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Books > Biography > Historical, political & military
The fifth century brought great changes to Roman Gaul, including the expansion of the Christian church, the disappearance of the Roman imperial presence, and the arrival and settlement of various barbarian peoples. In this volume, the letters of Ruricius, bishop of Limoges (c. 485-510), and those written to him -- by Faustus of Riez, Sedatus of Nimes. Caesarius of Aries, Euphrasius of Clermont, Graecus of Marseilles, Victorinus of Frejus, Sidonius Apollinaris, Paulinus of Bordeaux, and Taurentius -- give insight into the personal lives and feelings of those who experienced these transformations first hand. The collection affords an unparalleled view of Gaul in the last quarter of the fifth century, when it seemed that the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse would become the primary barbarian power in the region. In an intimate and domestic way, these personal correspondences describe what happened in Gaul after the final Roman withdrawal just before A.D. 480. They illustrate how literary culture continued under barbarian rule, and demonstrate how well-to-do Gauls responded to the changing times. They provide priceless insights not only into the private and public lives of the individual letter writers but also into life and activities in Visigothic Gaul at the local level in general. Surprisingly, they suggest how little impact the Visigoths actually had on many individuals present at the "end of Roman Gaul.
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down. In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it. Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online – a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet’s conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.
'A riveting, unvarnished and wholly unforgettable portrait of America's most storied commandos at war.' - Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction A stirringly evocative, thought-provoking, and often jaw-dropping account of SEAL Team Operator Robert O'Neill's awe-inspiring 400-mission career. O'Neill describes his idyllic childhood in Butte, Montana; his impulsive decision to join the SEALs; the arduous evaluation and training process; and the even tougher gauntlet he had to run to join the SEALs' most elite unit. The Operatordescribes the nonstop action of O'Neill's deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, evoking the black humor of years-long combat, and reveals firsthand details of the most discussed anti-terrorist operation in military history.
An "intriguing and accessible" (Publishers Weekly) interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history's greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged by science deniers. "We really need this story now, because we're living through the next chapter of science denial" (Bill McKibben). Galileo's story may be more relevant today than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises-such as minimizing the dangers of climate change-because the science behind these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time. Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books were forbidden by church authorities. Astrophysicist and bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific expertise and uses his "gifts as a great storyteller" (The Washington Post) to provide a "refreshing perspective" (Booklist) into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every educated person should know science as well as literature, and insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his books in Italian rather than Latin. Galileo was put on trial with his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and all of those who respect science-which, as Livio reminds us in this "admirably clear and concise" (The Times, London) book, remains threatened everyday.
Marion is proverbially the great master of strategy?the wily fox of the swamps?never to be caught, never to be followed, ?yet always at hand, with unconjectured promptness, at the moment when he is least feared and is least to be expected. South Carolina's ?Swamp Fox, ? Francis Marion, is one of the most celebrated figures of the American Revolution. Marion's cunning exploits in the Southern theater of the Revolution earned him national renown and a place in history as an American hero and master of modern guerilla warfare. Although dozens of works have been written about Marion's life over the years, this biography -- written by William Gilmore Simms, South Carolina's greatest author -- remains the best. First published in 1844, The Life of Francis Marion was Simms's most commercially successful work of nonfiction. It offers a treatment of Marion's life that is unparalleled in its scope and accuracy, all in Simms's inimitable style.
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The Austrian Theory of Value and Capital provides a meticulous account of Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk's life, his theory of value, capital and interest within the context of 19th century German economic thought and the development of neoclassical economic theory.This book provides an insight into Bohm-Bawerk's intellectual development, his political leanings and personal background, including a wealth of previously unknown facts. The study also considers the development of economic thought in the 19th century in Germany and Austria. It critically analyses the work and contribution of Bohm-Bawerk and concludes that his analysis belongs to traditional 19th century German economic thought. Closely related to this is the clarification made by the author of what is genuinely 'Austrian' in the 'Austrian theory of value and distribution'. To complement the study of Bohm-Bawerk, the book also contains the first English translation of his letters to Knut Wicksell. This book will be of interest to economic theorists, those interested in Austrian economics and the history of economic thought and economic historians.
The New York Times bestselling book from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg-"a comprehensive look inside her brilliantly analytical, entertainingly wry mind, revealing the fascinating life of one of our generation's most influential voices in both law and public opinion" (Harper's Bazaar). My Own Words "showcases Ruth Ginsburg's astonishing intellectual range" (The New Republic). In this collection Justice Ginsburg discusses gender equality, the workings of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and the value of looking beyond US shores when interpreting the US Constitution. Throughout her life Justice Ginsburg has been (and continues to be) a prolific writer and public speaker. This book's sampling is selected by Justice Ginsburg and her authorized biographers Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams, who introduce each chapter and provide biographical context and quotes gleaned from hundreds of interviews they have conducted. Witty, engaging, serious, and playful, My Own Words is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America's most influential women and "a tonic to the current national discourse" (The Washington Post).
THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER-ONE BESTSELLER. A reissue of this classic title brought up to date with never-before-published material from the original taped interviews and a new introduction by Andrew Morton. This edition reflects on the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the original publication, and on the long-term legacy of Diana, the woman who helped reinvigorate the royal family, giving it a more emotional, human face, and thus helping it move forward into the 21st century.
On February 18, 1938, Joseph P. Kennedy was sworn in as US Ambassador to the Court of St. James. To say his appointment to the most prestigious and strategic diplomatic post in the world shocked the Establishment was an understatement - known for his profound Irish roots and staunch Catholicism, not to mention his "plain-spoken" opinions and womanising, he was a curious choice as Europe hurtled toward war. Initially welcomed by the British, in less than two short years Kennedy was loathed by the White House, the State Department and the British Government. Believing firmly that Fascism was the inevitable wave of the future, he consistently misrepresented official US foreign policy internationally as well as direct instructions from FDR himself. The Americans were the first to disown him and the British and the Nazis used Kennedy to their own ends. Through meticulous research and many newly available sources, Ronald confirms in impressive detail what has long been believed by many: that Kennedy was a Fascist sympathiser and an anti-Semite whose only loyalty was to his family's advancement. She also reveals the ambitions of the Kennedy dynasty during this period abroad, as they sought to enter the world of high society London and establish themselves as America's first family. Thorough and utterly readable, The Ambassador explores a darker side of the Kennedy patriarch in an account sure to generate attention and controversy.
An "exciting and enlightening revisionist history" (Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author) that upends the myth of the 1950s as a decade of conformity and celebrates a few solitary, brave, and stubborn individuals who pioneered the radical gay rights, feminist, civil rights, and environmental movements, from historian James R. Gaines. An "enchanting, beautifully written book about heroes and the dark times to which they refused to surrender" (Todd Gitlin, bestselling author of The Sixties). In a series of character portraits, The Fifties invokes the accidental radicals-people motivated not by politics but by their own most intimate conflicts-who sparked movements for change in their time and our own. Among many others, we meet legal pathfinder Pauli Murray, who was tortured by both her mixed-race heritage and her "in between" sexuality. Through years of hard work and self-examination, she turned her demons into historic victories. Ruth Bader Ginsburg credited her for the argument that made sex discrimination unconstitutional, but that was only one of her gifts to the 21st-century feminism. We meet Harry Hay, who dreamed of a national gay rights movement as early as the mid-1940s, a time when the US, Soviet Union, and Nazi Germany viewed gay people as subversives and mentally ill. And in perhaps the book's unlikeliest pairing, we hear the prophetic voices of Silent Spring's Rachel Carson and MIT's preeminent mathematician, Norbert Wiener, who from their very different perspectives-she is in the living world, he in the theoretical one-converged on the then-heretical idea that our mastery over the natural world carried the potential for disaster. Their legacy is the environmental movement. The Fifties is an "inspiration...[and] a reminder of the hard work and personal sacrifice that went into fighting for the constitutional rights of gay people, Blacks, and women, as well as for environmental protection" (The Washington Post). The book carries the powerful message that change begins not in mass movements and new legislation but in the lives of the decentered, often lonely individuals, who learn to fight for change in a daily struggle with themselves.
