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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Local history
Singapore Then and Now brings together rare archival images of this
global city-state and matches them with specially commissioned
photos of the same sites as they appear today. Vaughan Grylls
(author/photographer of Oxford Then and Now, Cambridge Then and Now
and Hong Kong Then and Now) has rounded up all of the key sites
that make up this fascinating and diverse place, from gleaming new
skyscrapers and shopping malls to magnificent temples and ancient
rainforests. The breathtaking contrast between past and present
make this a fascinating addition to the long-running Then and Now
series. Sites include: Elgin Bridge, Empress Place Building,
Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, Fullerton Hotel, Johnston's
Pier, Singapore Cricket Club, the Supreme Court, Capitol Theatre,
Raffles Hotel, Masjid Sultan Mosque, Ellison Building, Coleman
Bridge, Fort Canning, National Museum, YMCA Building, Cathay
Building, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple, Tanjong
Pagar Dock, Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Johor-Singapore Causeway, Ford
Factory, Changi Village.
This biography examines the political journey of James McDowell, a
Democratic governor from western Virginia during the Jacksonian
Era. The journey was shaped by the crosscurrents of a national
debate over slavery, democratic advances, and the Jackson's
controversial agenda. A progressive, he joined the state's House of
Delegates in 1833, pushing for the end of slavery in the
Commonwealth, economic improvements, and a system of public
education. Called an abolitionist, he ended his anti-slavery
campaign, enlarged his plantation holdings, and climbed the
political ladder. In 1843, he became governor and congressman until
his death in 1851. The author covers regional and national issues,
the multiple burdens of his wife, Susan, who was left alone with
her children at home, and other personal crises. An intellectual,
noted orator, and diligent party activist, McDowell often opposed
the status quo and was an important moderate voice who defended the
Constitution at a time of severe sectional divide.
Simon Fairlie is possibly the most influential - and unusual -
eco-activist you might not have heard of. The Observer Simon
Fairlie is the original hippie. The Idler This is a fascinating,
funny and moving record of an extraordinary life lived in
extraordinary times. George Monbiot Going to Seed is the
unforgettable firsthand account of how the hippie movement flowered
in the late 1960s, appeared spent by the Thatcher-consumed 1980s,
yet became the seedbed for progressive reform we now take for
granted - and continues to inspire generations of rebels and
visionaries. At a young age, Simon Fairlie rejected the rat race
and embarked on a new trip to find his own path. He dropped out of
Cambridge University to hitchhike to Istanbul and bicycle through
India. Simon established a commune in France, was arrested multiple
times for squatting and civil disobedience, and became a leading
figure in protests against the British government's road building
programmes of the 1980s and - later - in legislative battles to
help people secure access to land for low impact, sustainable
living. Over the course of fifty years, we witness a man's drive
for self-sufficiency, freedom, authenticity and a deep connection
to the land. Simon Fairlie grew up in a middle-class household in
leafy middle England. His path had been laid out for him by his
father: boarding school, Oxbridge and a career in journalism. But
everything changed when Simon's life ran headfirst into London's
counterculture in the 1960s. He finds Beat poetry, blues music,
cannabis and anti-Vietnam War protests - and a powerful lust to be
free. Instead of becoming a celebrated Fleet Street journalist like
his father, Simon becomes a labourer, a stonemason, a farmer, a
scythesman, a magazine editor and a writer of a very different
sort. He shares the highs of his experience, alongside the painful
costs of his ongoing search for freedom - estrangement from his
family, financial insecurity and the loss of friends and lovers to
the excesses of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Going to Seed questions
the current trajectory of Western 'progress' - explosive
consumerism, growing inequality and environmental devastation; it's
for anyone who wonders how we got to such a place. Simon's story is
for anyone who wonders what the world might look like if we began
to chart a radically different course.
Kent has a long and illustrious military history dating back to the
Roman occupation but the first great conflict of the twentieth
century brought the horrors of war to a new generation. Thousands
of the county's finest young men were sent off to fight in
battlefields around the world including Europe's Western Front,
which was less than a day's travel from Kent. Because of its
proximity to this major war zone, Kent came to play a pivotal role
in the conflict. The ports of Dover and Folkestone were the main
staging posts for the British Expeditionary Force and the primary
points of arrival for the thousands of wounded servicemen being
repatriated from the Front. Its hospitals cared for the wounded and
its munitions factories produced the armaments needed to fight the
war. The county's geographical position also made it a prime target
for German air raids and naval bombardments, which brought the
terrors of modern war to the civilian population for the first
time. Kent at War tells the remarkable story of the First World War
as it unfolded and affected the county and its people.
