History Books

New York Times Complete World War II

New York Times Complete World War II

History

Experience the history, politics, and tragedy of World War II as you've never seen it before with original, often firsthand daily reportage of The New York Times, our country's newspaper of record.The Times' complete coverage of World War II is now available for the first time in this unique package. Hundreds of the most riveting articles from the archives of the Times including firsthand accounts of major events and little-known anecdotes have been selected for inclusion in The New York Times: The Complete World War II. The book covers the biggest battles of the war, from the Battle of the Bulge to the Battle of Iwo Jima, as well as moving stories from the home front and profiles of noted leaders and heroes such as Winston Churchill and George Patton.A respected World War II historian and writer, editor Richard Overy guides readers through the articles, putting the events into historical context. The enclosed DVD-ROM gives access to more day-by-day coverage of World War II in The New York Times -- from the invasion of Poland to V-J day with access to over 98,000 articles.Beautifully designed and illustrated with hundreds of maps and historical photographs, it's the perfect gift for any war, politics, or history buff.

Jean-Paul II et Solidarność

Jean-Paul II et Solidarność

History

15mn d'Histoire : une collection numérique de textes courts pour apprendre et comprendre l'Histoire en 15 minutes ! En 1978, lors de l'élection de Jean-Paul II, premier pape polonais de l'Histoire, un célèbre journaliste italien commentait : " Le Kremlin aurait préféré voir Soljenitsyne devenir secrétaire général de l'ONU qu'un Polonais devenir pape ". De fait, loin de la diplomatie discrète habituelle du Vatican, Jean-Paul II n'aura de cesse de soutenir les tentatives de libération du communisme du peuple polonais à travers le syndicat Solidarnosc (Solidarité), allant même jusqu'à appeler à la résistance la jeunesse polonaise. Histoire d'une pape qui a changé le cours de l'Histoire pour tout un peuple.

Les Inconnus de Versailles

Les Inconnus de Versailles

History

Les coulisses de Versailles au temps des rois. Pendant un siècle, l'histoire de France s'est jouée à Versailles. Mais qui connaît les " seconds rôles " indispensables au fonctionnement de la " machinerie royale ", comme d'Aquin, premier médecin du Roi-Soleil, Louis Blouin, valet de chambre et confident de Louis XIV, ou Mme de Brionne qui gouverna comme un homme les Grandes Ecuries ?Le livre de Jacques Levron retrace leurs aventures, comme il permet de mieux apprécier l'œuvre des Francine, ces magiciens des Grandes Eaux de Versailles, de feuilleter les observations piquantes du commissaire de police Narbonne qui excellait au jeu des surnoms, ou de mesurer les difficultés que rencontrait Papillon de la Ferté qui dirigeait les Menus Plaisirs de la Cour. On y rencontre aussi Charles Collin, intendant de la marquise de Pompadour, l'abbé Soldini, confesseur de la dauphine et des filles de Louis XV, la marquise de Coëtlogon et son époux, Gatteschi, dernier " maître de langues " des Enfants de France, ou encore François Gamain, serrurier de Louis XVI...Avec Jacques Levron, on se mêle à la foule des courtisans et on se glisse dans les coulisses de Versailles. Jacques Levron a notamment publiéMademoiselle de Charolais, Le Bon Roi René et Marie Leszczynska.

The Jewish Wars

The Jewish Wars

History

The Jewish War is a history book by Flavius Josephus about Jewish–Roman wars. Divided into seven books, it opens with a summary of Jewish history from the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BC to the first stages of the First Jewish–Roman War (Book I and II). The next five books detail the unfolding of the war, under Roman generals Vespasian and Titus, to the death of the last Sicarii. Titus Flavius Josephus was a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, historian and hagiographer, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. He initially fought against the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War as head of Jewish forces in Galilee, until surrendering in 67 CE to Roman forces led by Vespasian after the six-week siege of Jotapata. After Vespasian became Emperor in 69 CE, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperor's family name of Flavius. He fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. Josephus recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century CE and the First Jewish–Roman War, including the Siege of Masada. His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94).

