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Books > Biography > Historical, political & military

The Dons - Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses (Paperback): Noel Annan The Dons - Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses (Paperback)
Noel Annan
R284 Discovery Miles 2 840 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A wonderfully engaging and entertaining history of the great dons of the last two hundred years, by one of our leading historians of ideas. Rich in anecdote, and displaying all the author's customary mastery of his subject, The Dons is Noel Annan at his erudite, encyclopedic and entertaining best. The book is a kaleidoscope of wonderful vignettes illustrating the brilliance and eccentricities of some of the greatest figures of British university life. Here is Buckland dropping to his knees to lick the supposed patch of martyr's blood in an Italian cathedral and remarking, 'I can tell you what it is; it's bat's urine.' Or the granitic Master of Balliol, A.D. Lindsay, whose riposte on finding himself in a minority of one at a College meeting was, 'I see we are deadlocked'. But, entertaining as it is, The Dons also has a more serious purpose. No other book has ever explained so precisely - and so amusingly - why the dons matter, and the importance of the role they have played in the shaping of British higher education over the past two centuries.

Storm Command - A Personal Account of the Gulf War (Paperback): Gen. Sir Peter de la Billiere Storm Command - A Personal Account of the Gulf War (Paperback)
Gen. Sir Peter de la Billiere
R324 Discovery Miles 3 240 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'My primary aim in writing this book is to demonstrate the importance of individual human beings in modern warfare. In the battle to drive the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, Coalition forces used every form of high-technology weapon available; yet in the end success depended on the performance of individuals, whether they were pilots, divers, tank drivers, mechanics, engineers, cooks, radio operators, infantrymen, nurses or officers of all ranks. It was these ordinary people who, at the end of the day, were going to put their lives on the line and risk their neck when their Government decided to go to war.' Gen. Sir Peter de la Billiere

The House of Jaipur - The Inside Story of India's Most Glamorous Royal Family (Paperback): John Zubrzycki The House of Jaipur - The Inside Story of India's Most Glamorous Royal Family (Paperback)
John Zubrzycki
R477 Discovery Miles 4 770 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A gripping royal saga of charmed lives in a changing world. The Jaipurs were India's mid-century golden couple; its answer to the Kennedys, or Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Jai and Ayesha, as they were known to friends like Frank Sinatra, Truman Capote and 'Dickie' Mountbatten, entertained lavishly at their magnificent palaces and hunting lodges in Rajasthan-and in the nightclubs of London, Paris and New York. But as the Raj gave way to the new India, Jaipur-the most glamorous and romantic of the princely states-had to find its place. The House of Jaipur charts a dynasty's determination to remain relevant in a democracy set on crushing its privileges. Against the odds, they secured their place at the height of Indian society; but Ayesha would pay for her criticism of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency. From the polo field and politics to imprisonment and personal tragedy, the Jaipurs' extraordinary journey of transformation mirrors the story of a rapidly changing country.

Break-Up - How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War (Hardcover): David, Kieran Clegg, Andrews Break-Up - How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War (Hardcover)
David, Kieran Clegg, Andrews
R466 Discovery Miles 4 660 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon's political partnership changed the face of Scotland, bringing the country to within 200,000 votes of independence in 2014 and holding sway at Holyrood for more than a decade. Since the referendum, Scottish nationalism has been a movement on the up, but the relationship between the former First Minister and his protegee and successor has broken down. Break-Up tells the inside story of how an alliance that goes back thirty years was ripped apart amid shocking claims of sexual assault, driving a wedge through the once unbreakable unity of the Scottish National Party. With unrivalled access to both camps and the women who made the allegations, and with rigorously fair-minded reporting, journalists David Clegg and Kieran Andrews go behind the headlines to uncover the truth about this extraordinary episode, in a piece of political history that reads like a thriller. This is a jaw-dropping tale of inappropriate behaviour in the highest reaches of power, of lies, distrust and alleged conspiracy, with profound implications not only for Salmond and Sturgeon themselves but for Scotland's governing party and the wider independence campaign. At its heart, it is also a story about how women who voiced concerns about the behaviour of the most powerful man in the country were used as political pawns - and about what that means for the #MeToo movement.

