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Military Strategy: Second Edition (Very Short Introductions)
by Antulio J. Echevarria IIDistilling the ideas of the greatest military theoreticians of history, including Sun Tzu, Niccol? Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, this clear and engaging Very Short Introduction presents a fascinating account of the "art of the general." Antulio J. Echevarria II highlights the dynamic relationship between the main elements of strategy: purpose, method, and means. Drawing on historical examples, he discusses the major types of military strategy and how emerging technologies are affecting them. This second edition has been updated throughout, and now includes an extended chapter on cyberwarfare which shows how the use of social media platforms to influence opinions on political views and manipulate populations to act in certain ways has evolved from an art to a science.
Modern Romance January 2024 Books 1-4 (Bound by a Surrogate Baby) / The Italian's Pregnant Enemy / His Last-Minute Desert Queen / A Vow to Redeem the Greek: The Baby His Secretary Carries (bound By A Surrogate Baby) / The Italian's Pregnant Enemy / His Last-minute Desert Queen / A Vow To Redeem The Greek
by Dani Collins Maisey Yates Annie West Jackie AshendenRed-hot romances from Mills & Boon!
Money, Warfare and Power in the Ancient World: Studies in Honour of Matthew Freeman Trundle
by Jeremy Armstrong, Arthur J. Pomeroy and David RosenbloomMoney, Warfare and Power in the Ancient World offers twelve papers analysing the processes, consequences and problems involved in the monetization of warfare and its connection to political power in antiquity. The contributions explore not only how powerful men and states used money and coinage to achieve their aims, but how these aims and methods had often already been shaped by the medium of coined money – typically with unintended consequences. These complex relationships between money, warfare and political power – both personal and collective – are explored across different cultures and socio-political systems around the ancient Mediterranean, ranging from Pharaonic Egypt to Late Antique Europe. This volume is also a tribute to the life and impact of Professor Matthew Trundle, an inspiring teacher and scholar, who was devoted to promoting the discipline of Classics in New Zealand and beyond. At the time of his death, he was writing a book on the wider importance of money in the Greek world. A central piece of this research is incorporated into this volume, completed by one of his former students, Christopher De Lisle. Additionally, Trundle had situated himself at the centre of a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of money and power in antiquity. The contributions of scholars of ancient monetization in this volume bring together many of the threads of those conversions, further advancing a field which Matthew Trundle had worked so tirelessly to promote.
A Mother’s Sorrow: The captivating new page-turner from the Queen of the Saga
by Margaret DickinsonA Mother's Sorrow is a heart-rending family saga set around WW1 from bestselling author and Queen of the Saga, Margaret Dickinson. Three young women. Two families united. A bond that can’t be broken . . . Sheffield, 1892. Patrick Halliday rules his family with a rod of iron. He’s hard on both his wife and his elder daughter, Flora, but he spoils his youngest, Mary Ellen, because she reminds him of his beloved mother.When Mary Ellen, aged seventeen, finds that she is pregnant, Patrick throws her out of the family home and Flora goes with her. After wandering the Derbyshire countryside for miles, they find shelter on a farm, working for their keep.When Flora must return to her job as a buffer girl in Sheffield’s cutlery trade, she is reunited with her friend, Evelyn Bonsor. As both young women find love and fall pregnant, the Halliday and Bonsor families are united, despite the many trials that cross their paths.Then comes the Great War. Through hardship and tragedy, these two families must stick together to weather the storm . . .
