Category Archives: Travel Guides
Roller-Coaster: Europe, 1950-2017
After the overwhelming horrors of the first half of the 20th century, described by Ian Kershaw in his previous book as having gone `To Hell and Back`, the years from 1950 to 2017 brought peace and relative prosperity to most of Europe. Enormous economic improvements transformed the continent. The catastrophic era of the world wars
The Colossus of Maroussi
“Out of the sea, as if Homer himself had arranged it for me, the islands bobbed up, lonely, deserted, mysterious in the fading light”Enraptured by a young woman`s account of the landscapes of Greece, Henry Miller set off to explore the Grecian countryside with his friend Lawrence Durrell in 1939. In `The Colossus of Maroussi`
This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 `Fabulous, timely, a marvellous achievement` Spectator `A richly resonant work which recasts our understanding of the Elizabethan era` Daily Telegraph In 1570, after plots and assassination attempts against her, Elizabeth I was excommunicated by the Pope. It was the beginning of cultural, economic and political exchanges with the Islamic
Chopin`s Piano: A Journey through Romanticism
Chopin`s Piano begins in November 1838, when George Sand, her children and Frederick Chopin took a boat to Majorca for the winter. It describes their circumstances there, and how Chopin completed one of the most revolutionary works in the history of music – his Preludes – on `a small Mallorquin piano` which he picked up
The Information Capital
The British Cartographic Society WINNER The BCS Award 2015 WINNER The Stanfords Award for Printed Mapping 2015 WINNER John C Bartholomew Award for Thematic Mapping 2015 In London: The Information Capital, geographer James Cheshire and designer Oliver Uberti join forces to bring you a series of new maps and graphics charting life in London like
The Language of Cities
The director of the Design Museum defines the greatest artefact of all time: the city We live in a world that is now predominantly urban. So how do we define the city as it evolves in the twenty-first century? Drawing examples from across the globe, Deyan Sudjic decodes the underlying forces that shape our cities,
Tove Jansson: Work and Love
Now in paperback, a beautifully illustrated account of of Tove Jansson`s life and art The definitive biography of one of the most unique and beloved children`s authors of the 20th century, the creator of the Moomins. Tove Jansson (1914-2001) led a long, colourful and productive life, impacting significantly the political, social and cultural history of
The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine
Located at the western edge of the Eurasian steppe, Ukraine has long been the meeting place of empires – Roman to Ottoman, Habsburg to Russian – and they all left their imprint on the landscape, the language and the people living within these shifting borders. In this authoritative book, Serhii Plokhy traces the history of
World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History
In World Order, Henry Kissinger – one of the leading practitioners of world diplomacy and author of On China – makes his monumental investigation into the `tectonic plates` of global history and state relations. World Order is the summation of Henry Kissinger`s thinking about history, strategy and statecraft. As if taking a perspective from far
The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience
`A richly panoramic exploration of the British experience of India … hugely researched and elegantly written, sensitive to the ironies of the past and brimming with colourful details` Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday TimesThe British in this book lived in India from shortly after the reign of Elizabeth I until well into the reign of Elizabeth II.
The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo
The true story, told minute by minute, of the soldiers who defeated Napoleon – from Brendan Simms, acclaimed author of Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy Europe had been at war for over twenty years. After a short respite in exile, Napoleon had returned to France and threatened another generation of fighting across the devastated and
The Europeans: Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture
`Magnificent. Beautifully written, immaculately researched and thoroughly absorbing from start to finish. A tour de force that explains how Europe`s cultural life transformed during the course of the 19th century – and so much more` Peter FrankopanFrom the bestselling author of Natasha`s Dance, The Europeans is richly enthralling, panoramic cultural history of nineteenth-century Europe, told
Outlandish Knight: The Byzantine Life of Steven Runciman
`An extraordinary book …exceptionally fascinating, always readable and penetratingly intelligent` David Abulafia `As rich, funny and teemingly peopled as Anthony Powell`s A Dance to the Music of Time …Dinshaw writes with wit and elegance, and the most elegiac passages of Outlandish Knight evoke a lost society London and way of life` Ben Judah, Financial Times
Lost Japan
This is an enchanting and fascinating insight into Japanese landscape, culture, history and future. Originally written in Japanese, this passionate, vividly personal book draws on the author`s experiences in Japan over thirty years. Alex Kerr brings to life the ritualized world of Kabuki, retraces his initiation into Tokyo`s boardrooms during the heady Bubble Years, and
Germany: The Memories of a Nation
For the past 140 years, Germany has been the central power in continental Europe. Twenty-five years ago a new German state came into being. How much do we really understand this new Germany, and how do its people now understand themselves? Neil MacGregor argues that uniquely for any European country, no coherent, over-arching narrative of
The Cold War: A World History
`Masterly … a book of resounding importance for appraising our global future as well as understanding our past` Richard Davenport-Hines, The Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year`A masterful survey that will set the standard for Cold War scholarship for years to come` Jonathan Steele, London Review of BooksAs Germany and then Japan surrendered in
Happiness by Design: Finding Pleasure and Purpose in Everyday Life
As a Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics, Dolan conducts original research into the measurement of happiness and its causes and consequences, including the effects of our behaviour. Here he creates a new outlook on the pursuit of happiness – it`s not just how you feel, it`s how you act. Happiness
The Canterbury Tales
Peter Ackroyd’s prose re-telling of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales makes the Middle English classic accessible to a new generation of readers. Using expletives and avoiding euphemisms, the tales are presented in all the glorious splendor, colour and grime of their originals. From the exuberant Wife of Bath`s Arthurian legend to the Miller`s worldly, ribald farce, the
On Leave
A lost classic lays bare the darkest moment of France`s post-war history. First published in Paris in 1957, as France`s engagement in Algeria became ever more bloody, On Leave received a handful of reviews and soon disappeared from view. Through David Bellos` translation, this lost classic has been rediscovered. Spare, forceful and moving, the novel
London Belongs To Me
It is 1938 and the prospect of war hangs over every London inhabitant. But the city doesn`t stop. Everywhere people continue to work, drink, fall in love, fight and struggle to get on in life. At the lodging-house at No.10 Dulcimer Street, Kennington, the buttoned-up clerk Mr. Josser returns home with the clock he has
