £6.50


76863 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST: New Edition


by Christopher Catherwood The Middle East is never out of the news and since the first edition of this book in 2005 there has been an invasion of Lebanon by Israel, followed by a similar incursion by Israeli defence forces into Gaza. The Iranian regime has held an election whose legitimacy has been


questioned, and Iranian security forces have killed protesting civilians in the streets. Iran has also ratcheted up the stakes on the issue of nuclear weapons. Israel accuses Palestinians of being extremist-linked Muslims out for martyrdom, whereas their defenders describe them as innocent humanitarians murdered by trigger- happy soldiers. The decisions and actions of the key players remain as deeply controversial and divisive as ever. The roots of the present day crisis can only be understood by learning the history of the region. Western civilisation began in the Middle East - Judaism, Christianity and Islam were all born there, so why is the relationship between these faiths, which once co-existed in harmony, now so troubled? Covering 3000 years of history, Catherwood cuts through the rhetoric and explains why the West are so frightened by the rise of Iran. 352pp, paperback. £10.99 NOW £5


75223 MAYA, AZTECS AND INCAS by Oldrich Ruzicka


Learn that the Ancient Maya’s idea of beauty were crossed eyes, and that the Maya calendar consists of three circles. There is a complete recipe for making Maya Hot Chocolate with one chilli pepper, architecture and art before we go on to study the fearless Aztecs, their gods and human sacrifices, warriors and calendar. We end with the mythical El Dorado located somewhere deep in the jungle of South America. Clothing, diet, daily life, the book is shaped like an Aztec pyramid revealing the mysteries of these great Mesoamerican civilisations and what caused their demise. Colour. Suit ages 7 to adult. £10 NOW £3.50


75235 SPARTACUS ROAD: A Journey


Through Ancient Italy by Peter Stothard The lot of the slave in the final century of the first Roman Republic was not a happy one. While insurrection was extremely rare, it eventually came to pass between 73 and 71BC. The leaders were slaves, but not just any slaves. They were gladiators, led by the Thracian Spartacus, who escaped from his training school in Capua. Some 70,000 flocked to his banner, and this rebel army outfought the greatest army of the ancient world until it was finally put down. The Spartacus Road is the route along which the rebels fought, stretching across 2,000 miles of Italian countryside and 2,000 years of world history. Brilliantly intertwined here with Peter’s very personal story of survival. 353pp, illus. $26.95 NOW £4


76616 MEMOIRS OF DUC DE SAINT-SIMON


1691-1709: A Shortened Version Presented to the King by Duc de Saint-Simon One of the most eloquent wordsmiths in history, with a passion that often tore through the page as he wrote, Saint- Simon, a Duke and a Peer at the court of Louis XIV, spent his lifetime crafting what have often been called the greatest memoirs ever written. As a young man at the royal court, he experienced first-hand the endless wars and corruption that had begun to tarnish the sun King’s glow. With a keen eye and a sharp wit, he painted a portrait of Dukes and Duchesses, Princes and Bastards, as they all vied for power against the debauched and opulent backdrop of one of the grandest courts ever known. Apart from penning his extensive life story, Saint-Simon also bought a regiment and then got married. He could not resist chronicling some of the more outrageous happenings. 535 paperback pages with maps and family tree. $21.95 NOW £5


76617 MEMOIRS OF DUC DE SAINT-SIMON 1710-1715: A Shortened Version The


Bastards Triumphant by Duc de Saint-Simon The Sun King Louis XIV is dying, and the French court is erupting in a frenzy of twisted alliances and dark schemes in the struggle for power. In this volume, the author witnesses the birth of the future Louis XV, learns of Vendôme’s ‘shabby alliance’ with Mlle d’Enghien, is himself ‘vilely slandered’ and is protected by Mme la Duchesse de Bourgogne. Later, Saint-Simon finds himself in grave danger but recovers enough to describe a comical interlude at the session of the Parlement, followed by a description of the Duc de Noailles who also has turned against him. Then everything is forgotten with the death of the King. Strong stuff and absolutely authentic. 525 paperback pages with maps. $21.95 NOW £5