Mr Einstein's Secretary: From the creator of No. 1 Netflix thriller INTERCEPTOR
by Matthew ReillyA SECRETARY LIKE NO OTHER...IN AN EPIC SPANNING 40 YEARSAll Hanna Fischer ever wanted to do was to study physics under the great Albert Einstein.But when, as a teenager in 1919, her life is suddenly turned upside-down, she is catapulted into a new and extraordinary life - as a secretary, a scientist, a sister and a spy.From racist gangs in Berlin to gangsters in New York City, Nazis in the 1930s and Hitler's inner circle during the Second World War, Hanna will encounter some of history's greatest minds and most terrible moments, all while desperately trying to stay alive.She is a most unique secretary and she will work for many bosses - from shrewd businessmen to vile Nazis, to the greatest boss of them all, Mr Albert Einstein...Spanning forty years, this is the thrilling tale of a young woman propelled through history's most dangerous times. ***** PRAISE FOR #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER MATTHEW REILLY'Thrilling, action-packed adventure from cover to cover' Guardian'Nobody writes action like Matthew Reilly' Vince Flynn'Get ready for a wild ride' Daily Telegraph'Exciting and entertaining' Chicago Sun-Times'An action hero worthy of Lee Child' Sydney Morning HeraldUndeniably addictive' Financial Times
Mussolini and the Rise of Populism: The Man who Made Fascism (Routledge Studies in Modern European History)
by Spencer DiScalaThis book analyzes the process by which Mussolini built the world’s first Fascist regime, describes how the Duce’s heirs have adapted to current political conditions, and how they have gone mainstream. With the rise of populism of the right in the new millennium, Benito Mussolini’s name has returned forcefully to the limelight. Populist movements closely resemble historical fascism, and former President Donald J. Trump has been compared to the Duce. In 2022, the 100th anniversary of the Duce’s taking power, an Italian populist party inspired by fascism took control of the country’s government led by its first woman Prime Minister. By finding in fascism their inspiration to confront the current epoch’s deep transformations, they have taken command in a major European liberal democratic country for the first time since 1945. How this occurred demonstrates the modernity and appeal of Mussolini’s fascism and offers new perspectives in interpreting populism. While the worst elements of fascism have not yet appeared in populist movements, this book conveys in clear language, a more precise awareness of the forces and values that propelled fascism to power and that drive the march of rightist populism worldwide. This volume is essential reading for students, scholars, general observers and commentators interested in European and modern history.
Mussolini and the Rise of Populism: The Man who Made Fascism (Routledge Studies in Modern European History)
by Spencer DiScalaThis book analyzes the process by which Mussolini built the world’s first Fascist regime, describes how the Duce’s heirs have adapted to current political conditions, and how they have gone mainstream. With the rise of populism of the right in the new millennium, Benito Mussolini’s name has returned forcefully to the limelight. Populist movements closely resemble historical fascism, and former President Donald J. Trump has been compared to the Duce. In 2022, the 100th anniversary of the Duce’s taking power, an Italian populist party inspired by fascism took control of the country’s government led by its first woman Prime Minister. By finding in fascism their inspiration to confront the current epoch’s deep transformations, they have taken command in a major European liberal democratic country for the first time since 1945. How this occurred demonstrates the modernity and appeal of Mussolini’s fascism and offers new perspectives in interpreting populism. While the worst elements of fascism have not yet appeared in populist movements, this book conveys in clear language, a more precise awareness of the forces and values that propelled fascism to power and that drive the march of rightist populism worldwide. This volume is essential reading for students, scholars, general observers and commentators interested in European and modern history.
NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, a History of the World's Most Powerful Alliance
by Sten RynningA wide-ranging new history of NATO, from its origins to the present day—published for the alliance’s seventy-fifth anniversary For seven decades, NATO’s stated aim has been the achievement of world peace—but playing great power politics always involves conflict. Russia’s war on Ukraine and on Europe’s security order puts the alliance under threat, but also demonstrates why transatlantic cooperation is so necessary. But how did NATO get to where it is today, and what does its future hold? In this incisive new account, Sten Rynning traces the full history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation from its origins to the present. Across its seventy-five years, NATO has navigated the twists and turns of Cold War diplomacy and nuclear deterrence, and has grown its membership. The alliance has become a guarantor of peace, but Rynning explores how its complex inner workings alongside Russian and Chinese opposition are now shaping its direction. At a time of strategic competition and geopolitical upheaval, Rynning offers us a clear-sighted account of the alliance’s intriguing history—and asks what its ambitions might be for the future.
Naval Constabulary Operations and Fisheries Governance: An Integrated Approach for the Australian Maritime Domain (ISSN)
by Sean A. AndrewsThis book offers an analysis of naval constabulary operations, in particular Australian fisheries patrols, and challenges the widely accepted Anglo-American school of maritime thought.In the Indo-Pacific, fisheries and the activities of fishing boats are of increasing strategic importance in Australia’s region – Australia’s Four Oceans. Issues of overfishing, population growth and climate change are placing growing pressure on fish as a resource, and in doing so are making fisheries more significant, and significant on a strategic as opposed to simply an economic or environmental level. When, combined with the growing use of fishing vessels as para-naval forces, it is clear that the activities of fishing vessels, whether fishing or not fishing, are matters of considerable strategic relevance. This book illuminates contemporary seapower challenges, explains and defines maritime security and examines and refines existing theory to advance a set of new or refined concepts to help frame the on-water activities of constabulary operations -- reducing the possibility of on-water miscalculation between states.This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of naval studies and sea power, maritime strategy, maritime security and International Relations.
