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''An absorbingly creepy travelogue through the corridors, tunnels and basements of our most famous cultural repository. With Noah Angell as our guide, the British Museum becomes a haunted prison filled with imperial plunder and restless spirits clamouring for attention.'' - Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin Of All Witches''Fascinating and illuminating'' - Peter Ackroyd''Brilliantly delicate, pointed, shivery... You could read it as a guide to which galleries to avoid - or to where the push for repatriation should be most urgent.'' - Erin L. Thompson, professor of art crime at the City University of New York''Achieves a near-impossible marriage between paranormal pop-culture, folklore and hauntology'' - Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts''A heady cocktail of history and folklore that leaves a haunting aftertaste... Spine-tingling'' - Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times bestselling author of The Facemaker''A reader might well do as Angell did himself: come for the delicious ghost stories but stay for a complete takedown of the British Museum project.'' The New StatesmanWhat if the British Museum isn''t a carefully ordered cross section of history but is in instead a palatial trophy cabinet of colonial loot - swarming with volatile and errant spirits?When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a deluge as staff old and new - from overnight security to respected curators - brought him testimonies of their supernatural encounters.It became clear that the source of the disturbances was related to the Museum''s contents - unquiet objects, holy plunder, and restless human remains protesting their enforced stay within the colonial collection''s cabinets and deep underground vaults. According to those who have worked there, the institution is heaving with profound spectral disorder.Ghosts of the British Museum fuses storytelling, folklore and history, digs deep into our imperial past and unmasks the world''s oldest national museum as a site of ongoing conflict, where restless objects are held against their will.It now appears that the objects are fighting back.

A diverse history of the pipes--from inspiring terror on battlefields to enriching cultures worldwide.History''s first named bagpiper is a man playing a pipe ''with a bag tucked under his armpit'' in the first century CE. He was the Roman Emperor Nero. Since then, this improbable conflation of bag and sticks has become the world''s most beloved and contested instrument. Another piping emperor, Tsar Peter the Great, decided that his departed pet bear would live on--as a bagpipe.This vivid history tells the long story of an instrument boasting over 130 varieties, yet commonly associated with just one, from one country: Scotland''s Great Highland Bagpipe. In fact, the pipes are played across the globe, illuminating societies in remarkable, unexpected ways. Richard McLauchlan charts the rise of women pipers; investigates class, privilege and capitalism in the piping world; and explores how a ''national instrument'' can shift in meaning amidst the currents of identity.The vibrancy and inventiveness of today''s pipers showcase the allure of this fabled, fascinating instrument, to which McLauchlan is our surefooted guide.

An illustrated study of Rome’s key enemies from the Late Principate and Dominate: the western Visigoths and the eastern Ostrogoths. The Goths were a Germanic people who, under pressure from the Huns, migrated during the 2nd century AD to the Balkans, where they split into the Visigoths to the west, and the Ostrogoths to the east. After first raiding and looting Roman territory, some eventually came to serve as allies to the Empire, but this allegiance would collapse following a Hun advancement that saw the Goths forced south against the Danube. Failure to negotiate settlement in this new, Roman-held territory led to wars, during which the Ostrogoths won a decisive victory over a Roman army at Adrianople (AD 378), and the Visigoths finally sacked Rome itself (AD 410).In this fascinating study, Roman military historians Raffaele D''Amato and Andrea Salimbetiand Andrea Salimbeti examine Rome’s fierce clashes with the Gothic peoples, exploring their role in the fall of the Western Empire and eventual transition from Roman to early medieval Europe. Newly commissioned artwork, artefact photos and expert research combine to bring to life key events in the Goths’ history, including the Ostrogoths’ defeat by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century, the establishment of Gothic kingdoms in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, and their service as subjects and soldiers in Byzantine Crimea.