76618 MEMOIRS OF DUC DE SAINT-SIMON


1715-1723: A Shortened Version Fatal Weakness by Duc De Saint-Simon This third volume of Saint-Simon’s memoirs starts at a time when Louis XIV, the Sun King, is dead. The new king is only five years old. Saint-Simon has close ties to the most powerful man in France, the Regent Duc d’Orléans, but he also has enemies stronger than ever before. With salacious details of what the members of the court are up to, he relates the ‘obstinate debauchery’ of the Regent and an extraordinary conversation at the Opéra, not to mention the shocking news that the old king’s bastards are to be excluded from the succession, followed shortly afterwards by their re-instatement. Never a dull moment. This is a shortened version translated. 524 paperback pages with map. $21.95 NOW £5


76763 MEMOIRS OF DUC DE SAINT-SIMON :


Set of Three by Duc De Saint-Simon Buy all three paperbacks and make further savings. ONLY £11.50


76641 ANCIENT PATHS: Discovering the Lost


Map of Celtic Europe by Graham Robb The curious symbols on Celtic coins, carvings, weapons and utensils give a hidden sense to everything that the Celts produced and that not all their secrets are undiscoverable because the answers to their riddles lie in the visible universe. In Lyon, the author found some orange coloured shards and picked up five small fragments of Roman pottery one which wore the ribbed pattern of a wine cup. He was in the area which readers of Caesar’s Gallic War would recognise. When Graham Robb made plans to cycle the legendary Via Heraklea stretching from the south-western tip of the Iberian Peninsular, across the Pyrenees and towards the Alps, he was taking an ancient path that took him deep into the world of the Celts, their gods, art and most of all, their sophisticate knowledge of science. Gradually, a lost map revealed itself of an empire constructed with precision and beauty across vast tracts of Europe. Oriented according to the movements of the Celtic sun god, the map had been forgotten for almost two millennia and its implications were astonishing. Minutely researched and rich in revelations, the book brings to life centuries of our distant history and reinterprets pre-Roman Europe. Very engaging. 387pp with many maps. £20 NOW £8


22062 EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR


DELUSIONS AND THE MADNESS OF CROWDS by Charles Mackay


This classic catalogue of some of the most Goutre enthusiasm, speculative, religious, or just plain daft, is a salutary reminder of the follies of mankind which are not unique to the modern world. The South Sea Bubble, Witch mania, alchemy, the Crusades, haunted houses and even Tulipomania. 724 page paperback. Introduction by Professor Norman Stone. ONLY £3.50


35497 THE ART OF WAR and THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG by Sun Tzu


The two political classics in this book are the product of a time of intense turmoil in Chinese history. They are anything but armchair strategy or ivory-tower speculation: they are serious, urgent and practical responses to the desperate situations in which they were written. They have been immensely influential both inside and outside China. ‘The Art of War’ analyses the nature of war and reveals how victory may be ensured. ‘The Book of Lord Shang’ is a political treatise for the instruction of rulers. With a new introduction by Robert Wilkinson. Paperback, 256pp. ONLY £4


76605 BRITANNICA GUIDE TO THE ISLAMIC


WORLD introduced by Ziauddin Sardar Today there are nearly 1.4 billion practising Muslims. Founded in the 7th century AD by the Prophet Muhammad, Islam has spread throughout the world and Muslim communities exist in more than 200 countries. This is a super introduction to one of the key cultural forces of the modern world. It looks at the role of Islam past and present, literature, science, art, architecture and scholarship and an invaluable overview of the state of Islam today which sheds light on the current conflict in the Middle East and the division between the Sunni and Shi ite sects. 432pp, paperback, photos. £9.99 NOW £4.50


75030 TITANIC: The Last Night of a Small Town by John Welshman


What was it like for the ordinary people caught up in the Titanic disaster? This study takes eight survivors and looks at the experience in the context of their lives as a whole. Also included are Herbert Lightoller, the Second Officer whose story dominated the book and film A Night to


Remember, the Assistant Wireless Operator Harold Bride, and Arthur Rostron, the captain of the Carpathia which came to the rescue of the Titanic. The featured passengers include nine-year old Frank Goldsmith, travelling in third class with his parents to start a new life in Detroit, a Finnish domestic servant emigrating with her new husband; Colonel Archibald Gracie, an amateur military historian travelling first class, and seven year old Eva Hart. 324pp, photos. £18.99 NOW £7