Lo schiavo del manoscritto

Lo schiavo del manoscritto

History

Nellestate del 1148 d.C. Khalaf ibn Ishaq, mercante in Palestina, scrive una lettera allamico ebreo Abraham Ben Yij_, che viveva allora in una città di nome Mangalore, un porto sulla costa sudoccidentale dellIndia. Era una stagione movimentata quella, in Palestina. In aprile era arrivata unarmata tedesca al comando dellanziano re Corrado III di Hohenstaufen, noto agli arabi come Alam_n. Al seguito del re cera il nipote, il giovane e carismatico Federico di Svevia. Subito dopo era giunto a Gerusalemme Luigi VII di Francia con il suo esercito, la moglie, laffascinante Eleonora dAquitania, destinata a essere successivamente regina di Francia e dInghilterra, e un corteo di nobili. Il 24 giugno del 1148 la più massiccia armata di crociati di tutti i tempi si era accampata nei frutteti intorno a Damasco. Scrivendo a Ben Yij_, tuttavia, Khalaf non si dilunga affatto su questi avvenimenti. Parla di alcune merci inviategli da Ben Yij_, un carico di noci dareca, due serrature prodotte in India, due coppe dottone, e annuncia allamico che insieme con la lettera gli manderà alcuni doni: due vasi di zucchero, un vaso di mandorle e due di uvetta. Alla fine della missiva, Khalaf ibn Ishaq nomina quasi di sfuggita uno schiavo indiano di Ben Yij_ al quale raccomanda di porgere «moltissimi ringraziamenti». La lettera è catalogata come manoscritto H.6 alla Biblioteca Nazionale e Universitaria di Gerusalemme. Attraversando i sottili confini che separano il presente dal passato, con in mano soltanto il frammento di questa lettera, Amitav Ghosh si mette alla ricerca dello schiavo indiano che vi è nominato, una figura che gli appare come una chiave per intendere e raccontare una Storia fatta di tante storie, diaspore e guerre, tradizioni e incontri, rotture e sparizioni. Centro della vicenda sono due villaggi egiziani, luoghi di uno straordinario apprendistato linguistico e umano, e punti di partenza per una lunga indagine: per più di dieci anni Ghosh insegue lo sconosciuto, costruendo un meraviglioso romanzo in cui tutto è rigorosamente vero. Ombra consapevole dellantico schiavo, il moderno ricercatore percorre un duplice itinerario: quello nelluniverso medievale, lungo le rotte mercantili che dal Maghreb attraverso lEgitto portano in India; e quello nelluniverso contemporaneo, lungo le rotte aeree che da oriente portano a occidente e da una religione allaltra, da una lingua allaltra. «Amitav Ghosh è un grande narratore, un maestro della lingua». Die Zeit «Ghosh è uno scrittore seducente un maestro, una fonte di infinito piacere per il lettore». The Age «Ghosh è uno degli scrittori della sua generazione dalla prosa più raffinata». Financial Times «Lo schiavo del manoscritto è un viaggio ricco e avvincente». The Times

The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk

History

W.E.B. Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of essays, in 1903. It was immediately acclaimed as an extraordinary work of literature. It explores a variety of subjects of black life, from the history of the Freedmen's Bureau and black music to Du Bois' experiences teaching in rural Georgia and Tennessee.