This is the first attempt, since the work of A.P.I. Samuels in 1923, at examining the early career of Edmund Burke without assuming that he was born to become the arch-conservative who condemned the French Revolution. Instead of being in revolt against the Enlightenment, the young Burke was a man intent on illustrating himself and his age by promoting rational knowledge and widening the field of reason. His turn to politics is, therefore, seen as turning away from truth; the compromise changed the direction of his thinking. An escapist solution to some of Burke's problems could not make him forget Ireland, his native country. The fact that Ireland is the first country to have been colonized by England makes it an interesting laboratory of colonial misrule. The study of how it fashioned such a man torn between Ireland and England raises and sheds light on problems that go very much beyond the fate of Burke as an individual. It is a demonstration of the different means used by colonial powers to maintain their conquered empire and contain dissidence and rebellion. Making people believe, for instance, that the order of things is as it should be because that is what it is, does not tax the imagination, but it works and is still being used the world over. In this opinion campaign, Protestant England enjoyed the unfailing support of the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland and a 'realistic' understanding on the part of Catholic Europe. It is an example of the private and public tragedies caused by the divided loyalties that colonialism generated. The painfully experienced situation of a 'cultural mulatto' is the inevitable result of a state of domination. If it seems complex, it is because it is not purely negative: the dominated may in turn dominate the dominator. The effects are still with us of the passionate oscillations and reversals of opinion that Burke called his 'principles'. Finally it illustrates the fundamental error of those who, even for a moment, lose sight of the truth perceived by Victor Hugo that 'the first phase of the possible is to be impossible'. As a cultural mulatto, Burke led an impossible life, but who can fail to see that what was then an 'impossibility' is, in the present situation of Ireland and of the world, not only possible but eminently desirable? If only because this is just the beginning.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of today's most admired and controversial political figures. She burst into international headlines following the murder of Theo van Gogh by an Islamist who threatened she would be next. An international bestseller, Infidel shows the coming of age of this elegant, distinguished - and sometimes reviled - political superstar and champion of free speech. Raised in a strict Muslim family and extended clan, Hirsi Ali survived civil war, female circumcision, brutal beatings, an adolescence as a devout believer, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, and life in four countries under dictatorships. She escaped from a forced marriage and sought asylum in the Netherlands, where she fought for the rights of Muslim women and the reform of Islam, earning her the enmity of reactionary Islamists and craven politicians. Under constant threat, she refuses to be silenced. Ultimately a celebration of triumph over adversity, Hirsi Ali's story tells how a bright, curious, dutiful little girl evolves into a pioneering freedom fighter. As Western governments struggle to balance democratic ideals with religious pressures, no other book could be more timely, or more significant.
"In 2015, when I ran to be mayor in Tower Hamlets, a smartly dressed middle-class man saw me wearing a headscarf and asked me what colour my hair was underneath it. I gave him a big smile. 'Pink,' I replied. Did I win his vote? I rather doubt it." Vivid, astute and full of humour, My Hair Is Pink Under This Veil offers a frank appraisal of life in modern Britain as seen through the eyes of a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. Rabina Khan writes with grace about her family's experiences building a new life in 1970s London before turning her attention to exploring the politics of the veil, white privilege and intersectional feminism. And in depicting her battle to build a successful political career against a backdrop of blame, bias and misogyny - including from her own community - Khan is clear-sighted about the struggles facing Muslim women today. Now fully updated with new material on the sexism facing women in politics, My Hair Is Pink Under This Veil is at its heart an inspiring story about the power of self-belief and determination to create a fairer world.
Ray Hartley reveals how Cyril Ramaphosa pulled off one of the greatest political comebacks of modern times, and what lies in store for the new president as he embarks on a hefty clean-up operation of a country in shambles. Ray Hartley’s bestselling 2017 biography, Ramaphosa: The Man Who Would Be King, offered a cogent analysis of how the former nearly-man of South African politics handled the key challenges he faced in the unions, in business and in politics. In this updated edition, Hartley questions whether the former‘man in the middle’ can lead from the front, now that he has publicly denounced the besmirched Zuma and his corrupted ANC and established himself as a worthy recipient of the country’s top job. So begins a new era in South African politics.
Few people have made decisions as momentous as Eisenhower, nor has one person had to make such a varied range of them. From D-Day to Little Rock, from the Korean War to Cold War crises, from the Red Scare to the Missile Gap controversies, he was able to give our country eight years of peace and prosperity by relying on a core set of principles. These were informed by his heritage and upbringing, his strong character and his personal discipline, but he also avoided making himself the centre of things. He tried to be the calmest man in the room, not the loudest, so instead of seeking to fulfill his personal desires and political needs, he pursued a course he called the 'Middle Way' that tried to make winners on both sides of a situation. In addition, Ike maintained a big picture view on any situation; he was a strategic, not an operational leader. He also ensured that he had all the information he needed to make a decision. His talent for envisioning a whole, especially in the context of the long game, and his ability to sees causes and various consequences, explains his success as Allied Commander President. Then, after making a decision, he made himself accountable for it, prizing responsibility most of all his principles. How Ike Led shows us not just what a great American did, but why - and what we can learn from him today.
