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Books > History > World history > From 1900
The third and final volume of Kevin Morgan's widely acclaimed
series Bolshevism and the British Left centres around the figure of
Alf Purcell (1872-1935), who between the wars was one of the
leading personalities in the British and international labour
movement. A long-term member of the TUC General Council, Purcell
became chairman of the general strike committee in 1926 - and this
could have been his hour of glory. But when it was called off
ignominiously he experienced the obloquy of defeat. Purcell was
most famous as one of TUC 'lefts' of the 1920s. But he was also
Labour MP for both the Forest of Dean and Coventry, as well as
being the founder of a working guild in the spirit of guild
socialism, the controversial president of the International
Federation of Trade Unions and the man who moved the formation of
the British communist party. A sometime syndicalist and associate
of Tom Mann, his experiences in the militant Furnishing Trades gave
rise to the uncompromising trade-union internationalism which
features so centrally in these chapters. But with the squeezing of
his syndicalist approach, as the labour movement polarised into
Labour and communist currents, Purcell died a politically broken
figure. Morgan also deploys the life of Purcell as a biographical
lens, a way of exploring wider controversies - among them the rival
modernities of Bolshevism and Americanism; the reactions to
Bolshevism of anarchists like Emma Goldman (who called Purcell
'that damn fake'); and the roots of political tourism to the USSR
in the British labour delegations in which Purcell featured so
prominently. The volume also includes a major challenge to existing
interpretations of the general strike, which it compellingly
presents, not as the last fling of the syndicalists, but as a first
and disastrously ill-conceived imposition of social-democratic
centralism by Ernest Bevin.
During World War II, thousands of Axis prisoners of war were held
throughout Nebraska in base camps that included Fort Robinson, Camp
Scottsbluff and Camp Atlanta. Many Nebraskans did not view the POWs
as "evil Nazis." To them, they were ordinary men and very human.
And while their stay was not entirely free from conflict, many
former captives returned to the Cornhusker State to begin new lives
after the cessation of hostilities. Drawing on first-person
accounts from soldiers, former POWs and Nebraska residents, as well
as archival research, Melissa Marsh delves into the neglected
history of Nebraska's POW camps.
Incorporating a wide range of visual and translated written
sources, The Modern Spain Sourcebook documents Spain's history from
the Enlightenment to the present. The book is thematically arranged
and includes six key primary sources on ten significant areas of
Spanish history, including the arts, work, education, religion,
politics, sexuality and empire. As well as the book's overarching
introduction, there are theme-specific introductions and vital
historical context sections provided for the sources that are
presented. There are also useful suggested analytical questions and
helpful web link lists included throughout. The Modern Spain
Sourcebook covers political and economic history, but moves beyond
this to provide a more complete picture of Spanish history through
the sources selected with gender history, social history and
cultural history coming to the fore. This is a crucial text
containing a vital trove of primary material for all students of
Spain and its history.
Few people have courted as much controversy or evoked such strong and divergent emotions as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Adored by some, abhorred by others, she bears a name famous throughout the world, yet not many people know the woman behind the headlines, myths and controversies, or the details of the fascinating story that is her life. This biography reveals the enigma that is Winnie Mandela, by exploring both her personal and political life.
The reader is given a rare glimpse into Winnie's strict yet happy rural upbringing, where the foundations were laid for her faith, compassion and indomitable resolve. As a young social worker in 1950s Johannesburg, her beauty, style and character captivated the political activist and Tembu prince, Nelson Mandela. Together, they
personified the rising aspirations and political awakening of their people, and, in so doing, inspired a nation. Through her fierce determination and dauntless courage, she survived her husband's imprisonment, continuous harassment by the security police, banishment to a small Free State town, betrayal by friends and allies, and more than a year in solitary confinement – all the while keeping the struggle flame alight and the name of Nelson Mandela alive.
A sensitive and balanced portrayal, the title nevertheless thoroughly investigates and honestly examines the controversies that have dogged Winnie Mandela in recent years - the allegations of kidnapping and murder, her divorce from Mandela, and the current charges of fraud.
Zero to Hero is unique in that it tells the story of Victor Roe,
one of the longest- serving RAF rear gunners with The Pathfinders
and in so doing, plots the rise of an 'institutionalised' lad from
a Boys' Home to a well-respected bomber aircrew member amongst
peers, who were an elite group of top class airmen and who all of
whom had a far better start in life than he did. In stories such as
this, it is not uncommon to find the words 'humble beginning'
describing the start in life that someone had. In Victor's case a
humble beginning would have been a huge step up from where he
started his short, but astonishingly praiseworthy life. One of nine
children born to two impoverished alcoholics-all of whom were
removed by the courts from their parent's custody by the age of
two-is hardly the start that would be attributed to a hero of the
RAF, but that was how Victor started. Victor was always determined
that with the advent of war, he would do his bit for his country,
no one can deny that he did that and more.
Gough Whitlam, Australia's twenty-first prime minister, swept to
power in December 1972, ending twenty-three years of conservative
rule. In barely three years Whitlam's dramatic reform agenda would
transform Australia. It was an ascendancy bitterly resented by
some, never accepted by others, and ended with dismissal by the
Governor-General just three years latera "an outcome that polarised
debate and left many believing the full story had not been told. In
this much-anticipated second volume of her biography of Gough
Whitlam, Jenny Hocking has used previously unearthed archival
material and extensive interviews with Gough Whitlam, his family,
colleagues and foes, to bring the key players in these dramatic
events to life. The identity of the mysterious 'third man', who
counselled the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in his decision to
sack the twice-elected Whitlam government and appoint Malcolm
Fraser as prime minister is confirmed here by Kerr himself, as the
High Court justice Sir Anthony Mason, and the full story of his
involvement is now revealed for the first time. From Kerr's private
papers Hocking details months of secret meetings and conversations
between Kerr and Mason in the lead-up to the dismissal, that had
remained hidden for over thirty-seven years. In response to these
revelations Sir Anthony Mason released an extensive public
statement, acknowledging his role and disclosing additional
information that is fully explored in this new edition. This
definitive biography takes us behind the political intrigue to
reveal a devastated Whitlam and his personal struggle in the
aftermath of the dismissal, the unfulfilled years that followed and
his eventual political renewal as Australia's ambassador to UNESCO.
It also tells, through the highs and the lows of his decades of
public life, how Whitlam depended absolutely on the steadfast
support of the love of his life, his wife, Margaret. For this is
also the story of a remarkable marriage and an enduring
partnership. The truth of this tumultuous period in Australia's
history is finally revealed in Gough Whitlam: His Time
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