Category - Backlist > History

Why was Tsar Ivan nicknamed 'the terrible'? Was King Herod really a child murderer? What happened to Pu Yi, the last Chinese emperor? This volume offers more than 75 stories of strange events, fascinating people, the twists and turns of fate and the sophisticated falsification of history.

A lavish collection of spectacular photography above and below the ocean waves, this book is a stunning visual celebration of the explorers and scientists, naval officers and yachtsmen, fishermen and divers, who have harnessed, surveyed and investigated the great oceans of the world and in so doing have broadened the horizons of our understanding. Atmospheric black-andwhite prints from the finest maritime collections and leading photographers such as Annie Leibovitz appear alongside modern imagery by leading marine photographers Ri... read more

Tells about the Arabian erotica that existed behind the harem walls, and which inflamed the imagination and curiosity of the West. As well as original Arabian artwork there are illustrations which describe the Arabian erotica through the eyes and imagination of Western artists.

Nautical design inspired a great deal of innovative architecture on terra firma in the early twentieth century. The 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs made a broad range of eclectic modern styles fashionable - particularly in the commerical world, whereas Modernism with a capital M, already the design aesthetic of the pre-Stalinist Soviet Union, was associated with social reform, internationalism and a Marxist ideology. In passenger ship design, however, the picture was complicated by a variety of factors. According to Orwell, shi... read more

When British and American forces invaded Iraq in April 2003, their intelligence operations got to work looking for the WMD their governments had promised us were there. They quickly realised no such weapons existed. Instead they become faced with an ever-increasing spiral of extremism and violence that was almost impossible to understand, let alone contain. This book tells the story of what happened next, one of the most dramatic and sustained operations in our recent military history. Up against the wall, under the aegis of the jo... read more

This title reveals the fascinating history of British craftsmanship in a series of interviews with leading crafters at work in Britain today. Many crafts survive in the hands of just a few individuals whose rare skills date back as far as 1,000 years. They are part of our history, part of a past of craftsmanship, skill and attention to detail that most of us probably thought had vanished forever. It features such people as the trug maker, cricket bat maker, thatcher, hurdle maker and a rope maker. It also includes the mentors from ... read more

Some say the French Revolution was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Certainly there were signs that it would. This book looks at the signals of its arrival, the mishandling of the situation by Louis XVI and the subsequent events that took place from the storming of the Bastille onwards, through the horrific events of the "Terror", the reign of Robespierre, the political machinations and in-fighting and the advent of Napoleon who set a new order in motion and gave France some of its most fascinating moments, before crowning himself Emperor.

An investigation into one of the events of the Second World War which has never been fully explained. It was on May 10th, 1941, that Rudolph Hess took off from Augsberg airfield in a Messerschmitt Bf 110. His target was a location in Scotland, but on the same evening, alone in the dark, he baled out and floated down to eternal imprisonment.

This fascinating book tells the story of Shakespeare, from his birth and life as a married man, actor, playwright, poet and businessman to the enduring legacy of his work through various media. Some 30 removable facsimile documents connected to Shakespeare, including the registration of his marriage and his will, help to examine Shakespeare's life and to look into the potential sources of his plays. The project also offers insights into Shakespeare in performance.

This lavishly illustrated book offers a complete view of the love story that has burgeoned over the last six years between Prince William and Catherine Middleton. With a look at the two central figures and how they came to meet, plus their courtship, the book moves on to cover the announcement of their engagement and how William and Catherine's lives have begun to change. The greater part of the book is devoted to the wedding: images will recall every step of the processions to the Abbey, the arrival of the groom and his supporter ... read more

Fighting Talk captures the drama, the heroism, the tragedy and the absurdity that unfolds in times of conflict, in the theatre of war. This is much more than simply an evocative anthology of fighting words. James Inglis provides a thoroughly researched and engaging discussion of the social, political and military context that the words were spoken in. He examines the motives of the speakers, the style of their language and, in many cases, their manipulative verbal tricks.

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Triumph and Tragedy provides a superbly illustrated, chronological history of all the Roman Emperors who ever ruled. The book begins in 27 BCE with Augustus, Emperor of Rome, and follows the various manifestations of the empire through to Byzantine Constantinople and to Germany, ending with the fall of the Holy Roman Empire and the last (Holy) Roman Emperor, Francis II, in 1806. It is comprehensive in coverage, including both 'official' emperors and usurpers. Each chapter looks at a specific period of Roman imperial history, focusi... read more