From a celebrated military historian, a highly engaging and thought-provoking exploration of why the United States has failed again and again in irregular wars and military campaigns from Vietnam to Afghanistan.Since the early 1960s, the United States has fought in four major wars and a cluster of complicated and bloody irregular warfare campaigns. The majority have ended in failure, or something close to it. Why has the US been so ineffective, despite the American armed forces being universally recognized as the best in the world?Most scholars and analysts believe that the primary cause of our abysmal war record since Vietnam has been the US military?s overwhelmingly conventional approach to conflict, which favors kinetic operations, highly mobile precision firepower, and sophisticated systems of command and control. Here, James Warren argues that a much more formidable obstacle to success has been pervasive strategic ineptitude at the highest levels of decision-making, including the presidency, the national security council, and the foreign policy community in DC. Time and time again, American presidents have committed military forces to operations in foreign countries whose politics and cultures they did not fully understand. Presidents of both political parties, including Johnson, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Obama have overestimated the capacity of US forces to alter the social and political landscape of foreign nations, and underestimated the ability of insurgents and terrorists to develop effective protracted war strategies that, in time, sap Washington?s will to carry on the fight.In the War on Terror, Warren asserts that senior military officers have been complicit in extending bankrupt strategies by refusing to speak truthfully about them to their civilian bosses. So have the American people, who lost interest in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and refused to press their president and congress to bring an end to two futile conflicts. Warren advocates for a less hubristic foreign policy and a broader conception of warfare as a political and military enterprise.For readers of political, military, and US history?as well as anyone interested in international relations and geopolitical strategy?this book offers unparalleled insights into America?s prior?and potentially future?military conflicts.

‘A skilful narrative of combat history … exceedingly vivid.’ – The New York TimesAs the siege of Stalingrad was the ultimate scene of carnage at the Eastern Front, the battle of Okinawa proved to be the bloodiest of the Pacific war. Almost the entire Japanese kamikaze effort of the Second World War was directed against the Americans at Okinawa. At the beginning of the battle on 1 April 1945, over 1 million Americans, Japanese and Okinawans were centred on the small Pacific island; by 23 June, when the Japanese commanders committed seppuku, 250,000 civilians and soldiers were dead. More people died during the battle of Okinawa than in the ensuing bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.Okinawa 1945 offers a stunning account of the last major campaign of the Second World War and the largest land–sea–air engagement. Superbly researched and extraordinarily detailed, Okinawa 1945 is told at the level of the participants themselves, soldiers and civilians alike, with the dramatic stories of three individuals running through the entire account.

This study of the evolving uniforms and personal equipment used by US ground forces in the Korean War features new full-color artwork and previously unpublished photographs. In June 1950, US soldiers and Marines deployed in the Korean War were dressed and equipped largely as they had been in the closing stages of World War II, but by 1953 major innovations had transformed their appearance. Featuring eight pages of specially commissioned artwork alongside carefully chosen photographs, some never previously published, this study charts the evolution of the US troops’ uniforms and gear through three years of bitter fighting. The deployment of a US expeditionary force in Korea entailed uniform and equipment shortages and resulted in widespread improvisation among the troops. The rapid movement of the first stages of the conflict made resupply very difficult, a situation compounded by the need for cold-weather clothing. In 1951, the beginnings of position warfare offered the opportunity for soldiers and Marines to customize their uniforms and gear. Flak jackets were introduced in both services. The infantryman’s basic load lightened substantially, with men on the line often requiring little more than their fatigues, flak vest, and helmet. All of these developments are explained and depicted in this fully illustrated study from an authority of the uniforms and personal gear of the Korean War period.

