Social & Urban History
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History: The Definitive Visual Guide (DK Definitive Visual Encyclopedias)
This lavishly illustrated visual encyclopedia tells the story of our world in depth and detail from the dawn of civilization to the present day.
Charting human endeavour from every angle, History chronicles the significant events, ground-breaking ideas, political forces, and technological advances that have shaped our planet. Every historical episode is explored and explained with the help of stunning images that bring the authoritative text to life.
Important points in history, from the battle of Hastings and the storming of the Bastille to D-Day and 9/11, have clear but concise coverage, together with profiles of influential figures, such as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and Nelson Mandela.
It’s time to head back in time and explore the past with this striking history book, which features:
– Profiles of key people who have made history
– Features on inventions, discoveries, and ideas that changed the world
– Graphics lend immediacy and impact to key statistics
– National Histories section separately chronicles key events of every countryAs each moment in history is defined and detailed, supporting panels note the causes and consequences, providing wider context and broadening our horizons. New and enhanced coverage of recent events – such as the Arab Spring – and contemporary issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, bring the book firmly into the present.
With its broad-themed approach to important historical events, this book shows that ours is a history with genes and viruses, not just battle and treaties – and the stories and biographies of men and women from every corner of the globe who have shaped today’s world reaffirm that History is the story of humankind in which everyone has a part to play.
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£23.10£38.00 -
The Diaries of Mr Lucas: Notes from a Lost Gay Life
For 60 years Mr George Leo John Lucas led a double life. By day, he was a civil servant at the Board of Trade, but by night – unable to live openly as a gay man before the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 – he was a fixture of London’s colourful underground gay scene, a twilight world of petty crime, louche pubs and public lavatories. He was also an obsessive diary writer.
When Mr Lucas died in 2014 he left his diaries to the journalist Hugo Greenhalgh. This book combines Mr Lucas’s deliciously indiscreet entries over the course of the 1960s with Greenhalgh’s razor-sharp historical insights. Together they give a vivid, one-of-a-kind account of gay life that has been overlooked.
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£18.99 -
You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption
An adoption expert and transracial adoptee herself examines the unique perspectives and challenges these adoptees have as they navigate multiple cultures“Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.”
Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from foster care by white parents. She has heard this microaggression her entire life, usually from well-intentioned strangers who view her adoptive parents as noble saviors. She is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being transracially adopted involves layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up so easily.
In “You Should Be Grateful,” Tucker centers the experiences of adoptees to share deeply personal stories, well-researched history, and engrossing anecdotes from mentorship sessions with adopted youth. These perspectives challenge the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, giving way to a fuller story that explores the impacts of racism, classism, family, love, and belonging.
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£18.10£22.80 -
Extraordinary Nurses Throughout History: In Honour of Florence Nightingale
Extraordinary Nurses Throughout History is a fascinating collection that includes insightful writings on eight notable nurses of the past and celebrates their brilliant contributions to medicine.
Many incredible women made invaluable improvements to modern nursing and this collection celebrates their lives and achievements through a series of essays. This volume sheds a light on the women who have helped create and improve the modern nursing we are familiar with today and demonstrates how the practice has evolved. Collated in honour of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday, this collection is an enlightening exposition of eight notable nurses including:
– Dorothea Dix
– Mary Seacole
– Florence Nightingale
– Clara Barton
– Sarah Emma Edmonds
– Linda Richards
– Edith Cavell
– Violetta Thursten
Republished Read & Co. Books as part of the Brilliant Women series, this beautiful volume features an introductory essay entitled ‘Representative Women – The Free Nurse’, by Ingleby Scott. An ideal book for those with an interest in the history of nursing, this collection is not one to be missed.
