Born into working class poverty in the North of England in 1925, Eddie Davies' personal account illustrates the remarkable and colourful lives led by many 'ordinary people'. From a succession of dead-end and downright dangerous jobs, through a ferocious (though often hilarious) World War II, back to Blighty and then off to central Africa for more hair-raising adventures. All this well before I even met the man who was to become father-in-law and grand-dad to my kids. We should be grateful that there are those prepared and able to describe their journey through a rapidly changing world - a world that has all but disappeared as we hurtle towards an uncertain future. No doubt there will be similar shared memories for many of the older ones amongst us, and a damn good read for the rest!

From one of our most acclaimed new biographers--the first full life of the leader of Lincoln's "team of rivals" to appear in more than forty years.
William Henry Seward was one of the most important Americans of the nineteenth century. Progressive governor of New York and outspoken US senator, he was the odds-on favorite to win the 1860 Republican nomination for president. As secretary of state and Lincoln's closest adviser during the Civil War, Seward not only managed foreign affairs but had a substantial role in military, political, and personnel matters.
Some of Lincoln's critics even saw Seward, erroneously, as the power behind the throne; this is why John Wilkes Booth and his colleagues attempted to kill Seward as well as Lincoln. Seward survived the assassin's attack, continued as secretary of state, and emerged as a staunch supporter of President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's controversial successor. Through his purchase of Alaska ("Seward's Folly"), and his groundwork for the purchase of the Canal Zone and other territory, Seward set America on course to become a world empire.
Seward was not only important, he was fascinating. Most nights this well-known raconteur with unruly hair and untidy clothes would gather diplomats, soldiers, politicians, or actors around his table to enjoy a cigar, a drink, and a good story. Drawing on hundreds of sources not available to or neglected by previous biographers, Walter Stahr's bestselling biography sheds new light on this complex and central figure, as well as on pivotal events of the Civil War and its aftermath.

The collected letters, speeches, etc. written by Abraham Lincoln.

Marx's study of the events leading to the coup d'etat of "Napolean the Little" on December 2, 1851, written within a few weeks of the coup, is one of the first works by Marx in which he states his theory of history. [Facsimile reprint edition.]

John Woolman (1720-1772) was the child of Quaker parents, and from his youth was a zealous member of the Society of Friends. His "Journal," published posthumously in 1774, describes his way of life and the spirit in which he did his work.

John Woolman (1720-1772) was the child of Quaker parents, and from his youth was a zealous member of the Society of Friends. His "Journal," published posthumously in 1774, describes his way of life and the spirit in which he did his work.

Brig.genl. Willem (Kaas) van der Waals kyk terugskouend na sy loopbaan wat gekenmerk is deur veelsydigheid — valskermsoldaat en instrukteur, operasionele diens in SWA, Angola en Rhodesië, militêre diplomaat en SAW se hoof van buitelandse betrekkinge.

Hy was ook dosent in strategiese studies, hoof van sielkundige oorlogvoering, inligtingsoffisier en strategiese beplanner by die sekretariaat van die Staatsveiligheidsraad. Daarna is hy die eerste veiligheidshoof van die stad Pretoria.

Dis juis díé veelsydigheid wat hom enersyds met gesagsfigure in die weermag laat bots het en andersyds wyd aanwendbaar gemaak het.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is South Africa's fifth post-apartheid president. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as the founder of the National Union of Mineworkers. When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in February 1990, Ramaphosa was at the head of the reception committee that greeted him. Chosen as secretary general of the African National Congress in 1991, Ramaphosa led the ANC's team in negotiating the country's post-apartheid constitution. Thwarted in his ambition to succeed Mandela, he exchanged political leadership for commerce, ultimately becoming one of the country's wealthiest businessmen, a breeder of exotic cattle, and a philanthropist.

This fully revised and extended edition charts Ramaphosa's early life and education, and his career in trade unionism - including the 1987 21-day miners' strike when he committed the union to the wider liberation struggle - politics, and constitution-building. Extensive new chapters explore his contribution to the National Planning Commission, the effects of the Marikana massacre on his political prospects, and the real story behind his rise to the deputy presidency of the country in 2014. They set out the constraints Ramaphosa faced as Jacob Zuma's deputy, and explain how he ultimately triumphed in the election of the ANC's new president in 2017. The book concludes with an analysis of the challenges Ramaphosa faces as the country's fifth post-apartheid president.

Based on numerous personal conversations with Ramaphosa over the past decade, and on rich interviews with many of the subject's friends and contemporaries, this new biography offers a frank appraisal of one of South Africa's most enigmatic political figures.