1864 - Lincoln at the Gates of History (Paperback): Charles Bracelen Flood 1864 - Lincoln at the Gates of History (Paperback)
Charles Bracelen Flood
R566 R480 Discovery Miles 4 800 Save R86 (15%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In a masterful narrative, historian and biographer Charles Bracelen Flood brings to life the drama of Lincoln's final year, in which he oversaw the last campaigns of the Civil War, was reelected as president, and laid out his majestic vision for the nation's future in a reunified South and in the expanding West.

In "1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History," the reader is plunged into the heart of that crucial year as Lincoln faced enormous challenges. The Civil War was far from being won: as the year began, Lincoln had yet to appoint Ulysses S. Grant as the general-in-chief who would finally implement the bloody strategy and dramatic campaigns that would bring victory.

At the same time, with the North sick of the war, Lincoln was facing a reelection battle in which hundreds of thousands of "Peace Democrats" were ready to start negotiations that could leave the Confederacy as a separate American nation, free to continue the practice of slavery. In his personal life, he had to deal with the erratic behavior of his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and both Lincolns were haunted by the sudden death, two years before, of their beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie.

"1864" is the story of Lincoln's struggle with all this -- the war on the battlefields and a political scene in which his own secretary of the treasury, Salmon P. Chase, was working against him in an effort to become the Republican candidate himself. The North was shocked by such events as Grant's attack at Cold Harbor, during which seven thousand Union soldiers were killed in twenty minutes, and the Battle of the Crater, where three thousand Union men died in a bungled attempt to blow up Confederate trenches. The year became so bleak that on August 23, Lincoln wrote in a memorandum, "This morning, as for several days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be reelected." But, with the increasing success of his generals, and a majority of the American public ready to place its faith in him, Lincoln and the nation ended 1864 with the close of the war in sight and slavery on the verge of extinction.

"1864" presents the man who not only saved the nation, but also, despite the turmoil of the war and political infighting, set the stage for westward expansion through the Homestead Act, the railroads, and the Act to Encourage Immigration.

As 1864 ends and Lincoln, reelected, is planning to heal the nation, John Wilkes Booth, whose stalking of Lincoln through 1864 is one of this book's suspenseful subplots, is a few weeks away from killing him.

Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China (Paperback): Jung Chang Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China (Paperback)
Jung Chang
R270 R216 Discovery Miles 2 160 Save R54 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience - classics which will endure for generations to come. Few books have had such an impact as Wild Swans: a popular bestseller which has sold more than 13 million copies and a critically acclaimed history of China; a tragic tale of nightmarish cruelty and an uplifting story of bravery and survival. Through the story of three generations of women in her own family - the grandmother given to the warlord as a concubine, the Communist mother and the daughter herself - Jung Chang reveals the epic history of China's twentieth century. Breathtaking in its scope, unforgettable in its descriptions, this is a masterpiece which is extraordinary in every way.

Lenin - A Biography (Paperback): Dmitri Volkogonov Lenin - A Biography (Paperback)
Dmitri Volkogonov; Translated by Harold Shukman
R387 Discovery Miles 3 870 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'Based on research among thousands of unpublished documents concealed in the Communist Party archives until the fall of the regime, Lenin: Life and Legacy is a crushing indictment of the regime's founder...' Sally Laird, Observer In the first fully documented life of one of the greatest revolutionaries in history, Dmitri Volkogonov is free for the first time to assess Lenin's life and legacy, unconstrained by demands of political orthodoxy. In addition to showing conclusively that the violence and coercion that characterised the Soviet system derived entirely from Lenin, the author also describes in detail the personal life of Lenin: his family antecedents, his private finances, the early funding of the Bolshevik Party, his relationship with his mistress Inessa Armand, and the debilitating illness that crippled the final months of his life

