Examines the true history of the conflict and asks what could inspire such a caricature or whether any truth contributes to this. Should Israel shoulder the blame, or are the realities of the conflict far more complex? And how can a geographically tiny state be thought to have such a profound effect on world politics?
Fundamentalism is alive and well and will affect every one of us if we don't fight it now, argues Stuart Sim. The collapse of the Argentinean economy, the rise of the far right, 9/11, suicide bombings in the Middle East, what ties these seemingly disparate phenomena together?
A third of the world is at war 30 million people in Africa are HIV- positive. The US owes the UN $1 billion in unpaid dues. One in five people live on less than $1 a day.
The big names are here – Marie Curie, Florence Nightingale, Rosalind Franklin – alongside stories of brilliant women who have been forgotten, in a fascinating blend of history, science and biography.
Alec Issigonis is the creator of some of the most celebrated car designs of the 20th century. Gillian Bardsley tells the personal story of this complex and truly gifted man.
Tells the true story of Frank Whittle inventing the jet engine and revolutionizing avaiation.
Whether it is major political events like the USA’s annexation of Texas (1 March) or incredible discoveries like that of Tutankhamun’s tomb (26 November), every event in history happened – of course – on one of 365 days. Pore through history day-by-day with 365 and become engrossed in this lovingly constructed wealth of historical anecdotes. 365: Your Date with History is a fantastically browsable historical encyclopaedia, mapping the highs and lows of human existence day-by-day throughout the year. Each day is accompanied by historical facts and sometimes brief, often more lengthy, stories from a dizzying array of subjects. Written accessibly and with plenty of personality, 365 will be a have-around-the-house favourite for years.
W.B. Marsh was born in New York, and now lives in London. On his birthday – 26 October – the legendary ‘Gunfight at the OK Corral’ took place at Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881.
Bruce Carrick has worked in book publishing for many years in New York and London. On his birthday in 1897 Marcel Proust had a duel with fellow writer Jean Lorrain.
A unique travelogue of the hidden Britain of the letter Z.
'A glorious plum-pudding of a book, to be consulted, with pleasure and profit, over and over again' Sir Jeremy Isaacs
Michael Steen's 'Great Composers' was originally published in 2003. A lifetime's work and almost 1000 pages long, it has since become 'the' reference point and key read on the biographical backgrounds to classical music's biggest names.
Authoritative and hugely detailed – but nonetheless a joy to read – this new edition will expand its readership further and capitalise on a newfound popular interest in classical music.
Steen's book helps you explore the story of Bach, the respectable burgher much of whose vast output was composed amidst petty turf disputes in Lutheran Leipzig; or the ugly, argumentative Beethoven in French-occupied Vienna, obsessed by his laundry; or Mozart, the over-exploited infant prodigy whose untimely death was shrouded in rumour.
Read about Verdi, who composed against the background of the Italian Risorgimento; or about the family life of the Wagners; and, Brahms, who rose from the slums of Hamburg to become a devotee of beer and coffee in fin-de-siecle Vienna, a cultural capital bent on destroying Mahler…and much, much more.