New England has nurtured countless women who shook off traditional
gender roles to forge their own destinies. Their achievements are
legion. Narragansett tribal historian Princess Red Wing served as a
delegate to the United Nations and co-founded Rhode Island's
Tomaquag Museum. Boston iconoclast Isabella Stewart Gardner had the
acute artistic vision to establish the museum that bears her name.
Harriet Beecher Stowe ignited public opinion against slavery,
arguably hastening the Civil War, as displays in her Hartford home
make clear. Pioneering naturalist Rachel Carson jumpstarted the
modern environmental movement with her writings about the rocky
beaches and quivering tidepools of Southport, Maine. New England's
Notable Women shines the spotlight on 45 of these trailblazers and
achievers and directs readers to the homes and sites throughout New
England where their stories come to life.
For more than three centuries Oxford has been the subject of fine
illustrated books and engraved prints. These exquisitely made
illustrations have become part of the historical record, showing
how Oxford's identity is rooted in the past and tracing a history
of the city's development through the architecture of its most
beautiful colleges and university buildings. Prints made by David
Loggan in the seventeenth century show us a university where the
medieval origins are already largely overlaid by Tudor and Stuart
rebuilding. The engravings in the eighteenth-century Oxford
Almanacks illustrate a city dominated by neo-classical ideas, while
those of the nineteenth century show an increasingly romantic feel
for the architecture against its natural background of sky, trees
and river. Hand-coloured etchings published by Ackermann in the
nineteenth century and Ingram's Memorials of Oxford of 1837 offer a
nostalgic portrait of Oxford before development changed it into the
modern city it is today. The best of these historic prints are
reproduced here to create a panorama of classical Oxford, with an
accompanying text describing the origin of each building,
institution or public event, together with the salient features of
their history. Together they offer an instructive and captivating
view of Oxford through the ages.
Discover hidden gems around Brighton with 20 walking routes.
Featuring 20 walks in and around the city, including lesser-known
circuits and details on popular walks. Accompanied by guided
walking instructions and written by a local expert, A-Z Brighton
Hidden Walks is the perfect way to explore the city in a new light.
Small enough to fit in a bag or pocket, this handy guidebook is
ideal for tourists or locals looking to discover more about the
city. Each route varies in length from 1 to 6 miles (1.6 to 9.6
km), and is clearly outlined on detailed A-Z street mapping. 20
walking routes with instructions and maps Full-colour photographs
of hidden gems and city attractions Key sights and locations
clearly marked on map Information such as start/finish points,
nearest postcodes, distance and terrain included More from the A-Z
Hidden Walks series: A-Z Birmingham Hidden Walks A-Z Bristol &
Bath Hidden Walks A-Z Edinburgh Hidden Walks A-Z London Hidden
Walks A-Z Oxford Hidden Walks A-Z York Hidden Walks A-Z Brighton
Hidden Walks A-Z Cambridge Hidden Walks A-Z Manchester Hidden Walks
A-Z Liverpool Hidden Walks
Discover hidden gems around Cambridge with 20 walking routes.
Featuring 20 walks in and around the city, including lesser-known
circuits and details on popular walks. Accompanied by guided
walking instructions and written by a local expert, A-Z Cambridge
Hidden Walks is the perfect way to explore the city in a new light.
Small enough to fit in a bag or pocket, this handy guidebook is
ideal for tourists or locals looking to discover more about the
city. Each route varies in length from 1 to 6 miles (1.6 to 9.6
km), and is clearly outlined on detailed A-Z street mapping. 20
walking routes with instructions and maps Full-colour photographs
of hidden gems and city attractions Key sights and locations
clearly marked on map Information such as start/finish points,
nearest postcodes, distance and terrain included More from the A-Z
Hidden Walks series: A-Z Birmingham Hidden Walks A-Z Bristol &
Bath Hidden Walks A-Z Edinburgh Hidden Walks A-Z London Hidden
Walks A-Z Oxford Hidden Walks A-Z York Hidden Walks A-Z Brighton
Hidden Walks A-Z Cambridge Hidden Walks A-Z Manchester Hidden Walks
A-Z Liverpool Hidden Walks
In New York's Burned-over District, Spencer W. McBride and
Jennifer Hull Dorsey invite readers to experience the early
American revivals and reform movements through the eyes of the
revivalists and the reformers themselves. Â Between 1790 and
1860, the mass migration of white settlers into New York State
contributed to a historic Christian revival. This renewed spiritual
interest and fervor occurred in particularly high concentration in
central and western New York where men and women actively sought
spiritual awakening and new religious affiliation. Contemporary
observers referred to the region as "burnt" or "infected" with
religious enthusiasm; historians now refer to as the Burned-over
District. Â New York's Burned-over District highlights how
Christian revivalism transformed the region into a critical hub of
social reform in nineteenth-century America. An invaluable
compendium of primary sources, this anthology revises standard
interpretations of the Burned-over District and shows how the
putative grassroots movements of the era were often coordinated and
regulated by established religious leaders.