Rasputin - A Short Life (Paperback): Frances Welch Rasputin - A Short Life (Paperback)
Frances Welch
R406 R333 Discovery Miles 3 330 Save R73 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Told with humor, intrigue, and a shrewd eye for detail, this riveting short biography sheds much-needed light on the life of nineteenth-century Russian icon Grigory Rasputin.
Grigory Rasputin, a Siberian peasant turned mystic and court sage, was as fascinating as he was unfathomable. He played the role of the simple man, eating with his fingers and boasting, "I don't even know the ABC." But, as the only person able to relieve the symptoms of hemophilia in the Tsar's heir Alexei, he gained almost hallowed status within the Imperial court.
During the last decade of his life, Rasputin and his band of "little ladies" came to symbolize all that was decadent, corrupt, and remote about the Imperial Family, especially when it was rumored that he was not only shaping Russian policy during the First World War, but also enjoying an intimate relationship with the Empress...
Rasputin's role in the downfall of the tsarist regime is beyond dispute. But who was he really? Prophet or rascal? A "breath of rank air...who blew away the cobwebs of the Imperial Palace," as Beryl Bainbridge put it, or a dangerous deviant?
Writing for historical aficionados and curious readers alike, Frances Welch turns her inimitable wry gaze on one of the great mysteries of Russian history.

Rhodes' Ghost - The Conquest Of Zambesia (Paperback): Duncan Clarke Rhodes' Ghost - The Conquest Of Zambesia (Paperback)
Duncan Clarke
R372 Discovery Miles 3 720 Ships in 4 - 8 working days

Cecil John Rhodes lived from 1853 to 1902, a brief span, and was the renowned and world-famous founder of Rhodesia (1890-1980), the leading personality and figure in the Victorian world’s late nineteenth-century Africa empire.

Rhodes’ endeavours shaped the domains of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century Zambesia, and set down the trajectories marking southern Africa, while the Great Powers’ record of empire in Africa proved greatly inferior to Rhodesia’s. Zambesia’s long history of continuous turbulence on a troubled plateau was reversed by Rhodes’ Pioneer Column in 1890 when the ‘First Rhodesians’ arrived following five decades of itinerant white presence in Zambesia. The Occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, conquest of Matabeleland in 1893 and the end of native rebellions in 1896-97 set the stage for decades of enduring prosperity in Rhodesia, Rhodes’ most enduring legacy. Pax Rhodesiana lasted ninety years, ending in a civil war.

Then, Rhodes’ memorabilia and many memorials were subjected to modern cultural cleansing, the inheritor state in time eroding and declining into a failing state.

Last Call at the Hotel Imperial - The Reporters Who Took on a World at War (Paperback): Deborah Cohen Last Call at the Hotel Imperial - The Reporters Who Took on a World at War (Paperback)
Deborah Cohen
R265 Discovery Miles 2 650 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'Effervescent' New Yorker Best Books Of 2022 So Far 'Bursts with colour and incident' FT Best Books of Summer Read this prize-winning historian's "immersive" ( New York Times) account of the famous writers who, in the run-up to World War II, took on dictators and rewrote the rules of modern journalism They were an astonishing group: glamorous, gutsy, and irreverent to the bone. As cub reporters in the 1920s, they roamed across a war-ravaged world, sometimes perched atop mules on wooden saddles, sometimes gliding through countries in the splendour of a first-class sleeper car. While empires collapsed and fledgling democracies faltered, they chased deposed empresses, international financiers and Balkan gunrunners, then knocked back doubles late into the night. Last Call at the Hotel Imperial is the extraordinary story of John Gunther, H.R. Knickerbocker, Vincent Sheean, and Dorothy Thompson: a close-knit band of wildly famous American reporters who, in the run-up to World War II, took on dictators and rewrote the rules of modern journalism. In those tumultuous years, they landed exclusive interviews with Hitler, Franco and Mussolini who sought to persuade them of fascism's inevitable triumph. Nehru and Gandhi also courted them, seeking American allies against British imperialism. Churchill saw them as his best shot at convincing a reluctant America to join the war against Hitler. They committed themselves to the cause of freedom: fiercely and with all its hazards. They argued about love, war, sex, death and everything in between, and they wrote it all down. The fault lines that ran through a crumbling world, they would find, ran through their own marriages and friendships, too. Told with the immediacy of a conversation overheard, this revelatory book captures how the global upheavals of the twentieth century felt to live through up close.

