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Anatomy of Torture
Does torture "work?" Can controversial techniques such as waterboarding extract crucial and reliable intelligence? Since 9/11, this question has been angrily debated in the halls of power and the court of public opinion. In Anatomy of Torture, Ron E. Hassner mines the archives of the Spanish Inquisition to propose an answer that will frustrate and infuriate both sides of the divide. The Inquisition's scribes recorded every torment, every scream, and every confession in the torture chamber. Their transcripts reveal that Inquisitors used torture deliberately and meticulously, unlike the rash, improvised methods used by the United States after 9/11. In their relentless pursuit of underground Jewish communities in Spain and Mexico, the Inquisition tortured in cold blood. But they treated any information extracted with caution: torture was used to test information provided through other means, not to uncover startling new evidence. Hassner's findings in Anatomy of Torture have important implications for ongoing torture debates. Rather than insist that torture is ineffective, torture critics should focus their attention on the morality of torture. If torture is evil, its efficacy is irrelevant. At the same time, torture defenders cannot advocate for torture as a counterterrorist "quick fix": torture has never located, nor will ever locate, the hypothetical "ticking bomb" that is frequently invoked to justify brutality in the name of security.
Why Torture Persists
Since antiquity, governments have used torture to gather information and determine guilt. But its track record is shaky, to say the least: thinkers from Aristotle to the present have observed that torture does not work, and thinkers from Foucault to Orwell have doubted that this is torture's true purpose. Guilty people can resist torture and remain silent, while innocent people can give in and tell their torturers what they want to hear. Why, then, do governments keep using i? n this timely and compelling book, Chistopher J. Einolf recounts the history of torture from public trials in ancient Athens to the international scandal of Abu Ghraib. He details its brutal use in the persecution of the Templars, the Spanish Inquisition, and early modern witch hunts; describes its abolition in the 18th century; and tracks its alarming resurgence across the 20th and 21st centuries. In exposing torture's sordid past, Einolf also explores the social science of torture, supplementing a broad historical account with relevant insights from sociology, political science, and psychology. The distressing reality is that governments use torture as a tool of oppression: convinced that they are beset by traitors and enemies, those with power torture victims until they confirm their worst fears. Chilling yet vital, Why Torture Persists is a call to face humanity's troubling weapons of political coercion and control head-on. Despite recounting a disturbing history, Why Torture Persists ultimately concludes with hope. It is only by understanding torture that we can learn how to prevent it.
Servants of God, Slaves of the Church
In Servants of God, Slaves of the Church, Lisa Kaaren Bailey uncovers the surprising intimacy between sacred devotion and coerced labor in early medieval Europe. From queens who scrubbed monastery floors to enslaved women forced into lifelong service, acts of humility and acts of subjugation often looked the same and were interpreted through the same religious lens. Drawing from sermons, letters, miracle stories, and hagiographies, Bailey shows how metaphors of service shaped not only elite piety but also the lived experience of those at the very bottom of the social order. This is a story of lives that were often absent from the historical record: those who lit church lamps, laundered liturgical linens, and sustained Christian worship through their unseen labor. Bailey weaves together theology, cultural history, and feminist historiography to trace how Christian ideas about virtue, sin, and the will both justified unfreedom and offered tools to contest it. Her use of "critical fabulation" animates the archive without fictionalizing it, allowing glimpses of agency in places where it was rarely recorded. By placing the metaphor of service alongside its social reality, Servants of God, Slaves of the Church reshapes how we think about labor, power, and religious meaning in the centuries after Rome. A deeply informed work of both historical scholarship and moral insight, this book gives voice to the voiceless and demands a reconsideration of what it meant to serve God.
Rogue States
In Rogue States, Matthew A. Frakes reveals the connection between US national security strategy at the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the War on Terror. Throughout a series of crises from 1981 to 1991, the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush recognized that emerging threats to global security – terrorism, regional aggression, weapons of mass destruction, and narcotics trafficking – converged into a single growing phenomenon that they eventually called "rogue states." In confronting Libya, Panama, and Iraq, Reagan and Bush created the strategies that drove US national security after 9/11. Frakes argues that Reagan and Bush's improvised responses to crises of terrorism, aggression, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – culminating in the Gulf War of 1991 – established a lasting enforcement role for the United States against rogue states in the post–Cold War world. The effort to redefine US national security around this threat created a new framework to guide the country's approach to global security after the Cold War – one that ensured after 9/11 that the War on Terror became a war on rogue states.
