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How Louis XIV Survived His Hegemonic Bid
Why do some great powers survive their hegemonic bids, while others lose everything? France’s Louis XIV stands out among modern aspiring hegemons as the only one to leave his country intact, even larger than he found it. Similar to other potential hegemons, Louis fought general wars he failed to win decisively. But Louis would often negotiate peace from a position of strength while other aspiring hegemons generally fought to the finish, thus solidifying uncompromising balancing coalitions. This eagerness to pursue peace from a position of strength mollified opposing coalitions and allowed France to extract some gains, however limited. This book helps us understand how wars with today’s aspiring hegemons could end.
The First King of England
From one of today’s leading historians of the early medieval period, an enthralling chronicle of Athelstan, England’s founder king whose achievements of 927 rival the Norman Conquest of 1066 in shaping Britain as we know itThe First King of England is a foundational biography of Athelstan (d. 939), the early medieval king whose territorial conquests and shrewd statesmanship united the peoples, languages, and cultures that would come to be known as the “kingdom of the English.” In this panoramic work, David Woodman blends masterful storytelling with the latest scholarship to paint a multifaceted portrait of this immensely important but neglected figure, a man celebrated in his day as much for his benevolence, piety, and love of learning as he was for his ambitious reign. Set against the backdrop of warring powers in early medieval Europe, The First King of England sheds new light on Athelstan’s early life, his spectacular military victories and the innovative way he governed his kingdom, his fostering of the church, the deft political alliances he forged with Europe’s royal houses, and his death and enduring legacy. It begins with the reigns of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder, Athelstan’s grandfather and father, describing how they consolidated and expanded the “kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons.” But it was Athelstan who would declare himself the first king of all England when, in 927, he conquered the viking kingdom at York, required the submission of a Scottish king, and secured an annual tribute from the Welsh kings. Beautifully illustrated and breathtaking in scope, The First King of England is the most comprehensive, up-to-date biography of Athelstan available, bringing a magisterial richness of detail to the life of a consequential British monarch whose strategic and political sophistication was unprecedented for his time.
The War We Won Apart
On opposite sides of the pond, Sonia Butt, an adventurous young British woman, and Guy d''Artois, a French-Canadian soldier and thunderstorm of a man, are preparing to go to war. From different worlds, they make their way to fight in Winston Churchill''s secret army against the German forces and, unlike most involved in the world''s deadliest conflict to date, to fight from behind enemy lines. Their lives first intersect during clandestine training to become agents with the Special Operations Executive. Sonia and Guy learn how to parachute into enemy territory, how to kill, blow up rail lines, support the French resistance, and eventually... how to love each other. But not long after their hasty marriage, their love is tested by separation, by a titanic invasion - and by indiscretion. Written in vivid, heart stopping prose, we follow their stories of uncommon courage - as Sonia plunges into Nazi-occupied France and slinks into black market restaurants to throw off German forces who knew she''d arrived, while at the same time participating in sabotage operations against them by night; and as Guy, in another corner of France, trains hundreds into a resistance army, fashioning himself a military leader, weapons instructor, and peacemaker all at once. Reconstructed from hours of unpublished interviews and hundreds of archival and personal documents, Ayed tells a story of sacrifice and youthful folly; a story about the ravaging costs of war paid for disproportionately by the young. But more than anything, The War We Won Apart is a story about love: two secret agents who were supposed to land in enemy territory together, but were fated to fight the war apart.
WTF Happened
The story of the grassroots #WakingTheFeminists movement in Irish theater, a campaign that changed how we saw the world and reshaped the future both on and off the stage. When the Abbey Theatre's 2016 centenary program excluded women artists, it sparked a nationwide movement. What began as an outrage on social media evolved into a meticulously organized yearlong campaign that transformed the Irish theater landscape-and resonated beyond. WTF Happened reveals the behind-the-scenes, untold story of the groundbreaking #WakingTheFeminists grassroots movement for gender equality in Irish theater, 2015-16. Leading activists, academics, historians, and arts professionals, with the support of the Irish Theatre Institute, compile their knowledge into a multidisciplinary archive relevant to gender studies, women's history, arts and theater, cultural policy and governance, social justice, and contemporary history. Included within these pages are photographs, visual examples of social media interactions, and memorabilia of the movement as kept by its organizers and both the National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland. As well as being an important and exhaustive historical record of a short-lived but highly impactful collective campaign, this book serves as an inspiring guide for future activists, offering crucial lessons on mobilizing grassroots efforts to achieve systemic change. It underscores the ongoing work needed to achieve full gender equality, both in the arts and in society at large, and puts #WakingTheFeminists in context with the Irish activist movements that came before and after. Great theater changes the atmosphere in the room and reshapes how we think about our lives. Great campaigning changes how we see the world and reshapes our future.
