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What does it mean to be a philosopher? Being a deep thinker? Taking a stand against the norms of society? Being really good at winning an argument? The beauty of philosophy is that there is no one answer and that it’s worth asking that question across every aspect of the human condition.In History’s Greatest Philosophers: Classical Wisdom for Modern Times, Jamie Ryder journeys through the lives of some of the world’s most radical thinkers, leaders, politicians and creatives to uncover the truth of philosophy and different wisdom traditions.From the political arenas of Cicero and Niccolo Machiavelli to the everyday living of Mary Wollstonecraft and Sojourner Truth, get a bird’s eye view into what it means to live and die by what you believe in. Discover ageless truths about the nature of the world and human relationships. Learn how to practice philosophy and not just talk about it.

Between 1800 and 1960, gardening underwent a massive transformation, changing almost beyond recognition. It was a period when the concept of gardening as a leisure activity emerged, along with a vast array of changes in garden styles, plant breeding, the arrival of horticultural societies and shows, brands such as Suttons Seeds, and mass market tourism to garden sites. New retail styles even emerged with the advent of garden centres and containerised plants. Entrepreneurs took advantage of new technology to create products such as lawnmowers, the Wardian case terrarium and the strawberry canopy. Plant specialists searched out exotic plants from far-flung corners of the earth, risking their lives to bring back unusual specimens. Women took up gardening creating careers in a sector that had previously regarded them as little more than capable of doing light weeding or arranging flowers. New standards were established for training, products, plants and seed quality, resulting in the arrival of seeds such as Tom Thumb lettuce and frilly edged sweet peas that are still grown today.As recognition grew of the need for a green environment, green spaces and public parks accessible to all, gardening styles underwent considerable changes. This resulted in the creation of designs that have become extremely familiar such as carpet bedding so beloved of municipal gardens, rockeries, vegetable rotation, shrubberies, walled gardens, cottage gardens, roof and window gardens. It was a period which even saw garden gnomes taking up residence in gardens large and small.

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.

In northern Britain and parts of Wales and Scotland, your life might well be dominated throughout the 1930s by unemployment, low wages, poor nutrition, ill health, and slum housing. But if you lived in the Midlands, London or the South-East, by the latter 1930s you would probably be enjoying a far better life, as you benefited from the spread of electric power, new factories and products, a greater variety of food, a huge private and public house-building programme and expansion of all sorts, much of it created by the sums spent on rearmament.For people living in prosperous areas, real wages rose substantially between 1936 and 1939, as was shown by their increased consumption of food and clothes. The latter 1930s were years of ever more widespread leisure pursuits, among them near-universal cinema-going, newspaper reading and, for many millions, holiday-making. A well-paid working man or office worker might even be able to buy a car. Even so, most working-class wages, especially for women, remained below those of the middle classes, and class differences were still clearly marked in housing, food, clothing, education, medical treatment, and purchasing power in general. Your views on religion, marriage, sex, and behaviour in general remained sharply defined and changed slowly, and only at the end of the decade could the beginnings of change be seen.At the same time the Second World War, which began on 3 September 1939, was the climax of a long period of increasing anxiety, during which the press, the wireless and the cinema newsreel brought foreign affairs more and more into your daily life.Using varied sources, including personal memories and daily life as pictured in newspapers and novels, Michael Alpert presents a broad picture of life for ordinary people in Britain nearly a century ago.

The word ''pirate'' conjures up images of the swashbuckling men featured in the likes of Black Sails and Pirates of the Caribbean, but the world of piracy has a centuries-long history that is filled with little-known women who wielded real power in a man''s world long before they were able to even vote in democratic elections.Their stories are compelling and encompass women of all ethnicities and cultures. From Sayyida al Hurra, Queen of the Barbary Pirates, a muslim woman who successfully preyed on the shipping of her enemies and became governor of Tétouan, to Zheng Shi, an outlawed Tanka woman born in a brothel who rose to successfully command seventeen thousand men in the Red Flag fleet, which at the time outrivaled the Imperial Chinese Navy.During the Golden Age of Caribbean Piracy, many transgendered women joined pirate crews even though the presence of a woman aboard ship meant death. Their stories have largely been ignored by history but A History of Women in Piracy uncovers the lives and loves of these daring women who flaunted convention and proved themselves to be every bit as capable (or more so) as their male brethren.