<p><b>Do boycotts work? Should arms sales be stopped? What about supplying weapons to the good guys? In<i> How Wars End</i> an international expert explains how we can act to bring about peace in an age of escalating war.</b><br><br>In 2003 Jan van Aken almost helped stop a war. But as he was preparing to go to Baghdad to search for biological weapons, he got a message: the US was determined to avenge 9/11 and wouldn't wait for UN inspections to take place. The invasion went ahead, and only years later, the world discovered that Iraq had had no biological weapons at that time.<br><br>From this experience and the many others he has had as a weapons inspector, conflict analyst and activist, in <i>How Wars End</i> van Aken shows how conflict resolution really works. From disinformation and dodgy dossiers to chemical weapons and murderous drones, he identifies why wars start and spiral. And he looks at the alternatives, including civil initiatives, diplomacy, sanctions, and international interventions.<br><br>Interweaving the latest findings from peace research with stories and examples from Northern Ireland, Serbia, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Israel-Palestine and more, <i>How Wars End</i> lays out evidence-based strategies for moving from violent conflict to ceasefire, and from ceasefire to lasting peace.<br><br>Translated by Jo Heinrich.</p>

To kill democracy, control the masses and destroy entire nations, dictators have always used the same secret weapon: the unmatched power of the spoken word. In this captivating history of language and power, speechwriter Guy Doza sets out how dictators have seized and maintained control of states through their mastery of oratory. He shows how, despite their fearsome reputation, strongmen such as Julius Caesar, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were surprisingly subtle and skillful in their speeches. Less notorious female tyrants (have you heard of Ranavalona I, the ‘Mad Queen of Madagascar’ who killed half of her subjects, or Chairman Mao’s murderous wife Jiang Qing?) were differently but equally manipulative. As well as revealing the wordplay of each of 18 despots, Doza analyses the rhetorical techniques they shared. How Attila the Hun and Napoleon Bonaparte showered flattery on their troops and deliberately aggrandised their enemies. And how two violent 20th Century leaders, Zaire’s President Mobuto and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, portrayed themselves as the father of their respective nations to nurture their ethos. For, irrespective of time, geography and language, dictators and their allies consistently reuse the same methods of persuasion. In a ‘post-truth’ age where simplified messages overpower sophisticated ones, The Language of Evil equips readers to spot the same tricks and techniques being used today by tomorrow’s would-be dictators. Reviews ''The handbook that humanity needs right now – not simply to understand the dangerous rhetoric of demagogues, but how to resist it.'' – Terry Szuplat, former policy speechwriter for President Barack Obama and author of Say It Well. ‘Whatever happens in the street, the populist mobs have to be fired up first. That’s where words come in. Guy Doza’s Language of Evil is a fascinating analysis of the speechifying that empowers tyranny through the malign careers of eighteen dictators, from Julius Caesar to Saddam Hussein.’ – Jonathon Green, Lexicographer

''Enthralling and enlightening . . . A wonderful look into the personal experiences, that heart and soul, of the fighting soldier towards the end of the Second World War'' John Nichol, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Unknown WarriorFrom the bestselling author of D-Day: The Unheard Tapes comes a revealing new history of the final bloody battles against Nazi Germany. Published for the 80th anniversary of VE Day and based on audio interviews with those who fought their way to victory, this is a compelling and immersive account of a crucial period in the Second World War.February, 1945. Eight months have passed since the D-Day landings, when the Allies gained their foothold in North-West Europe. Since then the British Army has fought near continuously against the German military. Now, they stand ready for their final test: the battle for the German homeland.Drawing on the sound archive of the Imperial War Museums and other personal acounts, military historian Geraint Jones brings this this often-overlooked period of the war vividly to life in the words of British soldiers who were there, from war-weary men who have survived many months of combat to new recruits facing Hitler''s fanatics for the first time.In Voices of Victory we join the soldiers battling to break through the Siegfried Line and clear the Reichswald forest, where fighting was from one tree to the next. At the crossing of the Rhine we go into action with the commandos, and jump behind enemy lines with the Paras. We are taken into the horror of Belsen when the concentration camp is liberated, hear from the witnesses of the forgotten battles of April, and end the war deep in Germany, with victory in Europe.