The Generalissimo
Luigi Cardorna remains one of the most controversial generals in Italian history. Appointed chief of the armed forces in 1914, he led the Italian army in the field from May 1915 until the aftermath of their calamitous defeat at Caporetto in 1917. In this major new biography, Marco Mondini traces Cardorna''s rise, the nature of his command, the course of the Isonzo campaign, and the battles over his post-war reputation. He brings a new cultural perspective to Cardorna''s life, demonstrating the role of Italy''s military and national culture, the myths of the Risorgimento, and the mobilization of propaganda in creating an effective cult of personality. Utilizing ego-documents, memoirs, letters and public writings, Mondini delves into the ideology and psychology that combined to create such an untouchable autocrat, arguing that the history of fascism in Italy cannot be fully understood without appreciating Cardorna''s role in the First World War.
The Wars of the Roses
This concise and interpretative book digs under the surface events of the Wars of the Roses to explore the underlying dynamics of a typical civil war. Beginning with a demonstration of why the well-worn storylines of the Wars are so misleading, it moves on to expose the pressure for reform that animated the conflict and helped to shape its outcomes. It continues by looking at the logics of division and the reasons why the Wars, once started, were so hard to resolve. It concludes by returning to debates long discussed by historians: the role of the economy in the conflict, and the interaction between English affairs and the politics of the British Isles and the near continent. Throughout, a central concern is to emphasise the fluidity and uncertainty of these civil wars: once authority broke down, anything could happen.
The Vice President's Black Wife
Award-winning historian Amrita Chakrabarti Myers has recovered the riveting, troubling, and complicated story of Julia Ann Chinn (ca. 1779 – 1833), the enslaved wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, owner of Blue Spring Farm, veteran of the War of 1812, and US vice president under Martin Van Buren. Johnson never freed Chinn, but during his frequent absences from his estate, he delegated to her the management of his property, including Choctaw Academy, a boarding school for Indigenous men and boys on the grounds of the estate. This meant that Chinn, although enslaved herself, oversaw Blue Spring's slave labor force and had substantial control over economic, social, financial, and personal affairs within the couple's world. Chinn's relationship with Johnson was unlikely to have been consensual since she was never manumitted. What makes Chinn's life exceptional is the power that Johnson invested in her, the opportunities the couple's relationship afforded her and her daughters, and their community's tacit acceptance of the family—up to a point. When the family left their farm, they faced steep limits: pews at the rear of the church, burial in separate graveyards, exclusion from town dances, and more. Johnson's relationship with Chinn ruined his political career and Myers compellingly demonstrates that it wasn't interracial sex that led to his downfall but his refusal to keep it—and Julia Chinn—behind closed doors.
Kushan Coins and History
The coinage of the Kushan kings (1st to 4th centuries) and of their immediate successors the Sasanian Kushanshahs (3rd-4th centuries) and the Kidarite Hun Kushanshahs (4th-5th centuries) are a key component of our understanding of the history of ancient Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan during the early centuries AD. Modern knowledge of each of these kingdoms began with the discovery of their coins. Research continues to reveal new aspects of the political structure of these states, their geographical extent, the religious affinities of their rulers and the development of scripts and languages in the region. This landmark publication will give a comprehensive account of Kushan, Kushano-Sasanian and Kidarite Hun coinages, as well as put them into a wider historical and cultural context.