The Queen
Crown jewels, coronations and corgis, this is a warm and nostalgic biography of powerhouse monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, written by experienced biographer Michelle Morgan. Structured around 100 vignettes, the reader will be invited into an intimate telling of key moments of her long life. Many of the stories relate to milestones, such as her wedding to Prince Philip, the coronation, the birth of her children along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and her various jubilees. Interspersed with these, are fascinating stories that have been lost or forgotten over the past century. From immersive accounts of her working life, such as trips around the country and abroad to the people she met (including her neighbour for a time, Marilyn Monroe!), and the anecdotes they shared. The book includes striking photographs of the Queen at different stages of life. From shy princess to World War II mechanic, through to Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith, the Queen was a stoic stalwart to the end. Told with insight and warmth, this is the perfect tribute to our longest-reigning monarch.
Bloody, Brilliant Tudors
Did Henry VIII really plan to have Anne Boleyn’s beloved dog thrown out the windo? as Elizabeth I secretly a ma? ho were the Grey sisters, and why is theirs one of the saddest Tudor stories of al? rom Henry VII to Elizabeth I, Bloody, Brilliant Tudors answers all these questions and more. Come with us as we delve into the people and places behind the world-famous Tudor myths and legends. Through various tales exploring the whole of the glittering dynasty, we’ll learn about the lesser-known facts and figures behind these myths. Each reign serves up a wealth of fascinating historical stories to reveal the Tudor world in a new light.
Eyes and Ears
This essential primary-source reader brings together documents collected over decades of research into security agency tradecraft and Chinese Cold War-era human intelligence. Michael Schoenhals' expert translation of the texts teases out meanings from memoranda, decodes marginal notes from senior officers, and unpacks the hastily scribbled communications of covert human assets. Together, these sources trace the resilience of covert human intelligence as an institution, even when faced with revelations of major misconduct and calls for its reform. With editorial introductions providing valuable context, this collection offers an informed interpretation of the domestic recruitment and running of agents that sheds critical new light on Chinese security agencies' intelligence gathering operations and capacity building during the Cold War.
Cabo Verde and the Creole South Atlantic
The first general history of the archipelago available in English, set within a broader regional, oceanic and global tapestry.The Cabo Verde Islands are now a popular tourist destination but, guide books apart, there is little in print in English that covers their history and culture. This book offers a readable account not only of the islands’ past, but also of their place in the wider story of the South Atlantic’s Portuguese-speaking communities.First settled in the fifteenth century, the inhabitants of Cabo Verde were of diverse origins. Some came from Portugal, others arrived as slaves from mainland Africa, and a third element comprised Jewish exiles from the Iberian Peninsula. From the earliest days, the islanders developed a mixed Creole culture with its own Creole Portuguese language. They had close relations with people of the upper Guinea coast, where many of them settled, and with the Guinea islands. Meanwhile the archipelago became a hub of the Atlantic slave trade.Cabo Verde has also had a strategic importance— its history has to be seen in a global context, broader than simply that of the Portuguese imperial story. Malyn Newitt also fills a major gap in the bibliography of Atlantic history, slavery and the history of the African diaspora in the Atlantic.
Race on Screen
What did audiences want when it came to 'race' on screen in twentieth-century Britain? This was the question that drove producers and makers of film and television as they competed for viewers, and organisations such as the BBC and ITV developed a new field of 'audience research' to address it. Christine Grandy examines how film and television producers, censors and researchers sought to locate audience preferences when it came to presentations of 'race'. Through empire films, home movies and television classics such as Love Thy Neighbour and The Cosby Show, this study explores what was at stake for white British audiences as they consumed material featuring problematic and positive presentations of Black and south Asian people. Race on Screen further uncovers the efforts of Black and south Asian audiences to draw attention to their own roles as overlooked audiences and to name film and television content as racist.