Trotsky - The Eternal Revolutionary (Paperback): Dmitri Volkogonov Trotsky - The Eternal Revolutionary (Paperback)
Dmitri Volkogonov; Translated by Harold Shukman
R386 Discovery Miles 3 860 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

'Absorbing... I now place Volkogonov's great biographical triptych [Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky] at the top of my reading list on the Russian revolution.' Niall Ferguson, Sunday Times Following Stalin (1991) and Lenin (1994), Dmitri Vokogonov completes his grand trilogy of biographies of the giants who dominated the history of the Soviet Union. A dynamic and inspiring public speaker, military hero of the Russian civil war, and a brilliant organiser and theorist, Trotsky also played a large part in advocating the system of state terror which was ultimately to lead to the nightmare of Stalinism. Widely regarded as Lenin's likely successor, he was outmanoeuvred by his implacable enemy, Stalin, expelled from the Communist Party, exiled, and finally murdered in Mexico in 1940 by Stalin's agents.

From The Spice Islands To Cape Town - The Life And Times Of Tuan Guru (Paperback): Shafiq Morton From The Spice Islands To Cape Town - The Life And Times Of Tuan Guru (Paperback)
Shafiq Morton
R167 Discovery Miles 1 670 Ships in 4 - 8 working days

Shafiq Morton’s historical study From the Spice Islands to Cape Town deals, as the subtitle indicates with “the life and times of Tuan Guru”, one of the key figures in the history of Islam at the southern point of Africa. ‘Abdullah Ibn Qadi ‘Abd ul-Salam, later known among Cape Muslims as Tuan Guru (Grand Teacher), was born in Tidore in 1712. For much of his life he was an advisor to Sultan Jamal al-Din, the ruler of the spice revenue-funded Sultanate of Tidore on the tropical Maluku islands in the Southeast Asian archipelago. At the age of 68, Tuan Guru landed at the Cape on board De Zeepard. As political prisoners, he and his fellow courtiers were immediately incarcerated on a bleak and windswept Robben Island, a place he referred to as Pulau Aylan. On his release from his second spell of banishment Tuan Guru played a pioneering role in organising and educating the faithful, making him “our country’s first recorded urban activist”.

Morton tells, for those readers interested in the underclass history of the Cape, an engrossing tale of Tuan Guru’s history in Tidore, the world of his upbringing, his banishment, his supposed spiritual powers and his leadership. He spends a full chapter, Chapter 10, on the meaning of Ma’rifat al-Islam wa’l-Iman and traces the considerable impact of Tuan Guru and his descendants on life in the Cape Muslim community and the broader South African society. Through the Arabic orthography the Awwal madrasah played a pivotal role in developing an alternative communal literacy tradition that gradually changed from Malayu to Cape Dutch and gave rise to what we today know, as the Arabic-Afrikaans scribal tradition. Beginning with Tuan Guru, successive imams and Muslim leaders established the local Islamic education tradition and network of community support organisations that outlasted the Batavian, British and the early South African administrations and are still flourishing well into the 21st century.

Morton’s account is well-written and worthy of the story of a remarkable man whose legacy lives on through his writings, the religious and educational traditions he fostered and through the achievements of his many descendants. It is a welcome addition to the growing collection of biographical and historical works on underclass figures and communities.

Jarhead - A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles (Paperback, 1st Scribner trade pbk. ed): Anthony Swofford Jarhead - A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles (Paperback, 1st Scribner trade pbk. ed)
Anthony Swofford
R422 R396 Discovery Miles 3 960 Save R26 (6%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In his "New York Times" bestselling chronicle of military life, Anthony Swofford weaves his experiences in war with vivid accounts of boot camp, reflections on the mythos of the marines, and remembrances of battles with lovers and family.
When the U.S. Marines -- or "jarheads" -- were sent to Saudi Arabia in 1990 for the first Gulf War, Anthony Swofford was there. He lived in sand for six months; he was punished by boredom and fear; he considered suicide, pulled a gun on a fellow marine, and was targeted by both enemy and friendly fire. As engagement with the Iraqis drew near, he was forced to consider what it means to be an American, a soldier, a son of a soldier, and a man.

Night (Hardcover): Elie Wiesel Night (Hardcover)
Elie Wiesel; Translated by Marion Wiesel
R660 R538 Discovery Miles 5 380 Save R122 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

A New Translation From The French By Marion Wiesel
"Night" is Elie Wiesel's masterpiece, a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. This new translation by Marion Wiesel, Elie's wife and frequent translator, presents this seminal memoir in the language and spirit truest to the author's original intent. And in a substantive new preface, Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man's capacity for inhumanity to man.
"""Night" offers much more than a litany of the daily terrors, everyday perversions, and rampant sadism at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; it also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.