Phoenix Rising
"Phoenix Rising provides readers with two great services. First, it offers a truly unique perspective on Operation EAGLE CLAW. Additionally, it presents an excellent history of the evolution of USSOCOM. The combination of this subject matter and the outstanding readability of the volume make this one of those rare one-sit reads." — On Point: The Journal of Army History_x000D__x000D_“As a junior officer and the lowest ranking 'gopher' at the creation of these forces, I saw how the several Services had great reservations regarding SOF to the point of studied dislike of it and a distinct distaste for its inclusion as a member of their force structure. The single lone exception was Army Chief of Staff Shy Myer, who saw terrorism and asymmetrical warfare as the emerging National threat and worked to build a missing capability. He did this as a lone wolf in that much of the Army leadership as well as the other Services, looked upon SOF as a high-risk loose cannon on their stable conventional deck.”Phoenix Rising recounts the paradoxical birth of SOF through the prism of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue fifty-two Americans held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. When terrorists captured the Embassy on November 4, 1979, the Joint Chiefs of Staff quickly realized that the United States lacked the military capability to launch a rescue. There was no precedent for the mission, a mission that came with extraordinary restrictions and required a unique force to take it on. With no existent command structure or budget, this force would have to be built from scratch in utmost secrecy, and draw on every branch of the U.S. military. Keith Nightingale, then a major, was Deputy Operations Officer and the junior member of Joint Task Force Eagle Claw, commanded by Major General James Vaught. Based on Nightingale’s detailed diary, Phoenix Rising vividly describes the personalities involved, the issues they faced, and the actions they took, from the conception of the operation to its hair-raising launch and execution. His historically significant post-analysis of Eagle Claw gives unparalleled insight into how a very dedicated group of people from the Chief of Staff of the Army to lower-ranking personnel subjugated personal ambition to grow the forces necessary to address the emerging terrorist threat—a threat which the majority of uniformed leadership and their political masters denied in 1979. The Special Operations capability of the United States today is the ultimate proof of their success.
Less Than Victory
The first book of its kind, Less than Victory explores both the impact the Vietnam War had on American Catholics, and the impact of the nation's largest religious group upon its most controversial war. Through the 1960s, Roman Catholics made up one-quarter of the population, and were deeply involved in all aspects of war. In this book, Steven J. Brady argues that American Catholics introduced the moral, as opposed to the prudential, argument about the war earlier and more comprehensively than other groups. The Catholic debate on morality was three cornered: some saw the war as inherently immoral, others as morally obligatory, while others focused on the morality of the means – napalm, torture, and free-fire zones – that the US and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam were employing. These debates presaged greater Catholic involvement in war and peace issues, provoking a shift away from traditional ideas of a just war across American Catholic thinking and dialogue.
Unintended Nations
In the wake of Napoleon's defeat in 1815, French liberals set out to create an informal empire. Their efforts to cultivate unequal partnerships with Christian, Greek-speaking elites in southeast Europe shaped national identities and structured global civilizational hierarchies over the decades that followed. Unintended Nations tracks a notion of civilization that developed in early nineteenth-century France. Alex Tipei explores the constellation of ideas, beliefs, and practices this concept invoked – what she calls civilization-speak – and charts the cross-continental networks that employed it as an organizing principle. Drawing on archival and printed primary sources in six languages, Tipei maps out the uses of this civilization-speak on both sides of the continent, focusing on France and the lands that make up significant parts of present-day Greece and Romania. She shows how and why French liberals mobilized civilization-speak to, offering an innovative analysis of liberalism and capitalism's relationship to informal empire. Calling into question long-standing assumptions about the rise of nationalism in southeast Europe, Unintended Nations explores how Franco-Balkan exchanges helped define political, civilizational, and biopolitical boundaries in the post-Napoleonic era.
Why Appeasement Failed
In the years leading up to the Second World War, the world focussed heavily on Nazi Germany’s growing military power, but few grasped the true danger of Adolf Hitler and his regime. Why Appeasement Failed argues that the critical insight into Hitler''s intentions was already available, yet largely ignored.The author starts by examining the turbulent political climate of the 1930s, the tensions with Germany and the issues between the French and the British, as well as the Munich Conference and its successes and failures.Drawing attention to the overlooked warnings in Mein Kampf and several publications from the 1930s, this book reveals that these texts clearly outlined Hitler’s vision for expansion and conquest long before it became a global reality. Mein Kampf made sinister references to what Hitler called defective people, namely, both mentally and physically handicapped, and his racist obsession. He dwelled on the Party’s philosophy, propaganda, and projected a unified pan-Germany based on military power — evidence that should have sounded alarm bells but was dismissed.Attention that moves to an outstanding but neglected book published in Germany in 1937 written by an Australian academic investigating 1936 Germany. While appreciated by some, the findings were dismissed by Chamberlain. In places, this writer’s almost prophetic forecasts read almost like a post-war analysis of the situation. He met most Nazi leaders, studied the political paramilitary, the German Army and attended a Nuremberg rally. Having studied German economics, he saw for himself the indoctrination of Nazism from the schools to Hitler Youth, to young men in the Labour Service all trained in military discipline. He observed that the public mind was controlled, and the laws changed to suit Nazism. Had political leaders paid closer attention to these early clues, they might have heeded Winston Churchill’s urgent call to rearm.Why Appeasement Failed sheds light on the missed opportunities to understand and counter the Nazi threat before it was too late.