The Evolution of Western Thought: Volume 1, From the Ancient World to Late Antiquity
A rich and immersive reinterpretation of the history of Western thought, this volume – the first in a major trilogy – explores the transmission and development of philosophical ideas from Plato and Aristotle to Jesus, Paul, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Christopher Celenza recalibrates philosophy's story not as abstract argumentation but rather as lived practice: one aimed at excavating wisdom and shaping life. Emphasizing the importance of textual tradition and elucidation across diverse contexts, the author shows how philosophical and religious ideas were transformed and readjusted over time. By focusing on the centrality of Christianity to Western thought, he reveals how ancient ideas were alchemized within religious frameworks, and how – across the centuries – ethical and intellectual traditions intersected to shape culture, memory, and the pursuit of sagacity. Ever attentive to ongoing conversations between past and present, this expansive intellectual history brings perspectives to the subject that are both nuanced and fresh.
A Concise History of New Zealand Aotearoa
New Zealand was the last major landmass, other than Antarctica, to be settled by humans. In A Concise History of New Zealand Aotearoa, Philippa Mein Smith beautifully narrates the story of this rugged and dynamic land, from its origins in Gondwana, between 60 and 100 million years ago, its late settlement by Polynesian voyagers, and its colonisation by Europeans (and the exchanges that made these peoples Maori and Pakeha) to the dramatic struggles over land and efforts to manage global forces into the twenty-first century. The third edition continues to unravel key moments in distant and recent history – the signing and continuation of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi), the Gallipoli landings, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, and earthquakes – showing their roles in nation-building myths and connecting them with the less dramatic forces, economic and social, that have shaped contemporary New Zealand.
Turning Point
THE UNTOLD STORY OF REAGAN, THATCHER, THE INVASION OF GRENADA AND THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE COLD WARHow Reagan reignited the foreign policy principles that made America a “shining city upon a hill.”On October 25th,1983 President Ronald Reagan launched one of the most successful invasions in modern American history. In four days, Operation Urgent Fury successfully liberated the Island of Grenada from communist forces and reinstated the democratically elected government. It was the first major American operation since Vietnam and the first victorious major military operation since World War II. And this monumental task almost came at the cost of the most important Cold War alliance: that between President Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The urgency of action meant that the Prime Minister and close American ally was left out of the loop, publicly embarrassing for her and straining their relationship.TURNING POINT: How Reagan Liberated Grenada and Won the Cold War reveals how America was able to invade a country, liberate it from a corrupt government that threatened stability in the Western hemisphere, and leave the potential for a prosperous future in the hands of its own people; it explores the greater picture of how Reagan avoided succumbing to interventionist nation-building and becoming an occupying force.President Reagan’s strategic success helped bring an end to the Cold War and is a much needed lesson for current American foreign policy.
Traditions Observed
Offering a fascinating celebration of Britain’s living heritage, TRADITIONS OBSERVED, by Anna Hallett is an engaging journey through more than 70 of Britain’s most ancient and enduring local customs and ceremonies. In a richly detailed travelogue, the book explores the rituals, both famous and obscure, that continue to be celebrated across the UK today. From well-known events, such as well dressing, mummers, wassailing and pancake races to lesser known traditions such as Straw Bears, ‘Mock Mayors’ and the spectacle of Bun Throwing, together with a number of charitable events and civic ceremonies, plus a good smattering of both real horses and hobby horses included, the book captures the remarkable variety of customs that have survived into the twenty-first century. Different communities and associations have always had their own unique customs which have been passed down and preserved over the years. These are often rooted in the occupations and businesses of the local inhabitants or society members. Others are such as pancake races, Maypole dancing, wassailing and mummers are more universal and are celebrated throughout the year in multiple locations, albeit quite often with local interpretations. Not all events happen annually so waiting for the right year to come around to participate can sometimes take a while. In one particular case, it can be up to 21 years between the Chedozy Candle Auctions in Somerset! And the COVID pandemic has caused some disarray to the calendar in recent years. Describing some of the events that she witnessed and took part in, Anna said: ‘I’ve met straw bears, mock mayors, a warrener, a wren bearer and a Jack-in-the-Green. I shook hands with a boy bishop, played the part of High Constable, acquired a hobby horse named Biscuit made by Stephen Rowley, a Cotswold artist and mummer, and only narrowly avoided falling into the Thames while trying to keep up with swan-upping Vintners. ‘Injudicious action (on my part) during a game of bottle-kicking in Hallaton, Leicestershire, could have led to serious injury. I have been pelted with raid-sodden buns and presented with a wassail bowl on one occasion and a carrier bag filled with flour on another. In London, I witnessed the payment of ‘quit rents’ in the Royal Courts of Justice and the testing of new coins of the realm in the Trial of the Pyx in Goldsmiths’ Hall – both in the presences of the Queen’s Remembrancer.’Anna Hallett is passionate about history, a love of which she has shared over the years with the students that she has taught at various educational institutions. A combination of this, together with an interest in travel and a curiosity regarding exploring the unknown have contributed to the creation of this book.