Gabby - A Story of Courage, Love, and Resilience (Paperback): Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly Gabby - A Story of Courage, Love, and Resilience (Paperback)
Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly; As told to Jeffrey Zaslow
R503 R419 Discovery Miles 4 190 Save R84 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

"Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly's story is a reminder "of the power of true grit, the patience needed to navigate unimaginable obstacles, and the transcendence of love. Their arrival in the world spotlight came under the worst of circumstances. On January 8, 2011, while meeting with her constituents in Tucson, Arizona, Gabby was the victim of an assassination attempt that left six people dead and thirteen wounded. Gabby was shot in the head; doctors called her survival "miraculous."
As the nation grieved and sought to understand the attack, Gabby remained in private, focused on her againstall- odds recovery. Intimate, inspiring, and unforgettably moving, "Gabby "provides an unflinching look at the overwhelming challenges of brain injury, the painstaking process of learning to communicate again, and the responsibilities that fall to a loving spouse who wants the best possible treatment for his wife. Told in Mark's voice and from Gabby's heart, the book also chronicles the lives that brought these two extraordinary people together--their humor, their ambitions, their sense of duty, their longdistance marriage, and their desire for family.
A new, moving final chapter brings Gabby's story up to date, including the state of her health and her announcement that she would leave the House of Representatives.

Belle - The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice (Paperback): Paula Byrne Belle - The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice (Paperback)
Paula Byrne
R438 R362 Discovery Miles 3 620 Save R76 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The sensational tale of the first mixed-race girl introduced to high-society England and raised as a lady...

The illegitimate daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy and an enslaved African woman, Dido Belle was raised by her great-uncle, the Earl of Mansfield, one of the most powerful men of the time and a leading opponent of slavery. When the portrait he commissioned of his two wards, Dido and her white cousin, Elizabeth, was unveiled, eighteenth-century England was shocked to see a black woman and white woman depicted as equals. Inspired by the painting, Belle vividly brings to life this extraordinary woman caught between two worlds, and illuminates the great civil rights question of her age: the fight to end slavery.

The feature film Belle is produced by Damian Jones (The Iron Lady, The History Boys, Welcome to Sarajevo), written by Misan Sagay, and directed by Amma Asante, and stars the extraordinary Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Belle, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, Matthew Goode, and Emily Watson.

Union 1812 - The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence (Paperback): a J Langguth Union 1812 - The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence (Paperback)
a J Langguth
R801 R675 Discovery Miles 6 750 Save R126 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

By the author of the acclaimed "Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution," a gripping narrative that tells the story of the second and final war of independence that secured the nation's independence from Europe and established its claim to the entire continent.

The War of 1812 has been ignored or misunderstood. "Union 1812" thrillingly illustrates why it must take its place as one of the defining moments in American history.

Attila - The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome (Paperback): John Man Attila - The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome (Paperback)
John Man
R595 R499 Discovery Miles 4 990 Save R96 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