Naval Constabulary Operations and Fisheries Governance: An Integrated Approach for the Australian Maritime Domain (ISSN)
by Sean A. AndrewsThis book offers an analysis of naval constabulary operations, in particular Australian fisheries patrols, and challenges the widely accepted Anglo-American school of maritime thought.In the Indo-Pacific, fisheries and the activities of fishing boats are of increasing strategic importance in Australia’s region – Australia’s Four Oceans. Issues of overfishing, population growth and climate change are placing growing pressure on fish as a resource, and in doing so are making fisheries more significant, and significant on a strategic as opposed to simply an economic or environmental level. When, combined with the growing use of fishing vessels as para-naval forces, it is clear that the activities of fishing vessels, whether fishing or not fishing, are matters of considerable strategic relevance. This book illuminates contemporary seapower challenges, explains and defines maritime security and examines and refines existing theory to advance a set of new or refined concepts to help frame the on-water activities of constabulary operations -- reducing the possibility of on-water miscalculation between states.This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of naval studies and sea power, maritime strategy, maritime security and International Relations.
Naval Presence and the Interwar US Navy and Marine Corps: Forward Deployment, Crisis Response, and the Tyranny of History (Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies Series)
by Benjamin ArmstrongThis book examines the US Navy and Marine Corps during the interwar years from a new perspective. Rather than focusing on the technologies developed, the wargames conducted, or the results of the now famous Fleet Problems, this work analyzes the global deployments of the rest of the US fleet. By examining the annual reports of the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps over twenty years, the book traces the US ships, squadrons, and fleets conducting naval diplomacy and humanitarian missions, maritime security patrols, and deployments for deterrent effect across the world’s oceans. Despite the common label of the interwar years as “isolationist,” the deployments of the US Navy and Marine Corps in that period were anything but, the majority of the literature on the era has a narrow focus on preparation for combat and wartime, which provides an incomplete view of the history of US naval power and also establishes a misleading set of precedents and historical context for naval thinkers and strategists in the contemporary world. Offering a wider, and more complete understanding of the history of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from 1920 to 1939, this book demonstrates both the tension between the execution of peacetime missions and the preparation for the next war, while also offering a broader understanding of American naval forces and their role in American and global history. This book will be of much interest to students of naval and military history, seapower, and International History.
Naval Presence and the Interwar US Navy and Marine Corps: Forward Deployment, Crisis Response, and the Tyranny of History (Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies Series)
by Benjamin ArmstrongThis book examines the US Navy and Marine Corps during the interwar years from a new perspective. Rather than focusing on the technologies developed, the wargames conducted, or the results of the now famous Fleet Problems, this work analyzes the global deployments of the rest of the US fleet. By examining the annual reports of the Secretary of the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps over twenty years, the book traces the US ships, squadrons, and fleets conducting naval diplomacy and humanitarian missions, maritime security patrols, and deployments for deterrent effect across the world’s oceans. Despite the common label of the interwar years as “isolationist,” the deployments of the US Navy and Marine Corps in that period were anything but, the majority of the literature on the era has a narrow focus on preparation for combat and wartime, which provides an incomplete view of the history of US naval power and also establishes a misleading set of precedents and historical context for naval thinkers and strategists in the contemporary world. Offering a wider, and more complete understanding of the history of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from 1920 to 1939, this book demonstrates both the tension between the execution of peacetime missions and the preparation for the next war, while also offering a broader understanding of American naval forces and their role in American and global history. This book will be of much interest to students of naval and military history, seapower, and International History.
New Perspectives on the Roman Civil Wars of 49–30 BCE
by Richard Westall and Hannah CornwellOffering new and original approaches to the Roman civil wars of 49-30 BCE, the eleven papers presented here for the first time shed light on this crucial moment in the forging of Roman identity. They engage with a variety of problems and topics in political discourse (diplomacy, the concept of libertas, divine paternity); socio-economic structures (allied rulers, military officials, civil war finances, Agrippa's family); material culture (the coinage of Julius Caesar, the physical remains of Corfinium); and literary commemoration (Sallust on trauma, the lost Histories of Asinius Pollio). The case studies presented here contribute to our understanding of a period that is just as fundamental for our view of the Romans as it was to the Romans themselves. Arguing for the unity of the period in question, the volume deploys a multiplicity of methodologies to analyse how the trauma of armed conflict and the breakdown of accepted socio-cultural models not only mediated the contemporary experience of Roman civil war, but also left a lasting impression upon how Romans viewed the world. Incisive and critical, these contributions by a diverse team of international researchers, both emerging scholars and leaders in their fields, offer a new window into the world of the late Republic and early Principate.