The 40s: The Story of a Decade

The 40s: The Story of a Decade

History

This captivating anthology gathers historic New Yorker pieces from a decade of trauma and upheaval—as well as the years when The New Yorker came of age, with pieces by Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Joseph Mitchell, Vladimir Nabokov, and George Orwell, alongside original reflections on the 1940s by some of today’s finest writers. In this enthralling book, contributions from the great writers who graced The New Yorker’s pages are placed in historical context by the magazine’s current writers. Included in this volume are seminal profiles of the decade’s most fascinating figures: Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Here are classics in reporting: John Hersey’s account of the heroism of a young naval lieutenant named John F. Kennedy; Rebecca West’s harrowing visit to a lynching trial in South Carolina; and Joseph Mitchell’s imperishable portrait of New York’s foremost dive bar, McSorley’s. This volume also provides vital, seldom-reprinted criticism, as well as an extraordinary selection of short stories by such writers as Shirley Jackson and John Cheever. Represented too are the great poets of the decade, from William Carlos Williams to Langston Hughes. To complete the panorama, today’s New Yorker staff look back on the decade through contemporary eyes. The 40s: The Story of a Decade is a rich and surprising cultural portrait that evokes the past while keeping it vibrantly present.Including contributions by W. H. Auden • Elizabeth Bishop • John Cheever • Janet Flanner • John Hersey • Langston Hughes • Shirley Jackson • A. J. Liebling • William Maxwell • Carson McCullers • Joseph Mitchell • Vladimir Nabokov • Ogden Nash • John O’Hara • George Orwell • V. S. Pritchett • Lillian Ross • Stephen Spender • Lionel Trilling • Rebecca West • E. B. White • Williams Carlos Williams • Edmund Wilson And featuring new perspectives by Joan Acocella • Hilton Als • Dan Chiasson • David Denby • Jill Lepore • Louis Menand • Susan Orlean • George Packer • David Remnick • Alex Ross • Peter Schjeldahl • Zadie Smith • Judith Thurman

Josephus' Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades

Josephus' Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades

History

Josephus's Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades is the anachronistic title of a short treatise published in the translation of Josephus by William Whiston. Erroneously attributed to the Jewish historian since at least the 9th century, it is now believed to be (at least in its original form) the work of Hippolytus of Rome. As Whiston's translation is in the public domain, it appears in many present-day English editions of Josephus' work without any noting of its questionable attribution.

Agent Sonya

Agent Sonya

History

England, 1942. En elegant hemmafru och trebarnsmamma lämnar sitt hem för att ta sin sedvanliga cykeltur. Men istället för att styra mot stadens butiker, susar hon genom Oxfordshires landsbygd för att samla in vetenskapliga hemligheter från en av landets mest framstående kärnfysiker. Hemligheter som hon sedan vidarebefordrar till Sovjetunionens spionhögkvarter via en radiosändare som hon gömmer på sitt utedass. Kvinnan som den pittoreska, brittiska byn kände som Mrs Burton – sinnebilden av en kärleksfull, brittisk hemmafru – var i verkligheten tysk judinna, hängiven kommunist, överste i röda armén och en förstklassigt tränad spion. Från att i Schweiz ha planerat ett mordförsök på Hitler, till att ha spionerat på japanerna i Manchuriet och hjälpt Sovjetunionen att bygga sitt första kärnvapen, genomförde Sonya några av de farligaste spionageoperationerna under 1900-talet. Hennes historia har aldrig berättats – förrän nu. Ben Macintyre är en av Storbritanniens mest erkända historiker och författare till miljonsäljande titlar som En spion bland vänner, SAS och Spion och förrädare. I Agent Sonya berättar han den sanna historien om världshistoriens främsta kvinnliga spion. Det är en fängslande levnadsteckning över en kvinnas liv – ett liv som följde kommunismens uppgång och fall, och som förändrade historiens gång.

Margaret Ogilvy

Margaret Ogilvy

History

When Barrie was 14 his mother's favorite son died in an accident. Barrie tried to fill this place for his mother, Margaret. Margaret Ogilvy was written about this time in his life. Barrie's mother found comfort in knowing her dead son would remain in her mind a boy forever. It has been speculated that this trauma induced psychogenic dwarfism in Barrie. This could have been responsible for his short stature and apparent asexuality.