73884 PRINTING PLACES: Locations of Book


Production and Distribution Since 1500 edited by John Hinks and Catherine Armstrong Its medieval interest is supplied by Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, printed shortly before the Reformation. There is a chapter on the production and distribution of literature designed to enlighten readers in early modern England about the ‘New World’ for, as research has time and time again revealed, the book trade has played a leading role in the spread of new ideas, particularly to America. Norwich is highlighted in an article on publishing in the turbulent 17th century, when new religious and political thought was rapidly spreading. The late 18th century periodical press of Edinburgh is discussed, and readers will be amused by an essay on medical advertising which was rife between 1855 and 1906. 15 articles. 208 pages, illus. $45 NOW £4.50


74406 PANORAMA OF THE CLASSICAL WORLD by Nigel Spivey and Michael Squire


The world of ancient Greece and Rome is the starting point for Western philosophy, science, literature and art. This strikingly original account analyses the period by the ideas and value that underpinned its history, specifically: the centrality of the body in life and death; society, sexuality, gender and the family; hygiene and diet; the worship of gods and admiration of heroes; money and economic life; war and rebellion; politics in both theory and practice. Supported by a wealth of “soundbites”, an anthology of extracts from the ancient world, and an amazing 590 illus (400 in colour) provide a striking visual context to every aspect of the ancient world. Plus a dictionary of Classical lives and mythology, timeline and maps. 368pp softback, 8¾”×11". £18.95 NOW £5


74695 WILLIAM CAXTON AND EARLY


PRINTING IN ENGLAND by Lotte Hellinga The first book to be printed in England came off a small press in Westminster in 1476, a full 20 years after the process had been invented on the Continent. Recuyell of the Histories of Troye was a translation by printer William Caxton featuring red text, with spaces left for decorations. This study focuses closely on the first 60 years of printing in England, a period dominated by Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, and Julian Notary. The authorities recognised that the printing press had been responsible for the rapid spread of Protestantism and it was hoped that immigration restrictions could halt this. Starting with Gutenberg’s Bible, this volume reproduces pages from a huge range of early printed books. Caxton’s first major book was Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and at the behest of his patron Margaret of York he completed a number of translations. Pynson printed works dedicated to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and enjoyed Margaret Beaufort’s patronage. Wynkyn de Worde took on the printing of Boccaccio, and Julian Notary specialised in two-colour printing, producing a beautiful edition of Erasmus. Designed for both the specialist and general reader, this study is an important contribution to the history of the book trade. 212pp, bibliography, numerous reproductions. British Library Publishing, 24 x 17 x 2.5cm.


£30 NOW £15


74419 THE TOMB IN ANCIENT EGYPT: Royal and Private Sepulchres from the Early


Dynastic Period to the Romans by Aidan Dodson and Salima Ikram This stunning volume traces burial practices in Egypt over three millennia. From the pyramids along the Nile and the royal burial ground in the Valley of the Kings to the tombs of queens such as Ramesses II’s consort Nefertari and the far larger number of private tombs of nobles like Rekhmire and Ramose, this volume is an unparalleled guide. We read of Harkhuf’s African explorations, when he returned with the gift of a dancing dwarf to his boy-king Pepy II, and learn about how the General Amenemheb saved his king’s life when the latter was charged by an enraged elephant. 368 pages 27cm x 21cm with 402 illustrations, 28 in colour, maps, plans, cutaways, diagrams and 3-D reconstructions. £29.95 NOW £7


74626 A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN


100 OBJECTS by Neil Macgregor This was a BBC radio hit series as all listeners became engrossed in exploring past civilisations through the objects that defined them. Beginning 2 million years BC to 9,000 BC with the mummy of Hornedjitef and the clovis spear point, we move through the Ice Age, food and sex, the first cities and states with objects like the Standard of Ur and the jade axe and early writing tablet, the beginnings of science and literature with the Flood Tablet and the statue of Ramesses II to gold coins, an Olmec stone mask, Chinese bronze bell, the head of Augustus, an Arabian bronze hand, a silk princess painting, Maya relief of royal blood letting, to a double headed serpent, a Hawaiian feather helmet, the credit card and a solar powered lamp and charger which is item number 100. Close up colour photos. 707pp. £45 NOW £16


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History 31


76536 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH REFORMATION by Derek Wilson


Sub-titled ‘Religion, Politics and Fear: How England Was Transformed by the Tudors’. Whatever its political, social and cultural consequences, the English Reformation was essentially a religious movement. The conditions in society were ripe for


it, because ‘Gospel propaganda’ in the form of sermons, printed works and person-to-person evangelism was remarkably effective, and primarily because of the explosive impact of the vernacular bible. When Henry VIII turned against Rome over the issue of divorce and adopted the Protestant religion, he changed the course of British history. Wilson retells the story of how the Tudor monarchs transformed the nation and how this had a huge impact on the English identity, on England’s relationship with its European neighbours, and also informed the foundations of Empire. Family, work, politics and religion were radically altered. 452pp, paperback.


