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Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921
‘A masterpiece of history’
DAILY TELEGRAPHBetween 1917 and 1921 a devastating struggle took place in Russia following the collapse of the Tsarist empire. Many regard this savage civil war as the most influential event of the modern era. An incompatible White alliance of moderate socialists and reactionary monarchists stood little chance against Trotsky’s Red Army and Lenin’s single-minded Communist dictatorship. Terror begat terror, which in turn led to even greater cruelty with man’s inhumanity to man, woman and child. The struggle became a world war by proxy as Churchill deployed weaponry and troops from the British empire, while armed forces from the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Poland and Czechoslovakia played rival parts.
Using the most up to date scholarship and archival research, Antony Beevor, author of the acclaimed international bestseller Stalingrad, assembles the complete picture in a gripping narrative that conveys the conflict through the eyes of everyone from the worker on the streets of Petrograd to the cavalry officer on the battlefield and the woman doctor in an improvised hospital.
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£8.40£10.40Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921
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A Classless Society: Britain in the 1990s
“Superb” NICK COHEN, author of What’s Left?
“Tremendously entertaining” DOMINIC SANDBROOK, Sunday Times
“Like his previous histories of the Seventies and Eighties, A Classless Society is an extraordinarily comprehensive work. Turner writes brilliantly, creating a compelling narrative of the decade, weaving contrasting elements together with a natural storyteller’s aplomb… engaging and unique” IRVINE WELSH, Daily Telegraph
“Ravenously inquisitive, darkly comical and coolly undeceived… Turner is a master of the telling detail” CRAIG BROWN, Mail on Sunday
When Margaret Thatcher was ousted from Downing Street in November 1990 after eleven years of bitter social and economic conflict, many hoped that the decade to come would be more ‘caring’; others hoped that the more radical policies of her revolution might even be overturned. Across politics and culture there was an apparent yearning for something the Iron Lady had famously dismissed: society.
The ‘New Britain’ to emerge would be a contradiction: economically unequal but culturally classless. Whilst Westminster agonised over sleaze and the ERM, the country outside became the playground of the Ladette. It was also a period that would see old moral certainties swept aside, and once venerable institutions descend into farce – followed, in the case of the Royal Family, by tragedy.
Opening with a war in the Gulf and ending with the attacks of 11 September 2001, A Classless Society goes in search of the decade when modern Britain came of age. What it finds is a nation anxiously grappling with new technologies, tentatively embracing new lifestyles, and, above all, forging a new sense of what it means to be British.
“Deserves to become a classic” EDWINA CURRIE
“Rich and encyclopaedic” ROGER LEWIS, Daily Mail
“Excellent” D.J. TAYLOR, Independent
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Western Civilization: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Greek and Roman Civilizations, Christianity, Medieval Europe, and Modern Times
Did you know that Western civilization has influenced the lives of almost everyone alive today?What do you know about Western civilization? It might sound like a funny question to ask, but a lot of people don’t realize how much the West has impacted the world. The values of Western civilization have influenced laws, people’s sense of individuality, and even our morals.
This book will trace Western civilization back to its roots. In this epic quest, we head all the way back to Greece when Greek philosophers like Socrates and Plato pondered the very meaning of life. Explore the depths of knowledge that were probed by Greek schools of thought, such as the Stoics and the Cynics.
Was it better to stoically grin and bear the troubles of life as the Stoics advised, or was it better to simply shrug one’s shoulders and declare everything to be pointless, stupid, and absurd?
And in the middle of these philosophers’ quest, a missionary from Judea named Paul of Tarsus stepped in to spread the “good news” of the Gospels. Christianity and other schools of thought converged, and the Roman Empire helped to facilitate the spread of these ideas far and wide. Soon, the foundations for Western civilization had been firmly established.
These ideas would later undergo renaissances, reformations, and scientific revolutions, but the basic foundation has remained in place. Here, in this book, we explore all of the fascinating aspects of the great framework upon which our modern Western civilization rests.
In this book, you will learn the following:
- Greek philosophical and scientific discoveries
- The convergence of Greco-Roman and Christian beliefs
- How Western civilization transformed during the Middle Ages
- The Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution
- The march toward modernism and how that impacted the globe
- And much more!
Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn more about Western civilization!
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The History of Europe in Bite-sized Chunks
An accessible and succinct account of the story of Europe from its ancient foundations to the twenty-first century, The History of Europe in Bite-sized Chunks details the events, personalities, ideas and disasters that have shaped our continent.
The book is broken down into six easily digestible chapters: Classical Antiquity (2600 BCE to 600 CE); Medieval (600-1500); Reform and Enlightenment (1500-1780); Age of Revolutions (1780-1914); the Wars (1914-45); and the Making of Contemporary Europe (1945 to present). It begins with the first ancient culture to emerge in Europe: the Minoans. It then proceeds chronologically to the present day, taking in not just significant historical events but also overarching social, technological and cultural trends and their impact.