The Brandywine Campaign, 1777
The Brandywine River calmly meanders through the Pennsylvania countryside today, but on September 11, 1777, it served as the scenic backdrop for the largest battle of the American Revolution, one that encompassed more troops over more land than any combat fought on American soil until the Civil War. Long overshadowed by the stunning American victory at Saratoga, the complex British campaign that defeated George Washington's colonial army and led to the capture of the capital city of Philadelphia was one of the most important military events of the war. General Sir William Howe launched his campaign in late July 1777, when he loaded his army of 16,500 British and Hessian soldiers aboard a 265-ship armada in New York and set sail. Six difficult weeks later Howe's expedition landed near Elkton, Maryland, and moved north into Pennsylvania. Washington's rebel army harassed Howe's men at several locations including a minor but violent skirmish at Cooch's Bridge in Delaware on September 3. Another week of hit-and-run tactics followed until Howe was within three miles of Chads's Ford on the Brandywine River, behind which Washington had posted his army in strategic blocking positions along a six-mile front. The young colonial capital of Philadelphia was just 25 miles farther east. Obscured by darkness and a heavy morning fog, General Howe initiated his plan of attack at 5:00 a.m. on September 11, pushing against the American center at Chads's Ford with part of his army while the bulk of his command swung around Washington's exposed right flank to deliver his coup de main, destroy the Patriots, and march on Philadelphia. Warned of Howe's flanking attack just in time, American generals turned their divisions to face the threat. The bitter fighting on Birmingham Hill drove the Americans from the field, but their heroic defensive stand saved Washington's army from destruction and proved that the nascent Continental foot soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with their foe. Although further fighting would follow, Philadelphia fell to Howe's legions on the 26th of September.
50 Stone Age Finds
Flint and stone finds hold a unique place in the archaeological record as they represent all that survives from most of the human past. The Stone Age did not end with the introduction of metals and some of the finest lithic objects date from the Bronze Age and the use of flint and stone has continued into recent times. These items can have a strange, gem-like quality – 500,000-year-old flint hand axes, recorded by the PAS, show a symmetry and grace that we can still admire today. Great skill and effort went into making flint and stone objects and how they were produced is examined here. Humanly worked flints are surprisingly common and, in fact, they are found everywhere. This book gives guidance on what to look for and how to recognise worked flint. It shows what can be commonly found along with superb objects recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Flint and stone implements should be seen in context and supporting text and images will show something of the cultures that produced this material and how we came to discover them.