Nuclear Conundrum of Iran and North Korea: From Proliferation Crisis to Non-Proliferation Promise?
by Hina PandeyThis book examines Iran and North Korea from a non-proliferation lens. It highlights how these two countries stand out as nuclear challenges vis-à-vis the NPT and unpacks their nuclear history, recent developments, nuclear resolve in the times of the pandemic and future challenges in a comprehensive manner. It shows how these two issues remain similar, distinguished, dynamic but static so far progress on non-proliferation is concerned. The book will be a valuable read for students, scholars, academicians, policy practitioners and anyone invested and interested in nuclear issues. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
Nuclear Conundrum of Iran and North Korea: From Proliferation Crisis to Non-Proliferation Promise?
by Hina PandeyThis book examines Iran and North Korea from a non-proliferation lens. It highlights how these two countries stand out as nuclear challenges vis-à-vis the NPT and unpacks their nuclear history, recent developments, nuclear resolve in the times of the pandemic and future challenges in a comprehensive manner. It shows how these two issues remain similar, distinguished, dynamic but static so far progress on non-proliferation is concerned. The book will be a valuable read for students, scholars, academicians, policy practitioners and anyone invested and interested in nuclear issues. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
Nuclear War: The bestselling non-fiction thriller
by Annie JacobsenThe Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat non-fiction thriller, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.'Essential' New York Times'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' GuardianNuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen.This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next.It has to be read to be believed.There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization as we know it.Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist
Only the Brave: The heart-wrenching new story of courage and hope set in wartime Berlin
by Danielle SteelOnly the Brave is a heart-wrenching story of courage and hope set in wartime Berlin, from the billion-copy bestseller Danielle Steel. In 1930s Berlin, dark days dawn under Hitler’s Third Reich. For nineteen-year-old Sophia Alexander, life will never be the same. The daughter of a respected doctor, Sophia has always believed that her destiny is to look after others, and as the persecution of Jewish families begins, she joins a group of dissidents who are committed to helping them to safety.As World War Two is declared, Sophia answers her religious calling and enters a convent, where she continues to fight bravely against the Nazi regime. That is until the fateful day she is arrested and taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where her only hope of survival is to escape and attempt the dangerous journey to the border.Sophia’s situation is further complicated when she meets a US airman, shot down nearby. As she nurses him back to health, they grow close, but she is still resolute that her destiny is with the Church.As Sophia looks for a sign of which path to follow, will she have the strength to question what she has committed her whole life to?
Our Enemies will Vanish
by Yaroslav TrofimovA revelatory eyewitness account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian resistance by Pulitzer Prize finalist Yaroslav Trofimov, the chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.'Reads like a great novel' SEBASTIAN JUNGER‘An instant classic’ STEVE COLL'An essential first draft’ ANNE APPLEBAUM ‘Essential reading’ CLARISSA WARD‘Outstanding’ PETER FRANKOPANSince Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yaroslav Trofimov has spent months on end at the heart of the conflict, very often on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments—from the battle for Kyiv to more recently the gruelling and bloody arm wrestle involving the Wagner group over Bakhmut—to show how Ukraine and its allies have turned the tide against Russia in a modern-day battle of David and Goliath. Putin had intended to conquer Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, in a few short weeks. But in the face of this existential threat, the Ukrainian people fought back, turning what looked like certain defeat into a great moral victory, even as the territorial battle continues to seesaw to this day. This is the story of their epic bravery in the face of almost unthinkable aggression.For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv and his family has lived there for generations. He tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—doctors, computer programmers, businesspeople, and schoolteachers—risked their lives and lost loved ones. At once heart-breaking and inspiring, and combining vivid reportage with expert military analysis and rare insight into the thinking of Ukrainian leadership, Our Enemies Will Vanish tells the riveting story Ukraine’s fight for survival and refusal to surrender as it has never been told before.