Throughout the book there are mini-biographies of notable individuals (such as Julius Caesar, Catherine the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte) who have been most significant in European history. It is also packed with amazing facts, details and maps that will give the reader a vivid understanding of Europe’s past
With the prospect of Brexit looming in Spring 2019, there is no better time to get a handle on European history!
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A History of Women in 101 Objects: A walk through female history
A WATERSTONES BEST BOOK OF 2023: POLITICS
This is a neglected history. Not a sweeping, definitive, exhaustive history of the world but something quieter, more intimate and particular. A single journey, picked out in 101 objects, through the fascinating, too-often-overlooked, manifold histories of women.
Open up this cabinet of curiosities and you’ll find objects that have been highly esteemed – even, like the Bayeux tapestry, fought over by nations – and others that are humble and domestic. Some (like a sixteenth century glass dildo) are objects of female pleasure, some (a thumbscrew) of female subjugation. There are artefacts of women celebrated by history and of women unfairly forgotten by it; examples of female rebellion and of self-revelation; objects that are inspiring, curious or (like radium-laced chocolate) just fundamentally ill-conceived.
Through the variety and nuance in all these 101 objects, Annabelle Hirsch has created a new history – teeming, unexpected, witty and always illuminating. This overdue corrective reveals what a healed femur says about civilisation, what men have to fear from hat pins, and it shows that the past has always been as complicated and fascinating as the women that peopled it.
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The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Beginner’s Guide to Objective Understanding Through a Fact-Based Journey From Past to Present
Are you seeking a clear, unbiased understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but don’t know where to start?
Explore this comprehensive guide to embark on an enlightening journey from past to present.The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an enduring issue that has spanned generations, remains unresolved, consistently capturing world attention and fueling passionate debates.
For many Westerners, this contentious topic feels distant, yet understanding its nuances is vital. Without comprehensive knowledge, it’s easy to fall prey to misinformation, perpetuate stereotypes, and engage in misinformed discussions.
This lack of clarity not only stifles constructive dialogues but also fans the flames of division.Imagine a scenario where the conflict intensifies, drawing the world into its vortex. As Israel’s staunch ally and an influential figure in Middle Eastern politics, the US stands on the brink of deeper involvement—posing risks to American resources and lives.
Daily, disturbing images from the conflict zone could permeate our screens, raising ethical questions about international responsibilities. Furthermore, this issue has the power to polarize, fracturing American communities and straining interpersonal relationships.
Highlights of this book include:
- A thorough history and analysis of the conflict, enabling readers to gain a well-rounded understanding and engage in enlightened conversations.
- Insightful exploration of the geopolitics and possible ramifications, offering guidance on supporting peaceful resolutions.
- Unveiling the humanitarian aspects, with balanced perspectives from both sides, suggesting avenues for the international community’s involvement in upholding human rights.
- A focus on fostering empathy and mutual respect, ensuring readers can navigate this sensitive topic without adding to the existing divisions.
- Exclusively in the paperback version, a bonus section delves into the intricacies of both Israeli and Palestinian intelligence operations, elucidating how these activities have at times facilitated, and at other times hindered, the path to peace.
- Enhanced with numerous detailed maps, this edition vividly illustrates the area’s present situation and key historical moments, enriching the reader’s visual understanding of the conflict.
To truly comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, equip yourself with unbiased, fact-based knowledge.
Acquire this essential guide to build an informed, objective opinion on one of the world’s most complex issues.
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Black England: A Forgotten Georgian History
‘The classic book on Black people in Georgian London’ DAVID OLUSOGA
‘Deeply researched, lucidly written and utterly fascinating . . . If you ever thought Black British history started with Windrush, read this book’ GREG JENNER
Georgian England had a large and distinctive Black community. There were special churches, Black-only balls, many became famous and respected. But all, whether prosperous citizens or newly freed slaves, lived under the constant threat of kidnap and sale to plantations. Black England tells their stories, bringing their triumphs and tortures to vivid life, revealing a dramatic forgotten chapter of our shared past.
‘Black England taught me more history than I ever learned at school. Gretchen Gerzina tells it as it was, so we know how it is . . . a book that will be relevant for ever’ BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
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The History of The RAF and The Lancaster Bomber
THE HISTORY OF THE RAF AND THE LANCASTER BOMBER celebrates and commemorates over 100 years of the Royal Air Force. With access to rare RAF archives, Mike Lepine uses photographs and documents to bring the story of the people, planes and missions to life as never before. With a special feature on the Lancaster Bomber which took its maiden flight as a prototype in 1941 and flew in battle in 1942. From its genesis in the horrors of the First World War when pilots were open to the elements in craft made of little more than wood and fabric, to the iconic air battles of the Second World War, through to the lifesaving missions carried out in today’s trouble zones, The History of the RAF looks at the men, women and aircraft that are at the heart of this great service.Read more
£13.30£19.00The History of The RAF and The Lancaster Bomber
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Great Fire of London: A History from Beginning to End
Discover the devastating history of the Great Fire of London…
Free BONUS Inside!In the summer of 1666, London was one of the largest cities in Europe, with close to half a million people living in its narrow, congested streets. Many of these people lived in houses packed closely together, lacking even basic facilities such as clean water and sewage disposal. The previous year, these unsanitary conditions had contributed to the worst outbreak of plague since the Black Death in 1348. Around 15% of the city’s population died as the deadly disease spread unchecked for almost twelve months. Finally, by the summer of 1666, the threat of plague seemed to be receding, and London slowly began to return to normal. But then, the city was threatened by another deadly hazard: fire.