A stunning biography of history's most infamous warlord, Attila the Hun
For a crucial twenty years in the early fifth century, Attila held the fate of the Roman Empire and the future of all Europe in his hands. He created the greatest of barbarian forces, and his empire briefly rivaled Rome's. In numerous raids and three major campaigns against the Roman Empire, he earned himself an instant and undying reputation for savagery. But there was more to him than mere barbarism. Attila was capricious, arrogant, brutal, and brilliant enough to win the loyalty of millions. In the end, his ambitions ran away with him. He did not live long enough to found a lasting empire--but long enough to jolt Rome toward its final fall.
In this riveting biography, masterful storyteller John Man draws on his extensive travels through Attila's heartland and his experience with the nomadic traditions of Central Asia to reveal the man behind the myth. John Man is a historian and travel writer with a special interest in Mongolia. His "Gobi": "Tracking the Desert" was the first book on the subject in English since the 1920s. He is also the author of "Atlas of the Year 1000," "Alpha Beta," on the roots of the Roman alphabet, and "The Gutenberg Revolution," on the origins and impact of printing. "Genghis Khan": "Life, Death, and Resurrection" was published in 2005. For a crucial twenty years in the early fifth century, Attila held the fate of the Roman Empire and the future of all Europe in his hands. The decaying imperium, dominating the West from its twin capitals of Rome and Constantinople, was threatened by barbarian tribes from the East. It was Attila who created the greatest of barbarian forces. His empire briefly rivaled Rome's, reaching from the Rhine to the Black Sea, the Baltic to the Balkans. In numerous raids and three major campaigns against the Roman Empire, he earned himself an instant and undying reputation for savagery. But there was more to him than mere barbarism. Attila's power derived from his astonishing character. He was capricious, arrogant, and brutal--but also brilliant enough to win the loyalty of millions. Huns thought him semidivine, Goths and other barbarians adored him, educated Westerners were proud to serve him. Attila was also a canny politician. From his base in the Hungarian grasslands, he sent Latin and Greek secretaries to blackmail the Roman Empire. Like other despots, before and since, he relied on foreign financial backing and knew how to play upon the weaknesses of his friends and enemies. With this unique blend of qualities, Attila very nearly dictated Europe's future. In the end, his ambitions ran away with him. An insane demand for the hand of a Roman princess and assaults too deep into France and Italy led to sudden death in the arms of a new wife. He did not live long enough to found a lasting empire-- but enough to jolt Rome toward its final fall. In this biography, John Man draws on his extensive travels through Attila's heartland and his experience with the nomadic traditions of Central Asia to reveal the man behind the myth. "Racy and imaginative . . . puts flesh and bones on one of history's most turbulent characters . . . The rise and fall of Attila, as meteoric and momentous as Napoleon's or Hitler's, makes for fascinating reading in any form."--"The Guardian" (UK) "This bright, engaging, and breezy book . . . suits the tenor of our times."--"The Times" (London) "John Man's account . . . sympathetically and readably puts flesh and bones on one of history's most turbulent characters."--"Sunday Telegraph" (UK)
"One could not wish for a better storyteller or analyst than John Man . . . His "Attila" is superb, as compellingly readable as it is impressive in its scholarship: with his light touch, the Huns and their king live as never before . . . There is something fascinating and new on every page."--Simon Sebag Montegiore, author of "Stalin
""A surprisingly intimate view of the man labeled 'God's scourge' by a Roman Empire in its death throes. British historian Man is also a travel writer, and his physical knowledge of the venues about which he writes lend authority to his reconstitution of ancient history. In recalling a certain Carpathian pass, for instance, through which the Hunnish horde would have passed on its way to wreak havoc and chaos on the fifth-century remnants of Imperial Roman civil order, he writes, 'Good skiing in winter; pleasant Alpine hikes in summer.' He's equally adept at mining scholarly and contemporary sources: In a nearly chapter-long paraphrase of Priscus, the one Roman administrative apparatchik to have met Attila and left an extensive written record, Man serves up an episode of courtly intrigue worthy of Shakespeare. The author tends to favor the speculative view that the Huns were descendants of a central Asian tribe with possible Turkish origins known by the Chinese, whom they first harassed, as the Xiongnu (pronounced with a guttural 'h' sound). Their military might, derived from a pastoral nomadic ancestry, was based on the terrifying expertise of mounted archers; their power would not be surpassed, Man suggests, until the modern era of automatic weapons. Couple this with the known cruelty (at least in the view of contemporaries including other so-called barbarians) of a short, unattractive, but definitely charismatic man with beady, shifty eyes who regularly impaled his captive victims on wooden stakes, and the basis for the myth of Attila becomes clear. Yet, the author notes, in Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary, it persists as the legend of a hero. Entertaining and lucid account of a phenomenal militarist unable to resist a crumbling empire's vast, unprotected wealth."--"Kirkus Reviews" "Man, a historian with an interest in Mongolia and archaeology, has written a popular history as much about the Huns as about their notorious leader. He begins by identifying the Huns as possible descendants of Turkish nomads who created the first large steppe empire beyond China's western borders on the strength of their horse-mounted archers. The steppe empire would, in time, be crushed by the Chinese, its remnants fleeing west to become the Huns. This old theory of Hunnic origins has gained new authority owing to recent archaeological finds in the Altai Mountains and advancements in the study of Mongolian folklore. Man's chapter on the causes for the Huns' military superiority is fascinating, relying on the work of the Hungarian archer expert Lajos Kassai. After years of study and practice, Kassai re-created the bow and the riding and shooting skills of the Hunnish horse archers. His demonstrations of horse archery have given onlookers a chilling glimpse into the destructive power of Attila's mounted archers. Man's book is a highly readable account of a bellicose steppe people and their leader who, long after they departed from the West, continue to haunt the European imagination. Highly recommended."--"Library Journal" "Attila the Hun was 'the Genghis Khan of Europe, ' says British historian Man in this fast-paced though often prosaic account of the rise and fall of the Huns and their infamous leader. Man traces the origin of the Huns, following these restless nomads from the steppes of Mongolia to present-day Hungary. Attila led his people in terrifying raids into new lands in the fifth century. Relying on scant