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£14.20 -
50 LGBTQI+ who changed the World
Marsha P. Johnson, Keith Haring, Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, RuPaul… the names of pioneers and trailblazers who have advanced the LGBTQI+ cause and helped bring about new human rights. This book pays tribute in 50 portraits to the activists, personalities, writers and artists who have advanced the LGBTQI+ movement and celebrates those who have fought and are fighting every day to create a more inclusive and tolerant world.Read more
£14.20£17.1050 LGBTQI+ who changed the World
£14.20£17.10 -
Pride: The Story of the LGBTQ Equality Movement
In June 1969, police raided New York gay bar the Stonewall Inn. Pride charts the events of that night, the days and nights of rioting that followed, the ensuing organization of local members of the community – and the 50 years since in which activists and ordinary people have dedicated their lives to reversing the global position.
Pride documents the milestones in the fight for LGBTQ equality, from the victories of early activists to the passing of legislation barring discrimination, and the gradual acceptance of the LGBTQ community in politics, sport, culture and the media. Rare images and documents cover the seminal moments, events and breakthroughs of the movement, while personal testimonies share the voices of key figures on a broad range of topics. Pride is a unique celebration of LGBTQ culture, an account of the ongoing challenges facing the community, and a testament to the equal rights that have been won for many as a result of the passion and determination of this mass movement.
A fully updated edition of Matthew Todd’s essential 2019 book, Pride is a celebration and a clarion call.
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£8.90£19.00Pride: The Story of the LGBTQ Equality Movement
£8.90£19.00 -
When I Were A Lad…: Snapshots From A Time That Health & Safety Forgot
When I Were a Lad… looks at the glorious-yet-risky childhoods of yesteryear before the Health and Safety officers told us we couldn’t do everything because it was too dangerous.
The sleeper hit of Christmas 2009 – more than 4,000 copies sold through Bookscan.
A book to send shivers down the spine of any parent who has spent years protecting their children from the slightest bump and bash.
A glorious romp though some of the most reckless photos from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, tagged with side-splitting captions.
Ah, the past. A time when children could play in the snow without a helmet, crampons and a risk assessment report. When footballs were made from rhino hide and cricket was played with one pad, if you were lucky. When I Were a Lad… looks at the glorious-yet-risky childhoods of yesteryear before the Health and Safety officers told us we couldn’t do everything because it was too dangerous. It reflects on a time when children were allowed in with the animals at London Zoo; a time before the car seatbelt was invented (let alone used); a time when you were allowed to dress up endangered species in goalkeeping kit and take penalties against them. The authors have trawled through the major historic archives to find some glorious photo opportunities where the safety angle of the participants was the last thing anyone thought of. Children perch happily on lethal, limb-mangling machinery, stand all-smiles on live crocodiles, feed brown bears with their hands and get scooped from the street by passing tram conductors! These truly were the days that Health and Safety forgot, back when I were a lad…
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£8.70£9.50 -
The Fastest Men on Earth: The Inside Stories of the Olympic Men’s 100m Champions
With an exclusive foreword by Usain Bolt, The Fastest Men on Earth tells the fascinating inside stories of the Olympic Men’s 100m Champions.
It takes just under ten seconds to run, but the results of the Olympic men’s 100 metres are etched forever into history. In The Fastest Men on Earth, journalist Neil Duncanson tells the stories of the 25 athletes who’ve been crowned champions in the event, and earned the coveted title of ‘Fastest Man on Earth’.
Each chapter explores the fascinating, inspiring, and occasionally tragic lives of these supremely talented sprinters, as well as the intense drama of the record-breaking runs that wrote them into history. Immaculately researched and featuring exclusive interviews with several Olympic champions, including a new conversation with Usain Bolt, The Fastest Men on Earth brings the stories of some of the greatest athletes of all time to life like never before.
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£8.70£9.50 -
The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade
The astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade.“It would take a heart of stone not to be moved by the oral histories of these women and by the courage and candor with which they express themselves.” –The Washington Post
“A remarkably well-researched and accomplished book.” –The New York Times Book Review
“A wrenching, riveting book.” –Chicago Tribune
In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the hidden social history of adoption before Roe v. Wade – and its lasting legacy. An adoptee who was herself surrendered during those years and recently made contact with her mother, Ann Fessler brilliantly brings to life the voices of more than a hundred women, as well as the spirit of those times, allowing the women to tell their stories in gripping and intimate detail.