London was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Many of the city’s wooden buildings were sealed with flammable pitch, their upper stories jutting out and nearly meeting across the streets. An unusually hot and dry summer had drained the city’s water supplies, and without an organized firefighting force, its citizens were left to fend for themselves. The stage was set for catastrophe, and in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666, the spark was struck. A seemingly inconsequential fire ignited in a baker’s shop on Pudding Lane. Unchecked and underestimated, it would grow to become one of the most devastating disasters London had ever faced.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
- London: A City at Risk
- September 2: Pudding Lane
- September 3: The Fire Spreads
- September 4: A Change of Wind
- September 5 & 6: The Fire Dies Down
- Rebuilding
- And much more!
So if you want a concise and informative book on the Great Fire of London, simply scroll up and click the “Buy now” button for instant access!
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How to Survive History
A humorous and informative guide to surviving history’s most challenging threats, from outrunning dinosaurs to making it off the Titanic alive.
History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero ― at least, not if you know where to go and what to do.
In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, drowning on board the Titanic, falling prey to the Black Death, and more. Using hindsight and modern science to estimate everything from how fast you’d need to run to outpace a T. rex to the advantages of different body types in surviving the Donner Party tragedy, Cassidy gives you a detailed battle plan for survival, helping you learn about the era at the same time.
History may be the most dangerous place on earth, but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit. You can, and you should. And with a copy of How to Survive History in your back pocket, you just might make it out alive.
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£8.90£10.40How to Survive History
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Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
The American West, 1860-1890: years of broken promises, disillusionment, war and massacre.
Beginning with the Long Walk of the Navajos and ending with the massacre of Sioux at Wounded Knee, this extraordinary book tells how the American Indians lost their land, lives and liberty to white settlers pushing westward. Woven into a an engrossing saga of cruelty, treachery and violence are the fascinating stories of such legendary figures as Sitting Bull, Cochise, Crazy Horse and Geronimo.
First published in 1970, Dee Brown’s brutal and compelling narrative changed the way people thought about the original inhabitants of America, and focused attention on a national disgrace.
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Fear: An Alternative History of the World
It’s been said that, after 9/11, the 2008 financial crash and the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces – perhaps the driving force – of world history: fear of God, of famine, war, disease, poverty, and other people. In Fear: An Alternative History of the World, Robert Peckham considers the impact of fear in history, as both a coercive tool of power and as a catalyst for social change.
Beginning with the Black Death in the fourteenth century, Peckham traces a shadow history of fear. He takes us through the French Revolution and the social movements of the nineteenth century to modern market crashes, Cold War paranoia and the AIDS pandemic, into a digital culture increasingly marked by uniquely twenty-first-century fears.
What did fear mean to us in the past, and how can a better understanding of it equip us to face the future? As Peckham demonstrates, fear can challenge as well as cement authority. Some crises have destroyed societies; others have been the making of them. Through the stories of the people and the moments that changed history, Fear: An Alternative History of the World reveals how fear and panic made us who we are.
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£19.60£23.80Fear: An Alternative History of the World
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Why Do Shepherds Need a Bush?: London’s Underground History of Tube Station Names
Who travelling through Totteridge and Whetstone is aware that the station got its name from the medieval soldiers who sharpened their swords at the whetstone before the bloody Battle of Barnet? Or that Canary Wharf was built for importing fruit from the Canary Islands? Or that Shepherd’s Bush was previously known as Gagglegoose Green? The names of the 300 or so underground stations are part of everyday life for Londoners, but we hardly ever question their meanings or history. This entertaining book delves into their origins, ensuring you never view your journey beneath the city in the same way again.
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GCSE Edexcel History: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 (Oxford Revise: History)
Oxford Revise Edexcel GCSE History: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 is a complete revision and practice book covering the full topic specification.Revise everything you need to know for this choice of period topic in the GCSE Edexcel History exam, from early tension between East and West to the collapse of the USSR. Each development or crisis is clearly covered.
By working through the Knowledge – Retrieval – Practice sections, you will be using proven ways to revise, check and recall so that what you revise sticks in your memory.
Knowledge Organisers arrange the information you need to revise helping you to make connections with what you already know. Timelines and charts are used so that key information is presented in a meaningful way. An online glossary helps you to learn the definitions to key terms.
Use Retrieval questions to check that you have remembered what you have just revised before moving on to the exam practice. Regular retrieval questions help to combat the forgetting curve.
Finally, exam-style Practice questions give you loads of experience of the type of question you will face in your exam. This will strengthen your ability to recall and apply knowledge in their exams. All the answers to the practice questions as well as a helpful mark scheme are provided online.
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SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
Mary Beard’s new book Emperor of Rome is available now
Ancient Rome matters.
Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories – from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia – still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today.
SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world’s foremost classicists. It explores not only how Rome grew from an insignificant village in central Italy to a power that controlled territory from Spain to Syria, but also how the Romans thought about themselves and their achievements, and why they are still important to us. Covering 1,000 years of history, and casting fresh light on the basics of Roman culture from slavery to running water, as well as exploring democracy, migration, religious controversy, social mobility and exploitation in the larger context of the empire, this is a definitive history of ancient Rome.
SPQR is the Romans’ own abbreviation for their state: Senatus Populusque Romanus, ‘the Senate and People of Rome’.
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£8.00£11.40SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome
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The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century (Ian Mortimer’s Time Traveller’s Guides)
Discover an original, entertaining and illuminating guide to a completely different world: England in the Middle Ages.
Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague?
In The Time Traveller’s Guide Ian Mortimer’s radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether that’s the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling.
‘Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our time’ The Times
‘After The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the middle ages’ Guardian
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Operation Pedestal: A Times Book of the Year 2021
The Sunday Times bestseller
‘One of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings’ DAILY MAIL
In August 1942, beleaguered Malta was within weeks of surrender to the Axis, because its 300,000 people could no longer be fed. Churchill made a personal decision that at all costs, the ‘island fortress’ must be saved. This was not merely a matter of strategy, but of national prestige, when Britain’s fortunes and morale had fallen to their lowest ebb.
The largest fleet the Royal Navy committed to any operation of the western war was assembled to escort fourteen fast merchantmen across a thousand of miles of sea defended by six hundred German and Italian aircraft, together with packs of U-boats and torpedo craft. The Mediterranean battles that ensued between 11 and 15 August were the most brutal of Britain’s war at sea, embracing four aircraft-carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers, scores of destroyers and smaller craft. The losses were appalling: defeat seemed to beckon.
This is the saga Max Hastings unfolds in his first full length narrative of the Royal Navy, which he believes was the most successful of Britain’s wartime services. As always, he blends the ‘big picture’ of statesmen and admirals with human stories of German U-boat men, Italian torpedo-plane crews, Hurricane pilots, destroyer and merchant-ship captains, ordinary but extraordinary seamen.Operation Pedestal describes catastrophic ship sinkings, including that of the aircraft-carrier Eagle, together with struggles to rescue survivors and salvage stricken ships. Most moving of all is the story of the tanker Ohio, indispensable to Malta’s survival, victim of countless Axis attacks. In the last days of the battle, the ravaged hulk was kept under way only by two destroyers, lashed to her sides. Max Hastings describes this as one of the most extraordinary tales he has ever recounted. Until the very last hours, no participant on either side could tell what would be the outcome of an epic of wartime suspense and courage.
Max Hastings’ book ‘Abyss’ was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 15-05-2023.
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The Seaside: England’s Love Affair
“…a fascinating barometer of the state of the nation right now, in the wake of austerity, Brexit and Covid.” – Travis Elborough
England’s seaside is made up of a striking variety of coastlines including cliffs, coves, pebbled shore, wide sandy beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries cutting deep inland. On these coastal edges England’s great holiday resorts grew up, developed in the early eighteenth century originally as spas for medicinal bathing but soon morphing into places of pleasure, entertainment, fantasy and adventure.
Acclaimed writer Madeleine Bunting journeyed clockwise around England from Scarborough to Blackpool to understand the enduring appeal of seaside towns, and what has happened to the golden sands, cold seas and donkey rides of childhood memory. Taking in some forty resorts, staying in hotels, caravans and holiday camps, she swims from their beaches and talks to their residents to delve into their landscapes, histories and contemporary plight.
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£11.90£19.00The Seaside: England’s Love Affair
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Tudor England: A History
A compelling, authoritative account of the brilliant, conflicted, visionary world of Tudor England
When Henry VII landed in a secluded bay in a far corner of Wales, it seemed inconceivable that this outsider could ever be king of England. Yet he and his descendants became some of England’s most unforgettable rulers, and gave their name to an age. The story of the Tudor monarchs is as astounding as it was unexpected, but it was not the only one unfolding between 1485 and 1603.