L'affaire du discours de Ratisbonne

L'affaire du discours de Ratisbonne

History

Le 12 septembre 2006, le Pape Benoît XVI prononce un discours à Ratisbonne sur le dialogue des cultures. Le lendemain, le New York Times arrive dans les kiosques du monde entier, avec un sous-titre percutant : " Dans un discours enflammé, le pape Benoît attaque tout : le sécularisme, le djihad, l'islam et le prophète Mahomet ". Le 14 septembre, un responsable koweitien invite tous les pays musulmans à rappeler leurs ambassadeurs au Vatican. De Djakarta à Amman, de Riyad à Naplouse, des dizaines de dignitaires musulmans s'indignent soudain de la " provocation " du pape. Que s'est-il donc passé ?

Europe and Empire

Europe and Empire

History

The European Union and the single currency have given Europe more stability than it has known in the past thousand years, yet Europe seems to be in perpetual crisis about its global role. The many European empires are now reduced to a multiplicity of ethnicities, traditions, and civilisations. Europe will never be One, but to survive as a union it will have to become a federation of "islands" both distinct and connected.Though drawing on philosophers of Europe past, Cacciari calls not to resist Europe sunset but to embrace it. Europe will have to open up to the possibility that in few generations new exiles and an unpredictable cultural hybridism will again change all we know about the European legacy. Though scarcely alive in today politics, the political unity of Europe is still a necessity, however impossible it seems to achieve.

Double Cross

Double Cross

History

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “superb [and] intensely readable” (The Washington Post) untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II and the extraordinary spies who achieved it—from the bestselling author of Prisoners of the Castle “Not since Ian Fleming and John le Carré has a spy writer so captivated readers.”—The Hollywood Reporter On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy and suffered an astonishingly low rate of casualties. A stunning military achievement, it was also a masterpiece of trickery. Operation Fortitude, which protected and enabled the invasion, and the Double Cross system, which specialized in turning German spies into double agents, tricked the Nazis into believing that the Allied attacks would come in Calais and Norway rather than Normandy. It was the most sophisticated and successful deception operation ever carried out, ensuring Allied victory at the most pivotal moment in the war.  This epic event has never before been told from the perspective of the key individuals in the Double Cross system, until now. These include its director (a brilliant, urbane intelligence officer), a colorful assortment of MI5 handlers (as well as their counterparts in Nazi intelligence), and the five spies who formed Double Cross’s nucleus: a dashing Serbian playboy, a Polish fighter-pilot, a bisexual Peruvian party girl, a deeply eccentric Spaniard, and a volatile Frenchwoman. Together they made up one of the oddest and most brilliant military units ever assembled.  With the same depth of research, eye for the absurd, and masterful storytelling that have made Ben Macintyre an international bestseller, Double Cross is a captivating narrative of the spies who wove a web so intricate it ensnared Hitler’s army and carried thousands of D-Day troops across the Channel in safety.

Assim foi Auschwitz

Assim foi Auschwitz

History

O testemunho de um dos maiores horrores da história — contado com grande potência narrativa por quem esteve lá. Primo Levi tinha só 24 anos quando foi deportado para Auschwitz, a fábrica construída pelos nazistas para exterminar judeus e minorias. Químico, Levi trabalharia junto a outro prisioneiro, o médico Leonardo De Benedetti. Em 1945, após a libertação, soviéticos encarregaram os dois de um relatório sobre as condições de saúde dos campos. O resultado, publicado em 1946, foi um testemunho pioneiro dessa experiência atroz, que inaugura o trabalho de Primo Levi como escritor. Depois, o químico continuaria contando a experiência de Auschwitz nas histórias, pesquisas e nos comentários agora recolhidos, que, graças à coerência, clareza e o rigor do método, reforçam a potência narrativa do autor.

The Story of Billy the Kid

The Story of Billy the Kid

History

The true life of the most daring young outlaw of the age. He was the leading spirit in the bloody Lincoln County, New Mexico war. When a bullet from Sheriff Pat Garrett’s pistol pierced his breast he was only twenty-one years of age and had killed twenty-one men, not counting Indians. His six years of daring outlawry has never been equaled in the annals of criminal history. The facts set down in this narrative were gotten from the lips of "Billy the Kid," himself, and from such men as Pat Garrett, John W. Poe, Kip McKinnie, Charlie Wall, the Coe brothers, Tom O'Folliard, Henry Brown, John Middleton, Martin Chavez, and Ash Upson. All these men took an active part, for or against, the "Kid." Ash Upson had known him from childhood, and was considered one of the family, for several years, in his mother's home. Other facts were gained from the lips of Mrs. Charlie Bowdre, who kept ''Billy the Kid” hid out at her home in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, after he had killed his two guards and escaped.