The son of one of the greatest writers of our time-Nobel Prize
winner and internationally best-selling icon Gabriel Garcia
Marquez-remembers his beloved father and mother in this tender
memoir about love and loss. "I find myself remembering that my
father used to say that everyone has three lives: the public, the
private, and the secret." On a weekday morning in March 2014,
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most acclaimed writers of the
twentieth century, came down with a cold. In this intimate and
honest account on grief and death, Rodrigo Garcia not only
contemplates his father's mortality and remarkable humanity, but
also his mother's tremendous charm and tenderness. Mercedes Barcha,
Gabo's constant companion and creative muse, was one of the
foremost influences on his life and art. A Farewell to Gabo and
Mercedes is a revelatory portrait of a family coping with loss and
a rich depiction of a son's love.
'Somerville knows more about wooden barn construction than almost
anyone alive.'-The Telegraph 'A joyful reminder of why nature,
being outside, being together and creating beauty is so good for
the soul.'-Kate Humble, broadcaster and author of A Year of Living
Simply 'For all our advances, it's hard to deny the modern world
brings with it new ills of disconnection and disenfranchisement,
but here in Barn Club they've found their cure.'-Barn the Spoon,
master craftsman and author of Spon Nature meets traditional craft
in this celebration of the elm tree, beautiful buildings and
community spirit. Barn Club calls on us to discover our landscapes
more intimately and to explore the joys of making beautiful things
by hand, together. When renowned craftsman Robert Somerville moved
to Hertfordshire, he discovered an unexpected landscape rich with
wildlife and elm trees. Nestled within London's commuter belt, this
wooded farmland inspired Somerville, a lifelong woodworker, to
revive the ancient tradition of hand-raising barns. Barn Club
follows the building of Carley Barn over the course of one year.
Volunteers from all walks of life joined Barn Club, inspired to
learn this ancient skill of building elm barns by hand, at its own
quiet pace and in the company of others, while using timber from
the local woods. The tale of the elm tree in its landscape is
central to Barn Club. Its natural history, historic importance and
remarkable survival make for a fascinating story. This is a tale of
forgotten trees, a local landscape and an ancient craft. This book
includes sixteen pages of colour photographs, and black and white
line drawings of techniques and traditional timber frame barns
feature throughout.
The South Downs has throughout history been a focus of English
popular culture. With chalkland, their river valleys and scarp-foot
the Downs have been shaped for over millennia by successive
generations of farmers, ranging from Europe's oldest inhabitants
right up until the 21st century. '... possibly the most important
book to have been written on the South Downs in the last
half-century ... The South Downs have found their perfect
biographer.' Downs Country
A quirky collection of true stories from the stranger side of God's
Own Country, including vampires, tigers and aliens. Welcome to the
weird and wonderful world of Yorkshire, or as it is sometimes
beautifully referred to, God's Own County. Though this isn't the
usual side of the county the tourists, travellers and residents
see. This is the real Yorkshire, the strange and twisted nooks and
crannies of the county's bizarre history - past, present and
future. Following on from the bestselling Portico Strangest titles
now comes a book devoted to one of England's most beautiful valley
regions. Located in the upper body of Britain's old man, Yorkshire
is a county with more strangeness than you can shake a Dale walking
stick at. Home of Robin Hood (he was born in Barnsdale), Guy
Fawkes, Dick Turpin and Dracula (Bram Stoker wrote part of the
vampire tale in a Whitby hotel!) and, some say, the birthplace of
modern civilization even began in Leeds! But you'll have to read
the book to find out why. Yorkshire's Strangest Tales is a treasure
trove of the hilarious, the odd and the baffling - an alternative
travel guide to some of the county's best-kept secrets. Read on, if
you dare! You have been warned.