In cities, towns, and villages, families and communities lived their lives through times of great upheaval. In this comprehensive new history, Lucy Wooding lets their voices speak, exploring not just how monarchs ruled but also how men and women thought, wrote, lived, and died. We see a monarchy under strain, religion in crisis, a population contending with war, rebellion, plague, and poverty. Remarkable in its range and depth, Tudor England explores the many tensions of these turbulent years and presents a markedly different picture from the one we thought we knew.Read more
£12.30£14.20Tudor England: A History
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Thirsty Work: Matt Skinner
Serious but unpretentious, inspiring and fun, Thirsty Work celebrates wine and all that goes into making it and all who are involved in sharing it. Based on the way he teaches the subject of wine to his students at Fifteen, Matt Skinner breaks down all the information you need to feel confident when choosing and drinking wine. All the key topics in wine are covered – from how to taste to the key grapes; where and how wine is made to the range of styles – and his 24 “hour faces of wine” working around the clock, feature all the people who are involved in bringing wine to your table. In everyday terms, Skinner presents his subject on a unique and personal level.Read more
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The Ritz London: The Cookbook
AS SEEN ON TV
As featured on ITV’s ‘Inside the Ritz’ series
‘When you look at the dishes in this book, the photographs – it’s beyond beautiful. You wouldn’t need to cook a thing. You could just flick through these pages – it is a proper feast for the eyes.’ - Graham Norton
‘As sumptuous as Williams’s exquisite cooking, this is a magnificent volume. And a fitting tribute to one of the world’s great restaurants. The recipes aren’t simple but this is one of those books to immerse yourself in. Five-star brilliance.’ – Tom Parker Bowles, Mail on Sunday
‘Less a classic cookbook than a contemporary guide to gracious living… Subdividing its contents into four seasons, each is introed with a classic cocktail, and there are contributions from The Ritz’s stellar staff. But really this is Williams’s show, a masterclass in munificence…’ – British GQ
‘A real tour de force … Definitely the stand-out recipe book of the year for me.’ – The Caterer
‘John Williams’s food at the Piccadilly institution is revered. Now it has brought out the cookbook so you can recreate the magic at home.’ – ES Magazine
‘Part technical recipe book, part memoir. There are Williams’s memories of growing up in South Shields, the son of a trawlerman, who accompanied his mother on shopping trips to the butcher and developed a precocious taste for tripe and Jersey Royals. As for the recipes, certain classics are within the range of the dinner-party cook (salt-baked celeriac, for instance, or venison Wellington).’ – Telegraph
‘A work of art, full of recipes exactly as they are made in the Ritz kitchen, beautifully photographed by John Carey. Marvel at the sheer amount of work and skill that goes into each dish, the processes and the perfectionism – and maybe start with the recipe for scones on page 112.’ – hot-dinners.com
‘… As an exemplar of classic and timeless dishes, it is an invaluable book that lets the reader peer behind the screen of one of the capital’s most enduring institutions. For Williams’ anecdote on the eating habits of the late Margaret Thatcher, it is worth the cover price alone.’ – Big Hospitality
‘Distinctive cookbook… This upscale offering is wholly in keeping with its subject: elegant, carefully studied, and more aspirational than practical.’ – Publishers Weekly
The Ritz: The Quintessential Cookbook is the first book to celebrate recipes of the dishes served today, at lunch and at dinner. The book features 100 delicious recipes, such as Roast scallops bergamot & avocado, Saddle of lamb belle époque and Grand Marnier Soufflé, and is divided into the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
The recipes reflect the glorious opulence and celebratory ambience of The Ritz; seasonal dishes of fish, shellfish, meat, poultry and game. Desserts include pastries, mousses, ice creams and spectacular, perfectly-risen soufflés. There are recipes that are simple and others for the more ambitious cook, plus helpful tips to guide you at home.
Along the way, John Williams shares his culinary philosophy and expertise. For any cook who has wondered how they do it at The Ritz, this book will provide the answers. There will be plenty of entertaining tales about the hotel and unique glimpses of London’s finest kitchen beneath ground.
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£28.50£38.00The Ritz London: The Cookbook
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The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: A Facsimile in Full Color (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)
This vivid facsimile of Blake’s romantic and revolutionary publication offers a concise expression of his essential wisdom and philosophy. His distinctive hand-lettered text is accompanied by 27 color plates of his stirring illustrations.Read more
£6.50£7.10 -
Liberty: The History – Luxury Edition: Treasure from the archives of the London department store
Liberty is the last word in bohemian luxury, a destination and brand celebrated for its unique blend of avant-garde design and expert craftsmanship.
Liberty: The History celebrates the historic beginnings of the iconic store as well as their contemporary vision – from their ‘Eastern Bazaar’ of objets d’art, rugs and textiles from Japan and the East to the brand’s association with the developing Art Nouveau movement, their whimsical window displays and quintessential Art Fabrics, to the innovations in design and printmaking and the savvy collaborations and creative direction that have kept Liberty at the forefront of the fashion world.
With treasures from the Liberty archives including classic silk scarves, designs spanning over a century and original sketches for Liberty Art Fabrics, this is the official invitation into a London institution and a global icon.
This deluxe edition features a cloth-bound hardback book, 10 exquisite art prints and a stunning collectible gift box.