Celebrating The Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales, in northern England, combines river valleys, hills and historic settlements. Still largely rural, with farming being a way of life for generations, many are drawn to visit its beautiful landscape. Yet, its archaeology reveals more turbulent times and a history that includes battles, iron age forts and epic railway disputes. More recently, festival and village shows are a focal point of the calendar - including the cuckoo and 1940s festivals and the hustle and bustle of livestock auctions. Dalesbred and other sheep varieties are revered across the world and notable businesses and industries include wool production, knitting, cheese making and black marble production. Pubs characterise the Dales, some in remote high locations, quoits is played locally and traditional music flourishes. Celebrating The Yorkshire Dales chronicles the proud heritage of the Dales, their important moments and what draws so many to this beautiful area today. Illustrated throughout, this fascinating book offers a marvellous and refreshingly positive insight into The Yorkshire Dales’ rich heritage, their special places, people and events, past and present. Celebrating The Yorkshire Dales will be a valuable contribution to the history of this area and provide a source of many memories to those who have known it well over the years.
Founder of Sandhurst, Maj-Gen John Le Marchant
John Gaspard Le Marchant (1766–1812) was no ordinary soldier. Born to a Guernsey father and a French mother, he rose from modest beginnings to become one of Britain’s most brilliant cavalry officers and a visionary reformer. Yet today, his name is all but forgotten. A gifted swordsman, Le Marchant revolutionised cavalry training. Appalled by the poor standard of swordsmanship in the British Army, he designed a new cavalry sabre, wrote the definitive manual on sword fighting, and personally trained regiments across the country. But his most enduring legacy came in 1801, when his audacious plan for a professional officer training academy won royal approval. From that vision was born the Royal Military College – the foundation of what is now the world-renowned Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. On the battlefield, his courage was unmatched. Fighting alongside Wellington in the Peninsular War, Le Marchant led one of the most devastating cavalry charges of the Napoleonic era at Salamanca. Victory came at the ultimate cost: his life, cut short at just forty-six. This book tells the remarkable story of a man whose innovations reshaped the British Army and whose legacy still endures. It is a long-overdue recognition of a forgotten hero of military history.
Portsmouth: A Potted History
Portsmouth is primarily known for its long-term association with the Royal Navy, the naval dockyard at one time the world’s largest employer of a civilian workforce. Yet there is much more to Portsmouth than being home to Britain’s Senior Service. In this book, Portsmouth’s Roman and Saxon origins on Portsea Island are traced leading to its rapid growth from the 12th century onwards as a merchant township specialising in overseas trade. The book describes how its naval and military connections have significantly influenced the way the future city was to develop and also examines how Portsmouth and its people adapted to its long-term conversion into a military-industrial stronghold designed for the defence of the nation, and which suffered severe damage in the Second World War. Alongside, this the growth of modern metropolitan Portsmouth is described, building the services and other industries that make today’s diverse city.Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that Portsmouth has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the city.
Sphinx
What was the Sphinx for, and what is the Sphin? he Sphinx's body is not a lion, but another creature. The head was re-carved, and the Pharaoh's face cannow be identified. There is a burial chamber inserted beneath the waist ofthe Sphinx. 280 years' worth of published accounts of eyewitnesses who saw the chamber, all of them published herein full, prove its existence. It was sealed with cement in 1926. The story of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh who uncoveredthe Sphinx was still being told by the locals in 1482, asrecorded by a Dutch visitor. This is the longest recorded survivalof folklore in world history, a tale which survived with its essentialfacts intact for three thousand years. The Nile in ancient times lapped near the feet of the Sphinx,and the Sphinx was like an island surrounded by waterfilling 'the Sphinx Pit' where it sits now. The photographicevidence of sluices for controlling the inflow of the waterare published. The water erosion is fully explained. Evidence published here proves that the Sphinx is part of aunified design with the three main pyramids of Giza. It was'the guardian' of Giza. The three pyramids and the Sphinxwere all conceived as a single complex. The Sphinx was originally a crouching figure of the doggod Anubis, traditionally the guardian of the dead in ancientEgypt. Every published account of the Sphinx from Roman timesto 1837 is published in the back of the book, most translatedfrom foreign languages. These were collected over manyyears and are now gathered into one place. The Sphinx was part of a sacred resurrection cult basedupon the rising sun at the equinox.
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Mnohé encyklopédie sú bohato ilustrované, čo umožňuje čitateľom lepšie vizualizovať a porozumieť historickým udalostiam a obdobiam.




























