Historiska & politiska biografier

Lady Nijo's A Tale Unasked (Towazugatari) is the last, and arguably the finest, among classical Japanese literature's famous 'women's diaries'. Thought to have been completed around 1307, when the author was in her late forties, the first two thirds of this autobiographical work document in rich and compelling detail the experiences of an imperial concubine whose time at court was ruled and finally ruined by her passionate and complicated love life. The final third of the work equally memorably describes her peripatetic life after the emperor expelled her from the court in her mid-twenties and she became a nun, wandering the roads of Japan as a form of Buddhist austerity.Meredith McKinney's superb translation breathes new life into Lady Nijo's fascinating diaries, which survived her era in a single copy and were only rediscovered in the 1940s.

A biography of a woman whose contribution to the musical life of Britain transcended the sadnesses in her life. Also a woman whose life confronts some of the key issues of the 20th century. WW2 refugees, legality of homosexuality, changes in royal attitudes to divorce and privilege in the legal system.

Castro: A Biography by Consent offers the most comprehensive and in-depth life history of one of the most iconic and controversial revolutionary leaders of the modern world. Respected by some, despised by others, Fidel Castro was a force to reckon with. Claudia Furiati spent nine years of intensive research unraveling and chronicling his story through seven decades of Cuban history.   Castro granted Furiati his consent to write this biography and gave his assurance that he would not read it until the book was completed and published. He allowed her access to his personal (confidential and secret) archives and official files. Through these and multiple interviews with Castro’s friends and enemies alike, Furiati fills in gaps missing from other biographies and provides, through extensive narrative and photos, a powerful portrayal of this charismatic yet enigmatic head of state.

On three hot days in early July of 1863, America stood at a crossroads. Two armies faced each other in a battle that might determine the course of the nation. Would the country that was founded with such high ideals in 1776 continue, or would it be divided, and another country be established alongside it? Much was riding on the decisions made by the Southern high command as they attempted to defeat the Union Army and threaten Washington, D.C.This book takes the reader through the command decisions, the troop movements, and the combat action of the battle. In addition to the narrative of the battle, there are biographical sketches which tell about many of the leaders who were engaged in this struggle, offering a human side to the conflict. This war has often been described by scholars as the first modern war in history due to the advancements in weapons and ammunition. Many of those technologies are described and the implications of those advancements on the soldiers involved.Gettysburg is remembered as a pivotal battle in the Civil War, a war that pitted brother against brother, friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor.

This book is about the late Soviet Union, focusing on the crisis in the ruling structures of the Communist Party, caused by the lack of generational rejuvenation. Author analyzes the case of Volgograd as a typical manifestation of this crisis and explains why Perestroika did not work.

New softback edition of the acclaimed historical biiography. Read about Jean Gordon's involvement in many ofthe well-known adventures of Mary, Queen of Scots, and how she survived theintrigue of the Queen's court

From multi-award-winning writer Helen Ennis comes the first ever biography of the photographer Max Dupain, the most influential Australian photographer of the 20th century and creator of many iconic images that have passed into our national imagination. Max Dupain (1911-1992) was a major cultural figure in Australia, and at the forefront of the visual arts in a career spanning more than fifty years. During this time he produced a number of images now regarded as iconically Australian. He championed modern photography and a distinctive Australian approach. To date, Dupain has been seen mostly in one-dimensional, limited and limiting terms - as exceptional, as super masculine, as an Australian hero. But this landmark biography approaches him as a complex and contradictory figure who, despite the apparent certitude of his photographic style, was filled with self-doubt and anxiety. Dupain was a Romantic and a rationalist and struggled with the intensity of his emotions and reactions. He wanted simplicity in his art and life, but found it difficult to attain. He never wanted to be ordinary. Examining the sources of his creativity - literature, art, music - alongside his approaches to masculinity, love, the body, war, and nature, Max Dupain: A Portrait reveals a driven artist, one whose relationship to his work has been described as 'ferocious' and 'painful to watch'. Photographer David Moore, a long-term friend, said he 'needed to photograph like he needed to breathe. It was part of him. It gave him his drive and force in life.'

A timely, magisterial new history of Churchill's life and politics, focusing on his dealings with Russia and the Soviet Union.

David II (1329-1371), son of the hero King of Scots, Robert Bruce (1306-1329), has suffered a harsh historical press, condemned as a disastrous general, a womaniser and a sympathiser with Scotland's 'auld enemy', England. Bringing together evidence from Scotland, England and France, Michael Penman offers a different view.

Margaret Thatcher is a British icon. There is no denying her place in history as Britain's greatest peacetime Prime Minister. The reaction to her death confirms that twenty-three years after leaving office she still bestrides the political scene, both in Britain and around the world, like a colossus. Margaret Thatcher was elected to Parliament in 1959. Twenty years later she became Britain's first woman Prime Minister. She achieved two further landslide election victories, making her the longest-serving British Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool. She resigned in November 1990 after eleven-and-a-half years at the pinnacle of British politics. Memories of Margaret Thatcher brings together over 200 personal reminiscences and anecdotes from those who - whether political friends or opponents, observing her from the press gallery or toiling to keep her flame alight in the constituencies - experienced close encounters with the Iron Lady. They include, among others, Ronald Reagan, Helmut Kohl, Norman Tebbit, Cecil Parkinson, Matthew Parris, Michael Howard, Paddy Ashdown, Adam Boulton, Lord Ashcroft, Sebastian Coe, Boris Johnson, Ann Widdecombe, William Hague, Sir Bernard Ingham, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Esther Rantzen, Dame Ann Leslie, David Davis, Liam Fox and many more. Amusing, revealing, sympathetic and occasionally antagonistic, these observations combine to give a unique portrait of the political and personal life of a remarkable woman. They show the deeply private and compassionate nature of a woman who will forever be known as the Iron Lady.

The End of An Era charts the ups and numerous downs of the last twenty yearsof British politics from the closest quarters.

The extraordinary, little-known life of Richard, the manwho succeeded Cromwell and survived the Restoration.