The Marquis de Condorcet (1743-94) was a founding father of social science. He believed that what he called the moral sciences could be studied by the same exacting methods as the natural sciences, and he developed many of the tools for doing so. Condorcet has had two quite unconnected reputations: as the doomed and foolish Enlightenment scholar, writing about the perfectibility of mankind while in hiding from the Terror that would shortly claim his own life; and as the incomprehensible founder of social choice, whose Essai of 1785 was not understood until the 1950s. This book shows that he was not so foolish, nor so incomprehensible, as even sympathetic treatments have made him sound. A long introduction uses the latest French and English sources to put his work into context, explains the unity of his thought and explicates his difficult arguments in probability theory and social choice. The extracts from Condorcet's work that follow are in two parts. Part I, 'The Theory of Voting', includes some extracts from the notorious Essai of 1785 but also later work which is more accessible and makes new points. Part II, 'Human Rights', shows Condorcet the passionate campaigner for rights for slaves and for women, and the American constitutionalist. His poignant 'Advice to his daughter' and 'Testament' show the spirit of a man who knew he was almost certain to be killed, and would never see his daughter again. Most of the works translated here have never appeared in English before. They will be an essential reference source for everybody working in social choice, the history of mathematics and human rights, and the Enlightenment.
A beautifully illustrated sailing classic. This rare memoir opens onto the early adventures of a 12-year-old boy sent to sea after the tragic deaths of his sister and father and the impending poverty of his mother. Not for these alone did the book draw great reviews from The Times and The Spectator, when first published in the 1920s. Recently, intrigued by this touching life story, his grandson researched press clippings and documents that compelled him to update and publish the book again, to reveal the full story that must have influenced and spurred on his hero. Weathering fierce storms and worse, in his first 8 years as an apprentice mariner the boy grew into a fine young man, learning from and appreciating the multicultured seamen about him as they ploughed through the Asian trading routes, often fighting off formidable pirates on the South China seas. On his first return home, now aged 20, Boughton arrived in time to save his mother from bailiffs and life in a poorhouse. (He supported her to the end of her days.) Exemplifying that steadfastness, he became a captain and then rose to become the Superintendent of the Shipping Federation of Britain as well as Member of the Marine Board for London. Notably, the book reproduces the original illustrations by Shoesmith, the still much admired artist of his day. The publication also includes old sea shanties, knots and amazing facts regarding world religions and more.
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government's system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down. In 2013, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden shocked the world when he broke with the American intelligence establishment and revealed that the United States government was secretly pursuing the means to collect every single phone call, text message, and email. The result would be an unprecedented system of mass surveillance with the ability to pry into the private lives of every person on earth. Six years later, Snowden reveals for the very first time how he helped to build this system and why he was moved to expose it. Spanning the bucolic Beltway suburbs of his childhood and the clandestine CIA and NSA postings of his adulthood, Permanent Record is the extraordinary account of a bright young man who grew up online - a man who became a spy, a whistleblower, and, in exile, the Internet's conscience. Written with wit, grace, passion, and an unflinching candor, Permanent Record is a crucial memoir of our digital age and destined to be a classic.
"My earliest recollection of Colkirk was, I think, the Diamond Jubilee of good Queen Victoria in 1897 ... " Alfred Absolon's memoir is a unique window into life in rural Norfolk before the Great War and a story full of his family's farming heritage. He grows up on his aunt's farm in the village of Colkirk. This is a place where folklore is as real as the seasons and the harvest is gathered by men and horses. The threshing machine is powered by a steam engine, and the village is home to traditional craftsmen who practice a fading way of life. This is an authentic and unforgettable first-person account of life in a Norfolk village at the turn of the century (1897-1929)
A memoir of being young and female in the clinton White House Stacy Parker Aab was born in Detroit in 1974, the only daughter of a white Kansas farm girl and a young black Detroiter fresh from two tours of Vietnam. An excellent student, Aab gravitated toward public service and moved to Washington, D.C., for college in the hopeful days of 1992. Not only would Aab study political communication at The George Washington University, but she would also intern at the White House. For three years, she worked for George Stephanopoulos. In 1997 she became White House staff, serving as Paul Begala's special assistant. At first, life was charmed, with nurturing mentors, superstar politicos, and handsome Secret Service agents. In January 1998, the world of the Clinton White House changed radically. Monica Lewinsky became a household name, and Aab learned quickly that in Washington, protectors can become predators, investigators will chase you like prey, and if you make mistakes with a powerful man, the world will turn your name into mud. Government Girl is a window into the culture of the Clinton White House, as seen through the eyes of an idealistic young female aide. Stacy Parker Aab's intimate memoir tells of her coming-of-age in the lion's den. Her story provides a searing look at the dynamics between smart young women and the influential older men who often hold the keys to their dreams.
The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France. The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, their siblings, their husbands and their children all across Europe and the Holy Land. Some of these women found happiness; others endured lives of turmoil and conflict. Some of them were close; others never met. But two things linked them all: their connection to Eleanor and to the kingdoms over which she reigned; and their determination to exert authority on their own terms in a male-dominated world. |
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