---------------------------------------‘Achieves the highest level of war reporting: a tough, detailed account that nevertheless reads like a great novel. I did not really understand Ukraine until I read Trofimov's account’ SEBASTIAN JUNGER, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm ‘A stunning work of eyewitness reportage and literary nuance that brings alive both the brutalities of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war’s small absurdities and comic interludes. An instant classic’ STEVE COLL, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Ghost Wars ‘Extraordinarily brave reporting, exceptionally clear writing. An essential first draft of the history of the war’ ANNE APPLEBAUM, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Twilight of Democracy ‘A gripping read that meticulously lays out what’s at stake in Ukraine. Essential reading’ CLARISSA WARD, author of On All Fronts ‘An essential document for our times’ DEXTER FILKINS, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Forever War ‘An outstanding, breath-taking and authoritative account’ PETER FRANKOPAN, bestselling author of The Silk Roads ‘Takes the reader from the corridors of power to frontline trenches. Trofimov’s gripping account is full of crisp details’ QUENTIN SOMERVILLE, BBC Middle East Correspondent
Pakistan's Nuclear Exclusion: Living with Orientalism
by Dr Sana RahimDeveloped over six chapters, Pakistan’s Nuclear Exclusion provides an account of how orientalism is a lived experience of post-colonial racism, injustice, and inequality amongst members of the nuclear community in Pakistan. The account is produced through interviews with members of the community consisting of students, academics, and physicists in Pakistan. Rahim offers unique insights into how Pakistan’s nuclear community is not only perceived and represented but also how it seeks to operate in a wider nuclear community dominated by Western nuclear powers. The provision of such highly contextualised insights is enabled by the book setting out to both (a) provide analytical space for and (b) ‘give voice’ to how orientalism is experienced in the everyday of their lives. Consequently, the work provides (1) an analysis of how ‘dominant discourses’ of nuclear management and their ‘pictures of reason’ are exclusionary, (2) an analysis of the core features of orientalism as they pertain to Pakistan’s nuclear community; and (3) empirical findings which produce categories of the experience of orientalism into areas of the everyday – exclusion, making a career, Islamophobia, technology denial and self-reliance. Pakistan’s Nuclear Exclusion is enormously valuable to the research community as well as extremely well-conceived and researched. In addition, much of the methodology chapter offers a level of sophistication and self-reflection that translates well in the interview material and its subsequent analysis.
The Paris Peacemakers: The powerful tale of love and loss in the aftermath of World War One
by Flora JohnstonParis, 1919. As the fragile negotiations of the International Peace Conference get underway, typist Stella Rutherford throws herself into her work and the mixture of glamour and devastation the City of Light reveals. She will do anything to escape the grief coming in waves for her beloved brother Jack, buried near Arras. Her sister Corran is about to put her academic career to use teaching the troops in France, a chance to see what the experience was like for countless men, including her fiancé Rob Campbell. Rob was part of the celebrated Scottish rugby team who were swept up in war fever and mown down in battle. He has been profoundly marked by his time as a surgeon on the front line, devastated by the incessant grind of the injured, dying and dead. The Paris Peacemakers follows three Scots as they attempt to pick up the pieces of their lives while the fabric of Europe is stitched together for good or ill.
Philippines Naval Campaign 1944–45: The Battles After Leyte Gulf (Campaign #399)
by Mark StilleThe forgotten story of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US and Japanese navies after Leyte Gulf up to the US invasion of Luzon in January 1945. The events that took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 are often overlooked by military historians. An impressive array of naval operations continued in the Philippines up to January 1945, which included (on the Japanese side) the largest convoys to a contested island during the war, the first kamikaze campaign, and the second largest Imperial Japanese Navy surface operation during the last nine months of the conflict. On the American side, US forces were involved in efforts to cut off Leyte from enemy reinforcement, a massive amphibious invasion off Luzon, and large-scale operations by the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38).Expert naval historian Mark Stille throws new light on this often forgotten phase of the Pacific naval war. Among the actions covered are the battles for Ormoc Bay, the invasion of Mindoro, Japanese kamikaze attacks, and US Third Fleet's rampage through the South China Sea between January 10 and 20, 1945. Superb battlescene artworks bring the war at sea and in the air vividly to life, and maps and diagrams guide readers through a range of actions in clear, step-by-step detail.