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£32.10£47.50 -
Fashion through the centuries coloring book: Renaissance to the 20th century, Victorian, colonial America, baroque, rococo, historical clothing, … women style in time, decades…
Fashion through the centuries coloring book- 50 illustrations of dresses through the centuries. Put color to the inspirational pictures of clothing. Look how clothes looked at the Victorian era, the 20s or why not in renaissance style. Perfect for the history interested, fashion lovers, costume designers, girls, women, mom, friend or cultural historians. Relax and start experimenting with colors.Read more
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The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema 1929-1939 (Cinema and Society)
A group of film historians chart a map of 1930s British cinema. They reassess the films, stars, genres, and directors omitted from accounts of the decade, and they evaluate its forgotten and recently discovered films. The book includes assessments of the British shocker and the British musical, popular 1930s genres, and views of cinema and national identity.Read more
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Private Life in Britain’s Stately Homes: Masters and Servants in the Golden Age (Brief Histories)
The Victorian and Edwardian eras in the run-up to 1914 marked the golden age of the English country house, when opulence and formality attained a level that would never be matched again. The ease of these perfect settings for flirtation and relaxation was maintained by a large and well-trained staff of servants. Although those ‘in service’ worked very long hours and had little personal freedom, many were proud of their positions and grateful for the relative security these gave. Indeed, the strictly hierarchical world below stairs could be more snobbish than that of a house’s owners. Michael Paterson skilfully and entertainingly explores the myths and realities of this vanished world, both upstairs and down.Read more
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Suburban London Cinemas
Among the 50 historic cinemas featured are the Finsbury Park Astoria, the Maida Vale Picture House, the Shepherds Bush Pavilion, the West Ealing Kinema, the Woolwich Granada and Kilburn’s Gaumont State. Illustrated with 100 images, this well-researched and informative volume will delight all those who have fond memories of visiting some of London’s long-since vanished cinemas, as well as those that still remain in some form or another.
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£9.50£15.20Suburban London Cinemas
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Stairways to Heaven: Rebuilding the British Film Industry
What has brought about the transformation of the British film industry over the last few decades, to the beginnings of what is arguably a new golden era? In the mid-1980s the industry was in a parlous state. The number of films produced in the UK was tiny. Cinema attendance had dipped to an all-time low, cinema buildings were in a state of disrepair and home video had yet to flourish. Since then, while many business challenges especially for independent producers and distributors remain, the industry overall has developed beyond recognition. In recent years, as British films have won Oscars, Cannes Palms and Venice Golden Lions, releases such as Love Actually, Billy Elliot, Skyfall, Paddington and the Harry Potter series have found enormous commercial as well as critical success. The UK industry has encouraged, and benefitted from, a huge amount of inward investment, much of it from the Hollywood studios, but also from the National Lottery via the UK Film Council and BFI. This book portrays the visionaries and officials who were at the helm as a digital media revolution began to reshape the industry. Through vivid accounts based on first-hand interviews of what was happening behind the scenes, film commentator and critic Geoffrey Macnab provides in-depth analysis of how and why the British film industry has risen like a phoenix from the ashes.Read more
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Britain’s Forgotten Film Factory: The Story of Isleworth Studios
The story of Isleworth Studios is essentially that of the British film industry from 1914 to 1952. Beginning with the first British Sherlock Holmes screen adaptation and ending with its Oscar-winning swansong, The African Queen, in the intervening years it was one of the most technically advanced studios in the country and home to some of the best and the worst examples of British cinema. It experienced the transition from silent films to talkies. Britain’s only movie mogul, Alexander Korda, arrived, looking to rival Hollywood, followed by Douglas Fairbanks Jr looking to rival Korda. Buster Keaton struggled with alcoholism; Richard Burton made his screen debut; Bogart, Hepburn and Huston made a classic; and Emeric Pressburger directed his first and only film at Isleworth. Little by little the old dream factory’s physical shape is now crumbling or altered, or is disappearing altogether. Soon it may be gone. Isleworth Studios has a history worthy of more than just an addendum in the annals of the British film industry. This is its story told for the very first time.Read more
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Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture
Miss Dior is a wartime story of freedom and fascism, beauty and betrayal and ‘a gripping story’ (Antonia Fraser).
‘Exceptional . . . Miss Dior is so much more than a biography. It’s about how necessity can drive people to either terrible deeds or acts of great courage, and how beauty can grow from the worst kinds of horror.’
DAILY TELEGRAPHMiss Dior explores the relationship between the visionary designer Christian Dior and his beloved younger sister Catherine, who inspired his most famous perfume and shaped his vision of femininity. Justine Picardie’s journey takes her to wartime Paris, where Christian honed his couture skills while Catherine dedicated herself to the French Resistance and the battle against the Nazis, until she was captured by the Gestapo and deported to the German concentration camp of Ravensbrück.
Tracing the wartime paths of the Dior siblings leads Picardie deep into other hidden histories, and different forms of resistance and sisterhood. She discovers what it means to believe in beauty and hope, despite our knowledge of darkness and despair, and reveals the timeless solace of the natural world in the aftermath of devastation and destruction.
*A beautiful, full colour package featuring over 200 archival images.*
‘Extraordinary . . . Picardie uses her investigative reporting skills . . . the result is Netflix-worthy and the pace page-turning . . . Catherine’s story shines – the quiet Dior who preferred flowers to fashion, the unsung heroine who survived the abuse of the Third Reich to help liberate France.’
SUNDAY TIMESRead more
£14.60£19.00Miss Dior: A Wartime Story of Courage and Couture
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Bad Taste: Or the Politics of Ugliness
A timely critique of consumer culture which captures this image-obsessed moment in history, perfect for fans of Zadie Smith’s Feel Free and Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror.