Though less famous than Rommel or von Manstein, Hermann Balck was considered by peers and enemies to be among the most talented German commanders of the Second World War. He was a veteran of the First World War, in which he served as a junior officer on the Western, Eastern, Italian and Balkan fronts and was wounded seven times. In 1940 he led the successful crossing of the River Meuse with dramatic consequences.Balck led from the front in the new and very dynamic and aggressive command style of Auftragstaktik- continuously touring forward HQs to brief officers personally, regardless of personal risk. He refused two offers to join the General Staff preferring to remain in combat roles. Balck was a pivotal moving force behind the growth of the Panzer forces. In 1942 he commanded a depleted division against massive odds, virtually destroying Soviet 5th Tank Army. He was rewarded with the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (one of only 27 recipients) He briefly commanded Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Division and suggested Hitler was wrong in how the Waffen-SS was constructed. Philip Kay-Bujak argues that, had Hitler ignored Balck''s criticisms of the Waffen-SS and promoted him Field Marshal, Balck might have changed the course of the war on the Eastern Front. It was also Balck that nearly defeated the Americans at Salerno in 1943.Commanding Army Group G, in 1944 he came up against General Patton but could not halt his advance in Alsace. First sacked then reinstated by Hitler, he fought on until surrendering to US forces on 8 May 1944 to avoid capture by the Soviets. Post-war, as a convicted war criminal, Balck chose obscurity and refused to take part in US interviews but by the 1980''s he changed his mind on both and advised NATO on how to win a land war against Russia - his tactics are still relevant today.

There has been speculation over the loss of the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic ever since the tragic event of her sinking, which occurred during the night of Sunday 14 to Monday 15 April 1912. Could it have been the fault of her captain, Edward J. Smit? itherto, no one has managed to explain the mindset of Titanic’s captain, Edward Smith, and thereby comprehend why, on a pitch-black night in April 1912, he drove his ship full tilt into an ice field, when he knew that there were icebergs present? Was the captain mentally ill? No, not in the sense of having one of the traditional major psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder, etcetera, because this would have manifested itself earlier on in his lifetime. Captain Smith was aged 62 at the time of the disaster. Was he suffering from dementia? There is no evidence that this was the case.In fact, Captain Smith’s state of mind provides a classic example of what was described by the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago, As the reader will shortly discover!This book contains hitherto unpublished photographs, for example of Laura May Cribb, from the author''s hometown of Poole in Dorset, who survived the sinking, and of her father John Hatfield Cribb, who perished.

They were often half-starved, marching through an alien land with few signposts and no maps. They were often suffering from dysentery, their legwear rolled down and they sometimes fought naked from the waist down. They were paid 6d a day – the same as a civilian craftsman – and they swore like the troopers they were. That was why the French called them the Goddamns and king and peasant alike were terrified of them. With their yew wood bows and ash arrows a clothyard long, they were the victors in countless clashes during the Hundred Years War and in the three great battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt.They robbed, pillaged, raped and murdered, often in their king’s name. Yet they won battles and it is no exaggeration to say that England became a powerful nation state because of them. If they were caught in action by the enemy, they would have their bow fingers cut off and their throats slit. We know the names of very few of them. They were not worthy of ransom, unlike the knights they fought for. Most of them ended up in mass burial pits or some unmarked plot beside a French road. The vast majority was illiterate, so we have no firsthand accounts of their campaigns from the bowmen themselves. For all they won battles and renown, for all they helped indirectly to increase the power of the common man, they are like ghosts drifting over the battlefield.They were the bowmen.