Pink Camouflage: One soldier's story from trauma and abuse to resilience and leadership
by Gemma MorganThis is a fascinating insight into a macho, male-dominated world where reality is so grotesquely distorted from the public perception. Read it, believe it, because sometimes the truth is far more incredible than fiction.TERRY BUTCHER, Captain of England Football Team Her husband found her by the roadside, delirious and choking on her own vomit. Gemma Morgan was 33, happily married with two young children, an outstanding army service record and a first-class international sporting career. But underneath she was a wreck, surviving on a cocktail of vodka, Valium and sleeping pills. Misogyny, sexual abuse and toxic masculinity had been the daily realities of her Army career long before being deployed unarmed and unsupported to the blood and mayhem of a war zone. When Gemma gave birth to a baby girl, motherhood left her lost and alienated, a soldier who had deliberately suppressed her femininity with no idea how to cope. Together, these experiences triggered a mental health crisis that led her to become suicidal, battling PTSD, betrayed and abandoned by the institution to which she had devoted seven years of her life. With the support of her family Gemma has been on a long, hard and bumpy road to recovery. This is her story in her own words. She has told it to inspire a fierce and urgent call for change. Gemma speaks with powerful vulnerability – you could hear a pin drop. JODIE KIDD Model, Racing Driver and TV Personality
The Pirate Menace: Uncovering the Golden Age of Piracy
by Angus KonstamThis new account explores the most notorious pirates in history and how their rise and fall can be traced back to a single pirate haven, Nassau. Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading pirate experts, has brought his 30 years of research to create the definitive book on the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of the privateers the British had used to prey on French and Spanish shipping during the War of the Spanish Succession turned to piracy. The pirates took over Nassau on the Bahamian island of New Providence and turned it into their own pirate haven, where shady merchants were happy to buy their plunder. It became the hub of a pirate network that included some of the most notorious pirates in history: Blackbeard, 'Calico Jack' Rackam, Charles Vane and Bartholomew Roberts. The growth of piracy led to a major surge in attacks in the Caribbean and along North America's Atlantic seaboard. With the fragile maritime economy of the Americas threatened with collapse, major ports were threatened and trade brought to a standstill, the British government finally declared war on the pirates. The Pirate Menace draws on extensive research, as well as a wide range of first-hand accounts, to produce a new history of the heyday of historical piracy.
Populus: Living and Dying in the Wealth, Smoke and Din of Ancient Rome
by Guy de BédoyèreA Time Travellers Guide to Ancient Rome - by one of the best historians of the ancient worldLiving in ancient Rome was superbly and vividly recorded by Rome's historians, philosophers, and poets who were acutely aware of the seething and voluptuous nature of a city that ruled the known world. Through the words of Tacitus, Seneca, Martial, and a host of others including ordinary Romans, Guy de la Bédoyère takes the reader into a world of violent politics, civil disorder, unspeakably brutal entertainments, extravagance, decadence, eroticism, exotica, and staggering inequality, participated in daily by the Roman people from the hyper-rich elite to the lowliest slaves. Populus places those who experienced Rome in person at the forefront of their story, from the rabble-rousing senator Clodius Pulcher to Pliny the Elder and Hortensia who defended the rights of women in court to the ex-slave and celebrity baker Eurysaces.'A superb combination of wit, first-rate research and panache. Highly recommended!' TONY ROBINSON
Port Arthur 1904–05: The First Modern Siege (Campaign #398)
by Robert ForczykA gripping, illustrated narrative of the longest and most brutal land battle of the 1904–05 Russo-Japanese War.Growing rivalry between Imperial Russia and Imperial Japan over territorial control in China and Korea led to the outbreak of war in February 1904. Japan struck the first blow with a surprise naval attack against the anchored Russian Pacific Fleet at its base in Port Arthur. Once the fleet had been neutralized, the Japanese landed their Second Army on the Liaotung Peninsula in May 1904, in order to besiege Port Arthur. The fighting that followed has become legend in military history. Respected military historian Robert Forczyk describes the Russian relief operation towards Port Arthur (the Battle of Telissu), and the lengthy siege of the Russian-held town and harbour. The initial Japanese attempts to capture the port by assault are documented in detail, together with the Japanese progress through the heavily fortified lines protecting Port Arthur. Specially commissioned artworks bring to life in vivid detail the Battle of Nanshan Hill, the Japanese assault on the Wantai Heights, and the bombardments of the Russian forts. Maps and diagrams explore the strategic situation and tactical progress of the fighting in step-by-step detail, and over 60 period photographs reveal the appearance and weaponry of the opposing forces and the terrain around Port Arthur.