Mistress of the Elgin Marbles (Paperback): Susan Nagel Mistress of the Elgin Marbles (Paperback)
Susan Nagel
R542 R448 Discovery Miles 4 480 Save R94 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The remarkable Mary Nisbet was the Countess of Elgin in Romantic-era Scotland and the wife of the seventh Earl of Elgin. When Mary accompanied her husband to diplomatic duty in Turkey, she changed history. She helped bring the smallpox vaccine to the Middle East, struck a seemingly impossible deal with Napoleon, and arranged the removal of famous marbles from the Parthenon. But all of her accomplishments would be overshadowed, however, by her scandalous divorce. Drawing from Mary's own letters, scholar Susan Nagel tells Mary's enthralling, inspiring, and suspenseful story in vibrant detail.

Girl On The Edge - A Memoir (Paperback): Ruth Carneson Girl On The Edge - A Memoir (Paperback)
Ruth Carneson
R95 R75 Discovery Miles 750 Save R20 (21%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Ruth was four years old when her father was arrested for high treason and her world was turned upside-down. She grew up in constant fear of Special Branch policemen knocking on the door to arrest her mother or father, prominent South African communist. Ruth learned how to keep her mouth shut, to look out for microphones in the walls and to beware of friends who could betray her trust.

At fourteen, Ruth left South Africa, clutching her teddy bear in one hand and her drawings in the other. A plan to England carried her into exile, a new world where she struggled to reconstruct a life fractured by fear.

With an artist’s eye for detail and colour, Ruth recalls her life with unflinching honesty: the Treason Trial; her struggle to conform; Friern Barnet Asylum for the ‘hopeless insane’; LSD, protests, and free love in London, art school and motherhood; communes and camping- all steps in a journey that finally brought her home to South Africa on the brink of change.

Heart- wrenchingly sad one minute, bursting with life and vigour the next, seamed throughout by strength and courage, girl on the edge allows us to look deep into one woman’s life and travel with her to the brink and back again.

The Last Playboy - The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa (Paperback): Shawn Levy The Last Playboy - The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa (Paperback)
Shawn Levy
R447 R378 Discovery Miles 3 780 Save R69 (15%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

At one gilded moment in history, his fame was so great that he was known the world over by his nickname alone: Rubi. Pop songs were written about him. Women whom he had never met offered to leave their husbands for him. He had an eye for feminine beauty, particularly when it came with great wealth: Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke, Eva Peron, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. But he was a man's man as well, polo player and race-car driver, chumming around with the likes of Joe Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Oleg Cassini, Aly Khan, and King Farouk. He was also a jewel thief, and an intimate of one of the world's most bloodthirsty dictators. And when he died at the age of fifty-six--wrapping his sports car around a tree in the Bois de Boulogne--a glamorous era of white dinner jackets at El Morocco and celebrity for its own sake died along with him.

He was one of a kind, the last of his breed. And in The Last Playboy, author Shawn Levy brings the giddy, hedonistic, and utterly remarkable story of Porfirio Rubirosa to glorious Technicolor life.

