The German Century by Michael Sturmer

$30.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good

God's Secret Agents : Queen Elizabeths's Forbidden Priests and the Hatching of the Gunpowder Plot by Alice Hogge

$10.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good

This book offers a thrilling account of treachery, loyalty and martyrdom, in Elizabethan England from an exceptional new writer. As darkness fell on the evening of Friday, 28 October 1588, just weeks after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, two young Englishmen landed in secret on a Norfolk beach. T hey were Jesuit priests. Their aim was to achieve by force of argument what the Armada had failed to do by force of arms: return England to the Catholic Church. Eighteen years later their mission had been shattered by the actions of a small group of terrorists, the Gunpowder Plotters; they themselves had been accused of designing 'that most horrid and hellish conspiracy'; and the future of every Catholic they had come to save depended on the silence of an Oxford joiner, builder of priest-holes, being tortured in the Tower of London. God's Secret Agents tells the story of Elizabeth's 'other' England, a country at war with an unseen enemy, a country peopled - according to popular pamphlets and Government proclamations - with potential traitors, fifth-columnists, and assassins. And, it tells this story from the perspective of that unseen 'enemy', England's Catholics, a beleaguered, alienated minority, struggling to uphold its faith. Ultimately God's Secret Agents is the story of men who would die for their cause undone by men who would kill for it. ...Show more

The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore

$25.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: near fine

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy, from Queen Victoria to Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six tsars were murdered and all the Romanovs lived under constant threat to their lives. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband - who was murdered soon afterwards - loved her young male favourites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts, and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever written by a ruler. THE ROMANOVS climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling story of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today. ...Show more

Americans in Paris - Life and Death under Nazi Occupation 1940-44 by Charles Glass

$25.00 NZD

Category: World War II | Reading Level: very good

An elegantly written and highly informative account of a group of Americans living in Paris when the city fell to the Nazis in June 1940. When the German army occupied Paris in the early hours of 14 June 1940, a large American community awaited them. Although the US Ambassador had advised those without vital business to leave when war broke out in 1939, almost five thousand remained. Many had professional and family ties to Paris, and most had a peculiarly American love for the city that was rooted in the bravery of the thousands of Frenchmen who volunteered to help win American independence after 1776. As citizens of a neutral nation, they believed they had little to fear. They were wrong. For four hard years, from the summer of 1940 until US troops occupied Paris in August 1944, Americans were intimately caught up in the city's fate. Those who stayed behind were an eccentric, original and disparate group. Charles Bedaux, a Frenchborn, naturalized American millionaire, had played host to the Duke of Windsor's wedding in 1937 and went on throwing lavish parties for European royalty and high-ranking Nazi officials. ...Show more

Balkans, The by Mark Mazower

$8.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Series: Universal History Ser. | Reading Level: good

At the end of the twentieth century people spoke as if the Balkans had plagued Europe forever. But two hundred years earlier, the Balkans did not exist. It was not the Balkans but the

The Usurper: Jorgen Jorgenson and His Turbulent Life in Iceland and Van Diemen's Land, 1780-1841 by Dan Sprod

$55.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: near fine

Includes the full text of Jorgenson's hitherto unpublished account of the 'revolution' in Iceland in 1809, in which he was briefly installed as 'Protector' - and which was the source of the name by which he is known to Tasmania history - the 'Convict King'. Jorgenson's adventurous life - and his often u nreliable accounting of it - are examined in meticulous detail. ...Show more

Edward, Prince of Wales and Aquitaine: A Biography of the Black Prince by Richard Barber

$16.00 NZD

Category: Biography | Reading Level: very good

Edward, prince of Wales and Aquitaine, known as the Black Prince, is one of the legendary figures of English history, victor of three great battles and a model of chivalry and courtesy. Behind this image, which many of his contemporaries accepted and eagerly believed in, it is difficult to get at the re alities of his character and of the life that he led. Most of his biographers have based their work on the splendid vision of chivalry conjured up by Froissart, but the present book deliberately shuns this approach, to see what can be found in official records, particularly from the prince's household and those who campaigned with the prince. Special attention has been paid not only to the confusing and confused accounts of the great battles, but also to the prince's early years, his close companions who contributed so greatly to his successes, and to his government of Aquitaine, an obscure but very important part of his career. A number of minor but persistent errors in early histories, deriving from Froissart, are corrected. A concluding chapter examines how the legend of the Black Prince (and his curious nickname) came into being. By separating the image and the reality, a clearer picture of the prince emerges. Dr RICHARD BARBER is the author of The Arthurian Legends, King Arthur: Hero and Legend, Tournaments, a biography of Henry II, The Penguin Guide to Medieval Europe, and the recently revised seminal study of The Knight and Chivalry. ...Show more

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman

$10.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: good

When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw-and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants-otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes. With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her. ...Show more

Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages Reconsidered by Peter S. Wells

$10.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good

In "Barbarians to Angels", one of the world's leading archaeologists offers a surprising look at the least-appreciated period of European history: the so-called Dark Ages. The barbarians who destroyed Rome demolished civilisation along with it and for the next four centuries the people of Europe barely held on. The picture of the Dark Ages that most historians promote is one of random violence, mass migration, disease and starvation. But archaeology tells a different story and here Peter S. Wells surveys the archaeological record to demonstrate that the Dark Ages were not dark at all. The kingdoms of Christendom that emerged from the ninth century sprang from a robust, previously little-known, European culture, albeit one that left behind few written texts. This culture achieved heights in artistry, technology, craft production, commerce and learning. Future assessments of the period between Rome and Charlemagne will need to incorporate this fresh new picture. ...Show more

The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding

$15.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2015LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2016A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'A passionate memoir.?Neil MacGregor'A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book.? Tom Holland'Personal and panoramic, heart-wrenching yet uplifting, this is history at its most alive.? A.D. Miller In 2013, Thomas Harding returned to his grandmother?s house on the outskirts of Berlin which she had been forced to leave when the Nazis swept to power. What was once her 'soul place? now stood empty and derelict. A concrete footpath cut through the garden, marking where the Berlin Wall had stood for nearly three decades.In a bid to save the house from demolition, Thomas began to unearth the history of the five families who had lived there- a nobleman farmer, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, a widow and her children and a Stasi informant. Discovering stories of domestic joy and contentment, of terrible grief and tragedy, and of a hatred handed down through the generations, a history of twentieth century Germany and the story of a nation emerged. ...Show more

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture by Gino Moliterno (Editor)

$30.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Series: Encyclopedias of Contemporary Culture Ser. | Reading Level: very good

This rigorously compiled A-Z volume offers rich, readable coverage of the diverse forms of post-1945 Italian culture. With over 900 entries by international contributors, this volume is genuinely interdisciplinary in character, treating traditional political, economic, and legal concerns, with a particu lar emphasis on neglected areas of popular culture. Entries range from short definitions, histories or biographies to longer overviews covering themes, movements, institutions and personalities, from advertising to fascism, and Pirelli to Zeffirelli.The Encyclopedia aims to inform and inspire both teachers and students in the following fields: *Italian language and literature *Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences *European Studies *Media and Cultural Studies *Business and Management *Art and DesignIt is extensively cross-referenced, has a thematic contents list and suggestions for further reading. ...Show more

Out Of Italy 1450-1650 by Fernand Braudel translated by Sian Reynolds

$45.00 NZD

Category: Europe | Reading Level: very good