Marie Antoinette
A seemingly endless parade of books, films and television shows have kept Marie Antoinette in the spotlight for over two centuries since her execution in October 1793. For many, she is the ignorant embodiment of foolish, careless, decadent excess, and a deserving example of the terrible fate that on occasion befalls members of the mega-wealthy ruling class who exploit and ignore the needs of those less fortunate than themselves. Meanwhile, for others, she is a source of endless fascination thanks to the flamboyant fashions of her era, the pastel-hued beauty of her surviving residences and, above all, the extraordinary drama of her almost unbelievable riches-to-rags life. She was a complex woman who lived in a remarkable time, and yet she was also a very simple one whose main desire in life was to love and be loved in return.This engaging and intimate biography of Marie Antoinette takes a fresh look at the story of this most fascinating and misunderstood of queens, exploring her personal tribulations such as her emotionally unfulfilling marriage, rocky friendships and the loss of her children, as well as the series of scandals, mistakes and disasters that took her from the gilded splendour of Versailles to the guillotine.
Joseph Stalin and the Art of Tyranny
Joseph Stalin and the Art of Tyranny examines authoritarian rule, revealing how tyrants sustain power through a mix of comfort, terror, love, and fear, often convincing their subjects of their divine purpose. Such leaders build systems of loyalists and subservient institutions, enabling unchecked authority.Joseph Stalin exemplifies this tyranny. As Soviet leader from 1929 to 1953, he implemented totalitarian policies, nationalizing industry and agriculture, controlling economic production through five-year plans, and eliminating dissent through imprisonment, forced labour, or execution. His brutal regime caused an estimated 20 million deaths.Despite this grim legacy, Stalin’s reputation remains divisive. In Western democracies, he is remembered as a genocidal dictator, but in Russia he often ranks among the most admired historical figures, illustrating the paradox of his influence.Stalinism served as a model for Communist regimes in China, Vietnam, and Cuba, shaping their governance. While many of these nations transitioned toward democracy, countries like Russia, China, and North Korea continue to echo Stalinist practices. Modern leaders such as Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping have adopted similar strategies of control.Joseph Stalin and the Art of Tyranny offers crucial insights into authoritarianism, revealing the enduring appeal and devastating impact of totalitarian rule.
Churchill's Angel
Her name was Hazel Smith, but everyone called her Jicky. Whether it was a cover name or affectation, she never said, but it was also the name of her favourite perfume from the historic French perfume house, Guerlain, established in Paris in 1800. Born into a well-to-do family, she grew-up in Hertfordshire, enjoying the privileged life of a magnificent country house and domestic servants.In Paris, Jicky worked for the British Embassy in those tumultuous days leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War, operating as an undercover agent playing an important role in the intelligence community for the SIS (MI6).After war broke out, Jicky displayed extraordinary courage and suffered for her loyalty to the cause. At one point she was captured and tortured by the Nazis; she was pregnant at the time. Her partner was a member of the French resistance but she did not betray him, or her country.Among her tasks, she used her previous education in graphology to decipher the personality of subjects under surveillance by means of handwriting analysis. One of her professors was a disciple of Jung, who trained her in the techniques of psychoanalysis for divining truth and lies. She was even an expert in homing pigeons, the unit known as MI14.After the war, she moved to a small town in Italy taking her secrets with her, and her undiminished passion for life.This is her story.
The Ultra Secret
In April 1940, when British cryptographers at Bletchley Park decrypted some German air force messages, Group Captain Frederick Winterbotham recognized the potential of such intelligence and established a secure system to handle it. He created Special Liaison Units, small teams of RAF officers and enlisted men, to receive and securely distribute decrypted Ultra messages to relevant commanders. These messages, transmitted through encrypted radio signals, were kept highly classified, with recipients unaware of their origins.Winterbotham''s units played a critical role in key moments during the war. His selected intercepts provided early insights into the French collapse during the Battle of France and proved crucial in the Battle of Britain, North Africa, El Alamein, and the D-Day invasion. The Ultra intelligence was vital for informing Allied military decisions, with Winston Churchill receiving urgent messages directly via a secure phone line.By 1944, the system was highly efficient, delivering time-sensitive information, such as the rapid intelligence on the German evacuation of the Casino line in Italy. Winterbotham also analyzed the surprise of the 1944-45 Ardennes Offensive, noting that the absence of German signals should have raised alarms.Winterbotham’s first-hand account of the Enigma program offers an unmatched perspective on its strategic importance.