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£8.30 -
Rise: The Brand New Autobiography
‘Siya’s rise from humble beginnings to lifting that World Cup trophy is the stuff of fairytales.’ MARCUS RASHFORD
‘Siya Kolisi is a warrior on the field and an inspiration off it. This book is an extraordinary reminder of what can be achieved with inner belief and an indefatigable spirit.’ JAY SHETTY
‘Siya’s story is well documented, and I am so impressed by the way he conducts himself. As the captain of his team and as a statesman he is measured and thoughtful. He is a leader in every way. An inspiration to a dynamic South African nation.’ EDDIE JONES
‘Few people embody the tenacity of what the New South Africa stands for, like Siya does. His story mirrors the nations’; in its trials and tribulations and also in it’s triumph against all odds. This is a real life heroes journey.’ TREVOR NOAH
‘There is no doubt Siya has made a significant impact on World rugby, especially within South African rugby. [He] is passionate about changing people’s lives for the better and uses his position and status to do that.’ MARO ITOJE
‘Brilliant’ THE TIMES
‘Moving’ THE GUARDIAN
His truth. His story. In his words.
There have been many comments made and books written about Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks, and the first black man to lead his country in over 128 years of South African rugby.
But now, for the very first time, Siya Kolisi shares his story in an extraordinarily intimate memoir, charting his journey from being born into the impoverished Zwide township, to leading his proud nation to an astonishing victory at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
However, Rise is not simply a chronology of matches played and games won; it is an exploration of a man’s race and his faith, a masterclass in attaining a positive mindset, and an inspirational reminder that it is possible to defy the odds, no matter how they are stacked against you.
In 2020, partly in response to the pandemic, Siya and his wife, Rachel, launched The Kolisi Foundation, providing personal protective equipment to healthcare workers and delivering food parcels throughout South Africa.
The title Rise is inspired by Siya’s mother – Phakama – which translates to the book’s name, as well as a celebration of his Xhosa heritage.Read more
£7.90£10.40Rise: The Brand New Autobiography
£7.90£10.40 -
The Deals that Made the World: The Billion Dollar Deals and How They’re Changing Our World
‘The book to read’ GQ
‘A revelatory book’ John Lewis-Stempel
While the laws that guide our lives are written by the politicians we elect, much of the world around us – from the food we eat to the products we buy to the medications we take – is shaped by private negotiations and business deals few of us know about.
For twenty years, Peretti has interviewed the people behind the decisions that have altered our world, from CEOs of multinational corporations to politicians, economists, and scientists. In The Deals that Made the World, Peretti draws on his vast knowledge to reveal a host of fascinating and startling connections, from how Wall Street’s actions on food commodities helped spark the Arab Spring to the link between the AIDS epidemic in 1980s San Francisco and the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. He proves a sure guide, combining both eye-opening on-the-ground reporting and a narrative flair that makes esoteric financial and business concepts clear and understandable.
Like Steven Levitt, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Brad Stone, Michael Lewis, and Malcolm Gladwell, Peretti takes the ordinary and turns it inside out to give us a compelling new perspective on our lives and our world.
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£7.30£10.40 -
Before and After: The incredible and heartbreaking true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal
‘Captivating and emotional’ 5* reader review
‘A riveting and heart wrenching read’ 5* reader review
From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a corrupt baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents – hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.
In Before and After, many survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families. Before and AFter includes moving and shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. There are stories of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace brothers, sisters, and cousins.
*Inspired by the No.1 bestselling novel Before We Were Yours*
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEFORE AND AFTER
‘What a truly amazing book’ 5* reader review
‘Riveting’ 5* reader review
‘A real tear-jerker’ 5* reader review
‘Powerful’ 5* reader review
‘Beautifully written and so absorbing’ 5* reader review
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£4.70