Selected Works of Flavius Josephus

Selected Works of Flavius Josephus

History

Now as to Hades, wherein the souls of the of the good things they see, and rejoice in the righteous and unrighteous are detained, it is necessary to speak of it. Hades is a place in the world not regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in this region the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in it perpetual darkness. This region is allotted as a place of custody for souls, ill which angels are appointed as guardians to them, who distribute to them temporary punishments, agreeable to every one's behavior and manners. In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake of unquenchable fire, whereinto we suppose no one hath hitherto been cast; but it is prepared for a day afore-determined by God, in which one righteous sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men; when the unjust, and those that have been disobedient to God, and have given honor to such idols as have been the vain operations of the hands of men as to God himself, shall be adjudged to this everlasting punishment, as having been the causes of defilement; while the just shall obtain an incorruptible and never-fading kingdom. These are now indeed confined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the unjust are confined. For there is one descent into this region, at whose gate we believe there stands an archangel with an host; which gate when those pass through that are conducted down by the angels appointed over souls, they do not go the same way; but the just are guided to the right hand, and are led with hymns, sung by the angels appointed over that place, unto a region of light, in which the just have dwelt from the beginning of the world; not constrained by necessity, but ever enjoying the prospect of the good things they see, and rejoice in the expectation of those new enjoyments which will be peculiar to every one of them, and esteeming those things beyond what we have here; with whom there is no place of toil, no burning heat, no piercing cold, nor are any briers there; but the countenance of the and of the just, which they see, always smiles them, while they wait for that rest and eternal new life in heaven, which is to succeed this region. This place we call The Bosom of Abraham. But as to the unjust, they are dragged by force to the left hand by the angels allotted for punishment, no longer going with a good-will, but as prisoners driven by violence; to whom are sent the angels appointed over them to reproach them and threaten them with their terrible looks, and to thrust them still downwards. Now those angels that are set over these souls drag them into the neighborhood of hell itself; who, when they are hard by it, continually hear the noise of it, and do not stand clear of the hot vapor itself; but when they have a near view of this spectacle, as of a terrible and exceeding great prospect of fire, they are struck with a fearful expectation of a future judgment, and in effect punished thereby: and not only so, but where they see the place [or choir] of the fathers and of the just, even hereby are they punished; for a chaos deep and large is fixed between them; insomuch that a just man that hath compassion upon them cannot be admitted, nor can one that is unjust, if he were bold enough to attempt it, pass over it.

The Syrian Dilemma

The Syrian Dilemma

History

This work argues the motives behind the Russian opposition to a military intervention in Syria. While the West presses for a military intervention to solve the Syrian crisis, Moscow continues to veto any UN Security Council motion to allow outside military forces in Syria. After allowing a military intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War, Russia has shifted its stance on similar military interventions. This work will argue why Moscow has shifted its stance and why such an intervention is not in Moscow's strategic and national interests.

Epic Fails: Exploration

Epic Fails: Exploration

History

Why do people explore? Maybe they just have to get away from home. In this book, you can read about explorers who got lost. And explorers who made a total mess of things. Should they have stayed home? Have you ever done anything really, really stupid? Well, this series isn't about you. It's about other people who did really stupid things. And what happened as a result. In other words, epic fails. This easy reading book has entertaining illustrations sprinkled throughout. About the Author: Bart King writes humorous books for younger readers and immature adults. As a longtime middle-school teacher, Bart knows how to appeal to kids with funny writing and irresistible topics. His titles have been bestsellers, and have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Australian.