How To Survive in Georgian Britain
The Georgian era was unique, so unlike what preceded it and never since repeated. What would it have been like to live there? With no welfare and little charity, people lived on their wits alone, and the sweat of their brow. There was a huckster on every street corner, a pickpocket in every crowd, and cheap gin was readily available to drown every conceivable sorrow. What was it like to live in a smuggling community where the criminals made the rules and enforced them arbitrarily, brutally, and without hindrance? How would you survive the highwayman intent on taking your riches, your dignity, and your life too, if require? ut Georgian Britain also underwent a great flourishing in the arts, commerce, industry and innovation. It was a time of great opportunity should you have the means to seize it. For all its harsh realities, the Georgian era is also famous for its gentility and refinement, for the pottery of Josiah Wedgwood, the furniture of Thomas Chippendale, the sculpted landscapes of Capability Brown, the elegance of the Georgian Ball, the romantic and evocative novels of Jane Austen, but also the tawdry excesses of the Prince Regent and the cutting edge of the satirist’s pen.Let this book be your guide to the past, and learn from their own lips the conversation, what drove the narrative, what was whispered in the taverns and shouted in the streets. It was a time of excess, but of great achievement too, a transformative time that changed Britain forever. So be prepared, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.
Wings Over Italy
In October 1941, 19-year-old Dennis Varey volunteered for the RAF, despite being in a reserved occupation as an engineer. The bombing of his hometown had pushed him to fight back. After basic training, he became an Observer in December 1941, and by June 1942, he was accepted for pilot training under the Empire Air Training Scheme. He trained in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), then moved to Cairo before joining the Italian campaign. Dennis participated in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, in 1944.As the Allied forces struggled in Normandy, Dennis flew sorties to support the landings, providing air cover and ground attacks. Promoted to Flight Sergeant, he continued flying over Italy, Crete, and the Balkans until he was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109. Wounded and captured, Dennis escaped captivity and returned to his unit, later being posted home to train future pilots.This book recounts the story of Dennis and his comrades in 260 Squadron, whose multi-national crew supported key battles across North Africa and Europe. Using letters, diaries, and first-hand accounts, it highlights the sacrifices of these young men, many of whom never returned or were forever changed by their experiences.
Henry VIII's Controversial Aunt, Honor Lisle
The life of Honor, Lady Lisle, follows a dizzying narrative arc. Born into a West Country family, her second marriage propelled her into Anne Boleyn''s court, as the new step-aunt to Henry VIII. Her husband, Arthur, was the illegitimate son of Edward IV, bearing the dangerous surname Plantagenet, one of a few survivors of the old regime. At his side, Honor witnessed tumultuous change in England, before heading out to run the Tudor enclave of Calais. Her surviving letters speak of a happy family, domestic arrangements, clothes and food, as well as including snippets of news about Henry''s love life and the unfolding Reformation. A devout Catholic, Honor found herself in a difficult position when instructions arrived to carry through religious reforms in a reluctant, rebellious town. As the pressure increased upon the couple, and one by one, the giants of the Tudor court fell, did Honor ever fear that she may suffer the same fate? What exactly caused accusations to be made against Honor and Arthur? What role did Honor''s faith play? Just how close did she come to dishonour? This is the first complete biography of Honor, presenting the story of a significant Tudor woman against the backdrop of immense political change.
V kategórii populárno - náučné encyklopédie nájdete široký výber kníh, ktoré vám poskytnú poznatky z rôznych oblastí zaujímavým a zrozumiteľným spôsobom. Encyklopédie vám pomôžu získať komplexný prehľad o rôznych témach, ako ľudské telo a človek, príroda, vesmír, veda a technika a história.
Naša ponuka encyklopédií populárno-náučného charakteru vám umožní objaviť fascinujúci svet poznania a rozšíriť svoje vedomosti o rôznych témach.