The new edition of Alvin Jackson’s highly influential survey of 200 years of Irish history In Ireland, 1798-1998: War, Peace, and Beyond, award-winning historian Alvin Jackson provides a well-balanced and authoritative account of modern Irish political history. Drawing on original research and extensive readings in current scholarship, the author surveys Irish political parties, leaders, and movements with a special emphasis on the tension between Irish nationalism and unionism. Opening with a wide-ranging introduction to Irish history, the text describes the varieties and interconnections of the Irish political experience through a sustained and coherent historical narrative, beginning with the creation of militant republicanism and militant loyalism in the 1790s. Reader-friendly chapters interweave social, economic, and cultural material while offering fresh analyses of familiar historical issues and personalities. This third edition contains expanded coverage of the most recent political developments in Ireland, both North and South. A new epilogue examines the impacts of the Good Friday Agreement, the global banking crisis, Brexit, and COVID-19 on Irish politics and institutions. The most up-to-date interpretation of modern Irish political history available in a single volume, Ireland, 1798-1998: War, Peace, and Beyond, Third Edition, is a must-read for undergraduate and graduate students working on Irish and British political history, as well as general readers with an interest in the subject.

An essential guide to the tanks that fought the greatest armored clashes of modern times, between Saddam Hussein''s Soviet-supplied army and the advanced tanks fielded by the Coalition.The Gulf War of 1991 was the largest tank-vs-tank confrontation of the modern era, and the only large-scale tank combat ever to involve major NATO armies. With the Iraqi Army equipped primarily with modern Soviet- and Warsaw Pact-built tanks, it was also a rare example of how NATO tanks performed in combat against their Eastern Bloc rivals.In this book, world expert on tank technology Steven J. Zaloga examines the numerous tank types used in this conflict and how they compared, both in technology and battlefield performance. Besides covering the tanks of the United States, Britain, and France, it also examines those of other Allied forces including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It not only covers Iraq''s Soviet- and Warsaw Pact-built tanks, but also its vigorous indigenous military industry, which produced a number of notable innovations such as the “Enigma” tank with laminate armor. Unravelling the detail behind the greatest tank war of modern times, packed with data and illustrated with superb new artwork and numerous photos, including some never-before-published, and detailed descriptions of the little-known Iraqi armored division markings.

''A superbly revealing account of a dreadful and profoundly sad war'' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL''This extraordinary book gives us a unique insight into why and how Japan fought such an appalling war'' NICK HEWERA new perspective on Japan during the Asia-Pacific War, using remarkable first-hand Japanese source material.Even after eighty years since the end of a conflict that killed thirty-five million people, there remains deeply-felt bitterness and anger about the way the Asia-Pacific War was fought, especially by the Japanese. The war in the East stretched from Hawaii to India - with Japanese forces attacking Singapore, China and Malaysia, as well as bombing the north coast of Australia. The Allied forces, led by the US, waged an island-by-island counteroffensive that eventually saw the invasion of the Japanese homeland. Japan has been vilified for the countless examples of its cruelty to civilians and prisoners of war. These criticisms have led to a backlash in Japan, where many deny that the accusations are true. By going back to the origins of modern Japan, and by using only Japanese accounts, Japan''s War: Hirohito''s Holy War against the West offers a powerful account of the conflict and explains in detail why the Japanese conducted the war in the way that they did.

<p><b>'A trenchant and invaluable people's history of the bottom of the pyramid in the world's most populous nation' </b><b><i>Financial Times</i></b> <br><br><b>What does the life of an ordinary working-class, Muslim woman look and feel like in modern India? Award-winning journalist Neha Dixit traces the story of one such faceless Indian woman, from the early 1990s to the present day. What emerges is a picture of a life lived under constant corrosive tension. <br></b> <br>Syeda X left the holy city of Banaras (now Varanasi) for Delhi with her young family in the aftermath of riots and communal violence in the early '90s. In Delhi, she settled into the life of a poor migrant, juggling multiple jobs a day - from sewing soccer balls and removing the stems from raisins, to shelling almonds sold in bulk to multinationals and assisting in illegal abortions. Syeda has held over 50 different jobs in 30 years, earning paltry sums in the process. And if she ever took a day off, her job would be lost to another faceless migrant. <br><br>We meet an unforgettable cast of characters: a rickshaw driver in Chandni Chowk who ends up tragically dead in a terrorist blast; a doctor who gets arrested for pre-natal sex determination; a Hindu nationalist 'cow vigilante' whose sister elopes with Syeda's son; and policemen who delight in beating up young Muslim men. <br><br>Written with empathy and deep insight, <i>The Many Lives of Syeda X </i>is a portal to a harsh, hidden world. It is the story of untold millions and a searing account of urban life in new India.</p>