Western Isles Folk Tales is a representative collection of stories
from the geographical span of the long chain of islands known as
the Outer Hebrides. Some are well-known tales and others have been
sought out by the author, but all are retold in the natural voice
of a local man. You will find premonitions, accounts of uncanny
events and mythical beings, such as the blue men of the stream who
test mariners venturing into the tidal currents around the Shiant
Islands. Also included are tales from islands now uninhabited, like
the archipelago of St Kilda, in contrast to the witty yarns from
bustling harbours. The author was the inaugural winner of the
Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship (1995) and his Acts of Trust
collaboration with visual artist Christine Morrison won the
multi-arts category in the first British Awards for Storytelling
Excellence (2012). Both author and illustrator live in Stornoway,
Isle of Lewis.
Zen and the Art of Local History is an engaging, interactive
conversation that conveys the exciting nature of local history.
Divided into six major themes the book covers the scope and breadth
of local history: * Being a Local Historian * Topics and Sources *
Staying Relevant * Getting it Right * Writing History * History
Organizations Each chapter features one of Carol Kammen's memorable
editorials from History News. Her editorial is a "call." Each is
followed by a response from one of more than five dozen prominent
players in state and local history. These Respondents include local
and public historians, archivists, volunteers, and history
professionals across the kaleidoscopic spectrum of local history.
Among this group are Katherine Kane, Robert "Bob" Richmond, Charlie
Bryan, and Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. The result is a series of
dialogues on important topics in the field of local history. This
interactivity of these conversations makes Zen and the Art of Local
History a unique offering in the public history field.
Zen and the Art of Local History is an engaging, interactive
conversation that conveys the exciting nature of local history.
Divided into six major themes the book covers the scope and breadth
of local history: * Being a Local Historian * Topics and Sources *
Staying Relevant * Getting it Right * Writing History * History
Organizations Each chapter features one of Carol Kammen's memorable
editorials from History News. Her editorial is a "call." Each is
followed by a response from one of more than five dozen prominent
players in state and local history. These Respondents include local
and public historians, archivists, volunteers, and history
professionals across the kaleidoscopic spectrum of local history.
Among this group are Katherine Kane, Robert "Bob" Richmond, Charlie
Bryan, and Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. The result is a series of
dialogues on important topics in the field of local history. This
interactivity of these conversations makes Zen and the Art of Local
History a unique offering in the public history field.
In 1914, the East London Federation of Suffragettes, led by Sylvia
Pankhurst, split from the WSPU. Sylvia's mother and sister,
Emmeline and Christabel, had encouraged her to give up her work
with the poor women of East London - but Sylvia refused. Besides
campaigning for women to have an equal right to vote from their
headquarters in Bow, the ELFS worked on a range of equality issues
which mattered to local women: they built a toy factory, providing
work and a living wage for local women; they opened a subsidized
canteen where women and children could get cheap, nutritious food;
and they launched a nursery school, a creche, and a mother-and-baby
clinic. The work of the Federation (and 'our Sylvia', as she was
fondly known by locals) deserves to be remembered, and this book,
filled with astonishing first-hand accounts, aims to bring this
amazing story to life.
Explore the magical green world of Lambeth Palace Garden, a hidden
jewel of London for more than 1,000 years. In this book, Head
Gardener Nick Stewart Smith takes the reader on a series of rambles
through the changing seasons, introducing some extraordinary trees
and plants along the way. Revealing some of the untold stories of
the ten-acre secret garden, this is a unique insight into a special
place. Nick explains how nature is at the heart of everything here,
the gardening approach allowing the green world inside the high
stone walls to be a haven for many kinds of wildlife, all
flourishing right in the midst of one of the world's busiest
cities.
Television, penicillin, the telephone, A Haverin' History of
Scotland. All of these have been created by a Scotsperson, although
not all will appear on a tea towel listing great Scottish
inventions.* Scotland is as old as any other country - maybe even
more so, judging by the state of the pavements. This means that it
has a lot of a history. A lot! Some of those whose epic deeds have
echoed down the centuries include William 'Braveheart' Wallace,
King Robert 'the Bruce' the Bruce and Queen Mary 'Queen of Scots'
Queen of Scots. Among many others, they all feature in this concise
and relatively cheap history of the country people all over the
world call Scotland. Because that is its name. Whether you know
your Scottish history, or you think the Lewis Chessmen were a 1960s
beat combo, A Haverin' History of Scotland is the unreliable
history book for you. *Does anyone still watch television?
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