Good Faith and Truthful Ignorance uncovers from history the fascinating and strange story of Spanish explorer Francisco Noguerol de Ulloa. in 1556, accompanied by his second wife, Francisco returned to his home in Spain after a profitable twenty-year sojourn in the new world of Peru. However, unlike most other rich conquistadores who returned to the land of their birth, Francisco was not allowed to settle into a life of leisure. Instead, he was charged with bigamy and illegal shipment of silver, was arrested and imprisoned. Francisco's first wife (thought long dead) had filed suit in Spain aga... View More...
The dramatic series of protests and political events that unfolded in Ukraine in the fall of 2004 --the "Orange Revolution" --were seminal both for Ukrainian history and the history of democratization. Pro-Western presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, an industrial pollutant that left him weakened and horribly disfigured. When this assassination attempt failed, the Kremlin-backed ruling party resorted to voter intimidation and massive electoral fraud to win the runoff election. Supporters of Yushchenko responded with a series of strikes, sit-ins, and marches throug... View More...
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!Also on the USA Today, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Globe and Mail, Publishers Weekly, and Indie bestseller lists.One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters--a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now.Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their c... View More...
A fresh and acclaimed account of the Spanish Civil War by the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Battle of Arnhem To mark the 70th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War's outbreak, Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the twentieth century. With new material gleaned from the Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible book (Spain's #1 bestseller for twelve weeks), provides a balanced and penetrating perspective, explaining the tensions that led to this terrible overture to World War... View More...
For nearly 75 years, the Soviet Union controlled Eastern Europe with an iron fist. Conceived in 1917, the empire grew to the size of a large continent with satellites in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin and South America, and has influenced segments of North America. Today the empire lies fragmented and overturned. What events and what leaders in history led to the rise and fall of one of the world's post powerful empires? Author Brian Crozier details a comprehensive history of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the 1990s. Each chapter covers an important epoch in the life of the empire, from the as... View More...
The clever peasant Arnaud du Tilh had almost persuaded the learned judges at the Parlement of Toulouse when, on a summer's day in 1560, a man swaggered into the court on a wooden leg, denounced Arnaud, and reestablished his claim to the identity, property, and wife of Martin Guerre. The astonishing case captured the imagination of the continent. Told and retold over the centuries, the story of Martin Guerre became a legend, still remembered in the Pyrenean village where the impostor was executed more than 400 years ago. Now a noted historian, who served as consultant for a new French film on M... View More...
Otto Friedrich's powerful portrayal of Auschwitz is both an extraordinary reminder of the human capacity for evil and an eloquent message to humanity never to let such things happen again. --Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.I know of no work which brings the reality of this evil place so directly, vividly, accurately, movingly and clearly. . . .It is quite simply the best short account ever produced. --Paul JohnsonA short and thoroughly accurate history of the Auschwitz concentration camp, this compelling book is authoritative in its factual details, devastating in its emotional impact.... View More...
In the 1930s Seton Gordon traveled the Outer and Inner Hebrides, the Western Mainland and the Highlands of Scotland. 'A traveler's delight, and a joy to read today'. Evening News View More...
This first volume of a major reassessment of the last five centuries of German history deals with that age of German history which had the widest effect on the rise of modern Western civilization. Against the background of medieval culture, the author shows the origins of Luther's religion and the growth of various Protestant churches, as well as the subsequent restoration of the Roman Catholic Church. The history of the religious movements of the Reformation and the Counter Reformation is closely co-ordinated with the great transformation simultaneously taking place in the social, economic, a... View More...
Focusing on internal developments in Imperial Russia, this book provides even-handed coverage of the period, with thorough attention to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Political history is balanced with a clear vision of social and economic change. View More...