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From bestselling historian Saul David, a riveting new history of the British airborne experience across the Second World War. The legendary ‘Red Devils’ were among the finest combat troops of the Second World War. Created at Churchill’s instigation in June 1940, they began as a single parachute battalion of 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions: the 1st, 6th and 44th Indian, each composed of parachutists and glider-borne troops. Wearing their distinctive maroon berets, steel helmets and Dennison smocks, they served with distinction in every major theatre of the conflict – including North Africa, Sicily, mainland Europe and the Far East – and played a starring role in some most iconic airborne operations in history: the Bruneval Raid of February 1942; the capture of the Primasole, Pegasus and Arnhem Bridges in July 1943, June 1944 and September 1944 respectively; and Operation Varsity, the biggest parachute drop in history, near Wesel in Germany in March 1945.

We are not dealing with the remote future. The Huns are coming. Will they drop from the skies and surround the villag? ill sounds of battle will be heard in the far distanc? r will their armoured fighting vehicles will come careering across the landscap? hen they come, your village must be ready. Defence of Villages and Small Towns is one of a series of training books written in 1942 by Colonel G. A. Wade for the newly-recruited Home Guard. This reproduction from the Royal Armouries’ archive shows how the Second World War trainees learnt to defend rural villages and small towns from the threat of enemy invasion.

On the evening of 5 June 1944, the people of Britain braced for news that would truly change the course of history. Ships and landing craft assembled in the Channel, paratroopers prepared for flight and troops readied for action. A brief announcement the following morning declared that D-Day had finally arrived. It would be the start of a long and arduous campaign to liberate Europe from the tyranny of Nazi occupation. D-Day to VE Day narrates the final year of the Second World War in Europe, from the Normandy landings to the joyous celebrations of VE Day. It draws on IWM's vast photography collection to chart and illustrate the Allies' journey through war-torn Europe during those crucial months, moment by moment and day-by-day. Follow in the footsteps of the Allies in real time as they liberate Paris, fight through the dense forest of the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge and cross the mighty Rhine River, paving the way for the final push towards Berlin. Along the way, you'll discover the key strategic operations, battles and crucial turning points that marked the Allies' march towards ultimate victory over Nazi Germany.

An illustrated study of the British Army’s Anti-Aircraft (AA) Command’s performance against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. When the Battle of Britain commenced in July 1940, the Luftwaffe committed more than 1,200 medium bombers, 300 Ju 87 Stukas and 760 Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters to the campaign. The response from British AA Command mustered 359 4.5in. guns, 666 3.7in. guns and 226 3in. guns, as well as 3,538 light and medium AA guns to tackle low-level Luftwaffe raiders, but was under-gunned and overstretched, struggling to provide sufficient weapons for every key site. Nevertheless, AA gunners shot down some 300 German aircraft by the end of the Battle of Britain on 31 October 1940, upping this count to 578 before the Blitz finished on 11 May 1941, and leading an estimated 48 per cent of Luftwaffe bombers to turn back because of heavy AA fire.In this action-packed study, World War 2 aviation expert Donald Nijboer examines the capabilities of both sides, and explores how British AA Command not only shot down so many enemy aircraft, but also forced them to fly higher, broke up their formations and decreased their accuracy. Tactical diagrams, maps, archival photographs and newly commissioned artwork provide additional insight and detail, helping to bring the bitter struggle over the skies of southern England to life.