Medieval Nuns at War by Elizabeth Quillen uncovers the extraordinary lives of nuns who defied expectations, embracing roles that went far beyond contemplation and prayer. From the rebellion of Princess Clothild and her sister Basina, who led mercenaries to storm their abbey, to Queen Radegund’s quest for autonomy within the cloistered world of Poitiers, these stories reveal women unafraid to wield power in times of crisis. "These women made their marks briefly, but brightly in the pages of chronicles, poems, and letters," Quillen writes, bringing to life their audacity and ambition in shaping medieval society.Quillen’s deeply researched narrative explores how these nuns balanced spiritual devotion with an intense drive for influence, often clashing with both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. Not content to remain within convent walls, women like Leoba, who served as an imperial regent, and Hildegund von Schonau, who disguised herself as a monk to escape persecution, exemplify the resilience of medieval nuns. Quillen illustrates how convents functioned as political centres, not isolated enclaves, with nuns as pivotal figures in military defence, treaty negotiations, and even political rebellion.For readers fascinated by the hidden currents of medieval history, Medieval Nuns at War is a rare treasure. Quillen’s captivating prose and meticulous scholarship shed new light on these “rebellious, resilient, and rowdy women,” who not only fought for survival but also left indelible marks on their societies. Through letters, chronicles, and centuries-old biographies, this book finally gives these fearless women the recognition they deserve as warriors, leaders, and guardians of their communities.

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.

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.

The Battle of Pavia took place in northern Italy on 24 February 1525. Its outcome profoundly affected the course of European international relations for the rest of the sixteenth century. King Francis I of France led his forces at the battle and was captured amidst the greatest slaughter of French nobles in war since Agincourt. This book examines the early reigns of Francis, of his great rival Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and a number of their contemporaries. It shows why warfare was such an important aspect of kingship in the period, and how it interacted with diplomacy.The book then looks at how Francis''s siege of the city of Pavia turned into an open battle, why the king of France fought in person, and the main events of the encounter. It reviews Francis’s time as a prisoner in Spain and traces the complexity of international relations that provoked yet more war in the following decades, which drew in kingdoms as varied as Scotland, Tunisia, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The book shows why the Battle of Pavia was one of the most important military encounters in the history of the European Renaissance.

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.

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.

The technicians of the 9th Military Technical Research Institute, known as the Noborito Research Institute, toiled in the shadows of the Second World War to develop spy gear and special weapons for the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Their espionage devices, including secret inks, bugging devices, and miniature cameras, helped the Army’s dreaded Kempeitai and the shadowy Yama Agency counter foreign spies and track domestic dissent. Operatives of the IJA’s Nakano School for intelligence operatives and commandos took the equipment into the field with them. Noborito’s forgers reproduced Chinese currency in an operation to wreck China’s economy. Scientists and technicians tested biological weapons on Chinese prisoners as part of a top-secret project fielded by the IJA’s infamous Unit 731 and developed a virus into a weapon to strike at America’s cattle herds. Others developed bombing balloons to attack the American heartland, a target that lay far beyond Japan’s reach by conventional means. Stephen Mercado provides, in this first book in English on an intelligence organization little known outside Japan, an absorbing account of Noborito’s activities.The author further recounts how, in the shadows of Occupied Japan, Noborito veterans entered US military service in secret, then applied their skills to operations during the Korean War and for years afterwards in the Cold War. Other veterans applied their skills to rebuilding Japan and turning the vanquished empire into a postwar industrial power. This story is one of talented technicians who served their country in war and peace.

The American West evokes powerful imagery—warriors on horseback, cowboys in saloons, and pioneers in wagons heading westward. It symbolizes freedom, reinvention, and the American Dream. However, this idealized image obscures the complex, often violent history of the West, which is as unjust as it is inspiring.Historians debate the boundaries of the American West, but it''s clear that it’s a dynamic concept—both a place and an idea, evolving over time. For three centuries, the frontier and western history overlapped until the frontier disappeared in 1890. Early narratives celebrated explorers, settlers, and entrepreneurs who developed the West, portraying them as heroic figures.However, modern historians criticize this "triumphant" view, highlighting the exploitation, racism, and ecological damage caused by Western expansion. They focus on marginalized groups—racial minorities, women, and workers—while critiquing the often-overlooked injustices faced by Indigenous peoples and others. This revisionist perspective emphasizes the darker aspects of Western history, challenging previous glorifications of development and heroism.The Epic History of the American West bridges traditional and revisionist views, exploring the region’s complex legacy, from violent struggles to ongoing cultural and ideological conflicts. It reflects the West’s enduring significance, blending history and mythology to reveal its multifaceted nature.