Fate Deals a Hand - The Slippery Fortunes of Titanic's Professional Gamblers (Hardcover): George Behe Fate Deals a Hand - The Slippery Fortunes of Titanic's Professional Gamblers (Hardcover)
George Behe
R505 Discovery Miles 5 050 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

During the early twentieth century, professional gamblers were such a scourge in the smoking rooms of trans-Atlantic passenger liners that White Star Line warned its passengers about them. In spring 1912 three professional gamblers travelled from the USA to England for the sole purpose of returning to America on the maiden voyage of Titanic. "Kid" Homer, "Harry" Rolmane and "Boy" Bradley (Harry Homer, Charles Romaine and George Brereton) were grifters with a long history of living on the wrong side of the law, who planned to utilize their skills at the card table to relieve fellow passengers of cash. One swiftly fell under suspicion of being a professional "card mechanic", and was excluded from some poker games, but other games continued apace. This new book, the result of years of research by George Behe, reveals the true identities of these gamblers, their individual backgrounds, the ruses they used, and their ultimate fates after tragedy struck, as well as providing an intriguing insight into a bygone age.

Oorlog-Beeld - Nuusblad Oor Die Stryd Tussen Boer En Brit (Afrikaans, Paperback): Jackie Grobler Oorlog-Beeld - Nuusblad Oor Die Stryd Tussen Boer En Brit (Afrikaans, Paperback)
Jackie Grobler
R295 R236 Discovery Miles 2 360 Save R59 (20%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Toe die Britse Imperiale Ryk in 1899-1902 sy volle militêre mag teen die Boererepublieke van Suider-Afrika in die veld gestoot het, het ‘n groot gedeelte van die res van die wêreld hulle morele ondersteuning aan die dapper burgerkrygers toegesê ... maar sedert die bitter uiteinde van daardie ongelyke stryd het geskiedskrywers die verhaal van die oorlog grotendeels uit ‘n Britse oogpunt benader.

Hierdie is ‘n geskiedenisboek wat anders is.

Oorlog-Beeld voer ‘n verbeeldingsprong uit om die krygswêreld van daardie stryders wat deur Nelson Mandela as die ‘eerste Afrika-vryheidsvegters van die 20ste eeu’ beskryf is, te laat herleef. Hier, in koerantformaat soos dit destyds kon gewees het, volg die verhaal van die ‘Engelse Oorlog’ wat deur Boere vertel word: deur die offisiere wat hulle burgers op die slagvelde by Magersfontein, Colenso en Spioenkop aanvoer; deur bittereinderburgers wat tot op die laaste volgehou het; deur verveelde burgers wat Mafeking, Ladysmith en Kimberley tevergeefs beleër het; deur vroue en kinders in die konsentrasiekampe; deur regeerders en krygsgevangenes in ballingskap asook verskeie ander deelnemers – alles toegelig uit ‘n magdom kontemporêre bronne en met ‘n menigte foto’s wat destyds geneem is.

Daar word nie net oor militêre konfrontasies berig nie, maar ook oor die kommandolewe, oor die ervaringe van krygsgevangenes in kampe oor die aardbol heen versprei, oor die aktiwiteite van die Boere-afgevaardigdes in die buiteland wat buitelandse inmenging aan Boerekant teweeg moes bring, oor die aktiwiteite van prominente individue, soos president Paul Kruger en Emily Hobhouse, en oor die treurige lot van vroue en kinders in die konsentrasiekampe.

Mary Churchill's War - The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter (Hardcover): Emma Soames Mary Churchill's War - The Wartime Diaries of Churchill's Youngest Daughter (Hardcover)
Emma Soames; Introduction by Erik Larson; Mary Churchill
R793 R666 Discovery Miles 6 660 Save R127 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us - 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists & Protesters (Paperback): Athambile Masola, Xolisa Guzula Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us - 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists & Protesters (Paperback)
Athambile Masola, Xolisa Guzula
R165 R129 Discovery Miles 1 290 Save R36 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls.

In 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists & Protesters, you will read about women who fought against colonialism and oppression. Here are the stories of women heroes through history, whose stories are connected because of a shared passion for equality and justice.

  • Emma Sandile
  • Nomguqo Paulina Dlamini
  • Charlotte Makgomo Mannya-Maxeke
  • Mina Tembeka Soga
  • Mabel Cetu
  • Pumla Ngozwana Kisosonkole
  • Lauretta Ngcobo
  • Brigalia Ntombemhlophe Bam
  • Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela-Mandela
  • Masalanabo Modjadji VII (The Rain Queen)
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