'I love how Phil Craig gave me perspectives on the Second World War that I had never accessed before, and the personal stories bring colonial history to life so engagingly. This book is a triumph.'Jane Caro'An ambitious project impressively navigated with great storytelling, interweaving analysis and anecdote in a documentary style. Dunkirk, Lend Lease, Singapore, Belsen, the Arctic convoys, Chandra Bose, etc, are all connected but few historians rise to the challenge - or perhaps wish to stray far from 'favourite memories.' Chris Masters 'A riveting new account of a forgotten, if not hidden, history in the final months of the second world war. As all the best histories should, it reveals aspects of our national war-time story that have been overlooked for many years. For its new perspective, grounded in deep research. Australian readers will be alternately enthralled and enraged by 1945 The Reckoning at the naked exercise of imperial and commercial power in our region that Phil reveals, in the final months of a war we were told was for liberation and self determination.'Prof Jenny Hocking, Emeritus Prof Monash University. 'Engrossing, good natured and perceptive...His style is conversational, like a popular podcaster, but never glib or shrill. His judgments are often understated but shrewd...Craig's fashionably inclusive approach does not exclude conservative, collaborationist voices. Instead, the author seeks to understand them within their particular social and historical context. A solid and measured history in which Craig tells big stories through poignant images.'Mark Dapin, The Australian'It's an epic canvas, ambitious, in some ways even Tolstoy-esque. Along the way Craig incorporates the tales of ordinary people - such as a very astute English nurse - caught up in extraordinary times. On both the narrative and thematic level this is skilfully told history for the general reader.' The Sydney Morning Herald'Craig's vision is as global as was the war. His kaleidoscopic approach combines viewpoints from various theatres of war: for a few pages we are immersed in Burma, then we are teleported to Borneo, Singapore and, as the conflict spreads, Tokyo, London, Yalta and Formosa... He traces historical patterns by threading individual stories into a coherent and satisfying narrative, and he brings one other great gift to his task, a gift honed in his TV incarnation - a highly developed visual sensibility. It is easy to imagine this book being turned into a box-office triumph. As a parting gift to curious readers, the closing pages reveal the personal connection that explains why Craig was prompted to tell this epic story, with all its subplots. But no spoilers here... buy the book!' Ken Haley, Inside Story 'An unrelenting account of terror; example follows example of brutality and barbarity. There are accounts of battles; of bodies blown to bits; of atrocities and wanton killing committed by both sides - decapitation, head-hunting and the Allies paying for it. Yet in his account of these events, Phil Craig pays particular attention to the kindness, charity and humanity of his protagonists and others who occur along the way.' Braham Dabscheck, New Town Review of Books

The never-before-told story of the epic battle of wills between Andrew Mellon and Winston Churchill, as they debated the repayment of the enormous sums loaned by America to Great Britain during World War I. *A Financial Times Best History Book of the Summer* "A gripping yarn." —The Economist "An engaging narrative.” —The Wall Street JournalAndrew Mellon, one of the most accomplished businessmen of his era, is almost unknown today. To this shy, diffident (but brilliant) man fell the daunting task of collecting the war debts from European governments still devastated by World War I and struggling to recover economically. Dealing with the U.S. Congress and the heads of foreign governments on the world stage became one of the great adventures of his life. Winston Churchill is one of the best-known figures in history. Mellon vs. Churchill presents Churchill through a different lens, focusing on his service as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Great Britain was the largest debtor to the United States. That he became the most vocal critic of American foreign policy during that time is a scarcely told chapter of economic history—and his long and contentious debate with Mellon has seldom been explored. Yet, during the five years that Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1924-1929), Mellon was his counterpart at the United States Treasury, and their debate and fierce differences of opinion about the handling of what Churchill called “the monstrous war debts” made frequent headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. No mention of any of their five meetings are included in the official biographies of either man. Now these confrontations are brought to vivid life in Mellon vs. Churchill, as are many other vignettes from their very public, but largely forgotten, rivalry. Mellon vs. Churchill brings the reader inside the adventurous lives of these two great public figures—men who were not afraid to take huge risks to pursue their grand ambitions.