This book is not a taste, nor an anti-taste, manual.
This is an interrogation of the importance we place on seemingly objective ideas of taste in a culture that is saturated by imagery, and the dangerous impact this has on our identities, communities and politics. This book is dedicated to understanding the industries of taste. From the food we eat to the way we spend our free time, Olah exposes the shallow waters of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste and the rigid hierarchies that uphold this age-old dichotomy.
How did minimalism become a virtue, and who can afford to do it justice?
When did blue-collar jackets become a fashion item?
Who stands to gain from the distinction made between beauty, and sex?
Bold, original and provocative, Bad Taste is a revelatory exploration of the intersection between consumerism, class, desire and power, and a rousing call-to-arms to break free from the restrictive ways we see those around us.
‘Nathalie Olah is one of the sharpest social critics of the post-crash era and Bad Taste doesn’t disappoint.’ Sarah Jaffe
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£15.20£18.00Bad Taste: Or the Politics of Ugliness
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Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Rome: Beyond the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps: 2 (Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy)
Tired of long lines and lame tours? Discover a superior Roman vacation with fewer crowds and way more culture.Does the idea of a tedious sightseeing tour make you want to stay in the hotel? Would you choose hunting down undiscovered gems over sweaty buses any day? After three decades traveling to the Eternal City, private tour guide Corinna Cooke knows how to make travel experiences fresh and unique. Now she’ll show you how to avoid the lines and embrace the authentic Roman vacation.
Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Rome is your perfect guide for avoiding clichéd tours and discovering fascinating attractions within walking distance of the city’s historic center. Packed with entertaining stories and historical facts, Cooke uses her expert knowledge to make your trip truly come to life. With tons of entries on little-known locations and suggestions of how to get the most out of each, this is the book youneed to get an Italian experience you’ll never forget.
In Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Rome, you’ll discover:
- Where to take the best Instagram photos that your friends and family will love
- How to avoid overwhelming crowds and replace them with uncharted sights and sounds
- The best markets for food, souvenirs, art, and fashion to help you shop like a local
- How to find the city beneath the city for a truly unique Italian adventure
- Hilarious and fascinating ghost stories, histories, travelogues, and much, much more!
Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Rome is your essential tour book for a trip you’ll treasure forever. If you like vacations as unique as you are, then you’ll love Corinna Cooke’s breezy and engaging guide to Italy’s historic capital.
Buy Glam Italia! to experience the real Rome today!
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The Queen’s Diamonds
This book is the first authorised account of the history of the finest diamond jewellery in the world. It tells the story of the magnificent royal inheritance of diamonds from the time of Queen Adelaide in the 1830s to the present day. Illustrated with a wide range of archive material as well as extensive new photography of the jewels, this fully researched publication includes stones of international importance as well as pieces of great historic significance, and will be a standard work of reference on diamond jewellery for many years to come.Read more
£83.80£118.80The Queen’s Diamonds
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James Gillray: A Revolution in Satire
A lavishly illustrated biography of James Gillray, inventor of the art of political caricature
James Gillray (1756–1815) was late Georgian Britain’s funniest, most inventive, and most celebrated graphic satirist and continues to influence cartoonists today. His exceptional drawing, matched by his flair for clever dialogue and amusing titles, won him unprecedented fame; his sophisticated designs often parodied artists such as William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, and Henry Fuseli, while he borrowed and wittily redeployed celebrated passages from William Shakespeare and John Milton to send up politicians in an age―as now―where society was fast changing, anxieties abounded, truth was sometimes scarce, and public opinion mattered.
Tim Clayton’s definitive biography explores Gillray’s life and work through his friends, publishers―the most important being women―and collaborators, aiming to identify those involved in inventing satirical prints and the people who bought them. Clayton thoughtfully explores the tensions between artistic independence, financial necessity, and the conflicting demands of patrons and self-appointed censors in a time of political and social turmoil.
Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British ArtRead more
£34.80£47.50James Gillray: A Revolution in Satire
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Maus I & II Paperback Box Set
A SPECIAL-EDITION BOXSET CREATED TO CELEBRATE THE PULITZER-PRIZE WINNING GRAPHIC NOVEL’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY
‘The first masterpiece in comic book history’ The New Yorker
‘The most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust’ Wall Street Journal
A brutally moving work of art — widely hailed as the greatest graphic novel ever written — MAUS recounts the chilling experiences of the author’s father during the Holocaust, with Jews drawn as wide-eyed mice and Nazis as menacing cats.
Maus is a haunting tale within a tale, weaving the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into an astonishing retelling of one of history’s most unspeakable tragedies. It is an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma.
This paperback box set includes MAUS in its original two-volume format, re-released with an exclusive sixteen-page booklet designed by the artist himself.