£8.99 NOW £3.50


74995 ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT EGYPT


by Giorgio Agnese and Maurizio Re The first Neolithic agricultural communities settled on the upper Nile valley and its oases around 7,000-8,000 years ago. These cultures enjoyed a rapid organisational, social and technological development before the start of the dynastic epoch inaugurated by the first historical pharaoh, Menes. This culture was not actually extinguished until around AD 400, when the knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was lost and the pagan cults were banished. Here are the gods to the Cult of the Dead, the travellers and explorers to the necropolises, the Monastery of St Catherine to Giza’s Plateau, taking in Aswan and Luxor and much more en route. 256 pages, dazzling colour photos and paintings, uncluttered maps, plans and chronology. $39.95 NOW £5.50


75031 TUTANKHAMUN by T. G. H. James


A spectacular volume with amazing colour photography. Howard Carter’s wonderful discovery in the Valley of the Kings, an intact royal burial place of Tutankhamun, ranks among the greatest archaeological triumphs of all time. The boy King’s golden funerary mask is perhaps the most celebrated single masterpiece, but the tomb was filled with a wealth of less well known objects mostly designed for the King’s enjoyment in the after life. Amulets and jewellery, figures of gods and servants, weapons and games, food, clothing and unguents, statues, furniture and model boats which are now stored in Cairo where only a portion are on display. 400 marvellous colour photos that form the basis of this remarkable volume. A flexible Horus collar, a mirror case in the form of Ankh, a gilded heart with heron, a blue glass figure of the King among the servant figures, plus figures of anthropomorphic deities, amulets, vessels and other objects of calcite. Gatefold pages, 318 pages, 26cm x 36cm.


$69.95 NOW £16


75177 A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF LONDON by Lindsey German and John Rees London is a place where millions of people have struggled in obscurity for basic rights or to secure a better future. The silk weavers, match girls and dockers who took on the all-powerful and seemingly unassailable factory owners in a battle for workers’ rights, famed revolutionaries like Karl Marx, Wat Tyler and John Wycliffe and those less celebrated like William Longbeard and John Ball, the Suffragettes, the heroes of the Blitz and even the ordinary East Enders who took on Oswald Mosely’s Black Shirts in Cable Street - all these and many more make an engrossing examination of the world capital of revolution, rebellion and free thought. 310pp paperback. £12.99 NOW £5


75447 THE GREAT DIVIDE: Nature and


Human Nature in the Old World and the New by Peter Watson


There is a human gene grouping, M242, which is found in both the Chukchi people of east Siberia and all Native Americans from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, showing that 17,000 years ago humans had migrated from northeast Asia across the Bering land bridge to the Americas. In his engrossing book, Peter Watson compares the development of the Old and New Worlds between 15,000BC and AD1500. There are, he puts forward, three prime causes of the differences between the two worlds. Man has been domesticating mammals in the Old World for millennia, but this did not happen in the New, as either suitable mammals did not exist, or the skills never developed - either way, ploughing, driving, milking and riding did not happen. Finally, the New World was discovered to contain a great many hallucinogenic plants and other psychotropic substances which were incorporated into religious ceremonies and social occasions which unsurprisingly led to huge differences in social behaviour. Combines archaeology, anthropology, geology, meteorology, cosmology and mythology. 610pp, b/w illus. $31.99 NOW £7


75660 ARENA OF AMBITION: A History of


the Cambridge Union by Stephen Parkinson Founded in 1815, the Cambridge Union immediately became the subject of controversy. The real fear was that revolutionary ideas were being disseminated. A century later John Maynard Keynes honed his economic theories in the debating chamber and became President, while in 1920 Lord Mountbatten, supported by Churchill, opposed the motion that the time was now ripe for a Labour government. During the sixties there was also a wealth of dramatic talent in the Footlights theatre club: David Frost, Peter Cook, several Monty Pythons, Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen, to name a few. With recollections of activists including Michael Howard, Lord Lamont, Arianna Huffington and Peter Bazalgette. 418pp. £25 NOW £3


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