___________________________________________________________________________‘A brutally moving work of art’ Boston Globe
‘No summary can do justice to Spiegelman’s narrative skill’ Adam Gopnik
‘Like all great stories, it tells us more about ourselves than we could ever suspect’ Philip Pullman
‘A capital-G Genius’ Michael Chabon
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£15.20£19.00Maus I & II Paperback Box Set
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Herman Miller: A Way of Living
‘There have been many books about Herman Miller, its ethos, designers, and furniture, but none as comprehensive as this.’ – Interior Design
The acclaimed chronicle of the rich history of this innovative furniture company, from its founding in the early twentieth century to today
For more than 100 years, Michigan-based Herman Miller has played a central role in the evolution of modern and contemporary design, producing timeless classics while creating a culture that has had a remarkable impact on the development of the design world. Herman Miller is known as much for its pioneering designs and international influence as for its emphasis on environment and community service.
In this far reaching survey, new and archival photography illustrates the evolution of Herman Miller’s furniture designs over the course of the century. Featuring the stories and creations of legendary designers including Ray and Charles Eames, George Nelson, and Alexander Girard, and through its thousands of illustrations, this book tells the Herman Miller story as never before, documenting its defining moments and key leaders, and making Herman Miller: A Way of Living an indispensable volume for the bookshelves of design-lovers around the globe.
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£68.90£85.50Herman Miller: A Way of Living
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The Great Tapestry of Scotland
The Great Tapestry of Scotland is an outstanding celebration of thousands of years of Scottish history and achievement, from the end of the last Ice Age to Dolly the Sheep and Andy Murry’s Wimbledon victory of 2013. More than 1000 stitchers spent a total of 55,000 sewing hours on the 160 panels that make up this extraordinary work of art.
This book shows in full colour all the finished panels of the tapestry – one of the biggest community arts projects ever to take place in Scotland – together with descriptive and explanatory material on each panel and lists of all the stitchers involved.
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£25.50£28.50The Great Tapestry of Scotland
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Tattoo: An Illustrated Miscellany
‘Beautiful, inspiring and informative’ – Bidisha
London tattoo legend Lal Hardy reveals the fascinating hidden world of tattoo, past and present.
With a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, details and anecdotes, Tattoo preserves many unique and valuable items of tattoo culture, including:
· Historical stencils and flash
· Customised machines, traditional hand-tools and animal-marking equipment
· Collector’s cards, bubblegum cards and transfers
· Memorabilia and tributes relating to tattoo legends such as George Burchett and The Great Omi
· Postcards, toys, ornaments, T-shirts and other merchandise
· Supply catalogues, magazines, books and art
· Rare ephemera – awards, badges, business cards, convention passes, postage stamps and hand-drawn signsLAL HARDY was born in London in 1958. He opened New Wave Tattoo in north London’s Muswell Hill when he was just twenty-one years old. Lal is part of an international community of highly respected tattoo artists. This is his sixth book.
MATT LODDER is an expert on body art and body modification. He is the author of Tattoo: An Art History and is Director of American Studies at the University of Essex.
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Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
Now in paperback, the #1 New York Times bestselling chronicle of the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty, from CNN anchor and journalist Anderson Cooper and historian and novelist Katherine Howe.
One of the Washington Post’s Notable Works of Nonfiction
When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money, build two empires—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. His staggering fortune was fought over by his heirs after his death in 1877, sowing familial discord that would never fully heal. Though his son Billy doubled the money left by “the Commodore,” subsequent generations competed to find new and ever more extraordinary ways of spending it. By 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers—the seventy-room summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island, that Cornelius’s grandson and namesake had built—the family would have been unrecognizable to the tycoon who started it all.
Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great-grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore the story of his legendary family and their outsized influence. Cooper and Howe breathe life into the ancestors who built the family’s empire, basked in the Commodore’s wealth, hosted lavish galas, and became synonymous with unfettered American capitalism and high society. Moving from the hardscrabble wharves of old Manhattan to the lavish drawing rooms of Gilded Age Fifth Avenue, from the ornate summer palaces of Newport to the courts of Europe, and all the way to modern-day New York, Cooper and Howe wryly recount the triumphs and tragedies of an American dynasty unlike any other.
Written with a unique insider’s viewpoint, this is a rollicking, quintessentially American history as remarkable as the family it so vividly captures.
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£11.40£12.30Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
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Recreating Titanic and Her Sisters: A Visual History
On the night of 14–15 April 1912, Titanic, a brand-new, supposedly unsinkable ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time, collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest perished in the icy-cold waters of the North Atlantic, and the tragedy has fascinated and perplexed the world ever since.
This stunning book tells the story of not just the Titanic, but also of its sister ships, Olympic and Britannic. Maritime experts J. Kent Layton, Tad Fitch, and Bill Wormstedt tell the stories of these legendary liners with a compelling narrative alongside original artwork from up-and-coming artists, bringing to life the design, construction and service of the ships together with the wrecks of the ill-fated Titanic and Britannic.
From the cold, starry night when Titanic collided with her iceberg to the tragic wartime loss of Britannic and the impressive reliability of the long-lived Olympic, this cinematic and immersive new study captures all of the glory and drama of the Olympic-class age and allows readers to visualise Titanic and her sisters like never before.
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£25.70£38.00Recreating Titanic and Her Sisters: A Visual History
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