The Golden Maze: a Biography of Prague (HB) by Richard Fidler

$45.00 NZD

Category: History

ABC broadcaster and bestselling author of Ghost Empire and Saga Land, Richard Fidler is back with a personally curated history of the magical city that is Prague. In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution bro ke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment, he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let go of him. Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world's biggest statue of Stalin, a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it. Fidler tells the story of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most brilliant minds to Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague's mythic past, he finds the city's founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose glory will touch the stars. Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.  ...Show more

The World Aflame by Dan Jones; Marina Amaral

$55.00 NZD

Category: Military

'Purists argue that colourising black and white photographs is sacrilege, but the world has always been in colour. Truth be told, monochrome is a contrivance. Human experience is always colourful' The Times. The epic, harrowing and world-changing story - in words and colourized images - of global confli ct from the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the obliteration of Hiroshima by the dropping of the first atom bomb. The World Aflame will embrace not only the total conflagrations of 1914-18 and 1939-45 and the international tensions, conflicting ideologies and malign economic forces that set them in train, but also the civil wars of the interwar period in Ireland and Spain, wars in Latin America, Britain's imperial travails in such places as Ireland, Somalia and Palestine, and events on the domestic 'fronts' of the belligerent nations. Like The Colour of Time, The World Aflame is a collaboration between the gifted Brazilian artist Marina Amaral, and the leading British historian Dan Jones. Marina has created 200 stunning images, using contemporary photographs as the basis for her full-colour digital renditions. The accompanying narrative anchors each image in its context, weaving them into a vivid account of four decades of conflict that shaped the world we live in today. A fusion of amazing pictures and well-chosen and informative words, The World Aflameoffers a moving - and often terrifying - perspective on the bloodiest century in human history. Reviews for THE COLOUR OF TIME: 'The most breathtakingly colourised black-and-white pictures ever' Daily Mail. 'I have long considered colourisation sacrilege ... after reading this book, I've changed my mind' The Times. '[The Colour of Time] does something simple yet extraordinary. It takes black-and-white photos of historic events and colours them in. The effect is transformative' Daily Telegraph. 'A stunning book ... Quite extraordinary' The Bookseller. 'There is something of The Wizard of Oz about Marina Amaral's photographs. She whisks us from black-and-white Kansas to shimmering Technicolor Oz ... When you see Amaral's coloured portraits, you think: phwoar! ... She changes the way we see a period or a person' Spectator. 'The effect of colour is far more transformative than you might imagine ... [Amaral's] touched-up photographs look even more realistic, and closer to life, than a photograph taken yesterday ... Extraordinary' Mail on Sunday. 'Pictures brought to life as you've never seen them before' Sunday Post. '[Amaral] breathes new life, immediacy and human connection into black-and-white pictures. Even familiar shots are transformed in a breathtaking way ... Even the casual reader leafing through these pages will be stopped in their tracks, connected to people from the past like never before - at last, in living colour' Irish News. 'Jones sketches with wry economy not only the historical context but the purpose of the photograph, from documented reality to shameless propaganda, from official portrait to candid snap ... There is much to enjoy here. As a history book, it acts as a fleeting guide to a tumultuous century. But as an aesthetic experiment it is remarkably successful' Daily Express. 'What also elevates The Colour of Time above regular coffee table fare is the startling vivacity and impact of the photographs chosen, and the concise but focused and gripping texts by Jones, making the book a worthwhile cover-to-cover read as much as it serves as a showcase book to dip into at will' All About History. ...Show more

Guiding Lights: The Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women by Shona Riddell

$40.00 NZD

Category: History

Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames or bonfires to modern-day lighthouse keeping. Yet most of their stories are little-known. Guiding Lights includes stories from around the world, such as the dramatic torching of Puysegur Point, one of New Zealand 's most inhospitable lighthouses; the two caretakers living alone on Tasmania's wild Maatsuyker Island; the female keeper in charge of Cape Beale on Canada's Vancouver Island (the station receives visits from bears, cougars and wolves); several 'haunted' lighthouses in various US states with tragic tales; the despotic keeper on Clipperton Island, a tiny atoll far off the coast of Mexico; lighthouse accidents and emergencies around the world; and two of the world's most legendary lighthouse women: Ida Lewis (US) and Grace Darling (UK), who risked their lives to save others. The book also explores our dual perception of lighthouses: are they comforting and romantic beacons symbolising hope and trust, or storm-lashed and forbidding towers with echoes of lonely, mad keepers? Whatever our perception, stories of women's courage and dedication in minding the lights -- then and now -- continue to capture the public's imagination and inspire us. ...Show more

Pandora's Jar - Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes

$40.00 NZD

Category: History

Natalie Haynes is the nation's muse' Adam RutherfordThe Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories.Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, from the Trojan War to Jason and the Argonauts. And still, today, a wealth of novels, plays and films draw their inspiration from stories first told almost three thousand years ago. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women's stories. And when they do, those women are often painted as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil. But Pandora - the first woman, who according to legend unloosed chaos upon the world - was not a villain, and even Medea and Phaedra have more nuanced stories than generations of retellings might indicate. Now, in Pandora's Jar, Natalie Haynes - broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist - redresses this imbalance. Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, she puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the menfolk. After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Agamemnon, Paris or Odysseus, Oedipus or Jason, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope. ...Show more

Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson

$38.00 NZD

Category: Nautical

“Most confrontations, viewed from the wide angle of history, are minor disputes, sparks that quickly die out. But every now and then, someone strikes a match that lights up the whole planet.” Henry Every was the seventeenth century’s most notorious pirate. The press published wildly popular—and wildl y inaccurate—reports of his nefarious adventures. The British government offered enormous bounties for his capture, alive or (preferably) dead. But Steven Johnson argues that Every’s most lasting legacy was his inadvertent triggering of a major shift in the global economy. Enemy of All Mankind focuses on one key event—the attack on an Indian treasure ship by Every and his crew—and its surprising repercussions across time and space. It’s the gripping tale one of the most lucrative crimes in history, the first international manhunt, and the trial of the seventeenth century. Johnson uses the extraordinary story of Henry Every and his crimes to explore the emergence of the East India Company, the British Empire, and the modern global marketplace: a densely interconnected planet ruled by nations and corporations. How did this unlikely pirate and his notorious crime end up playing a key role in the birth of multinational capitalism? In the same mode as Johnson’s classic historical thriller The Ghost Map, Enemy of All Mankind deftly traces the path from a single struck match to a global conflagration. ...Show more

The Pioneers - The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough

$35.00 NZD

Category: History

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A M assachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River. McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler's son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, written with David McCullough's signature narrative energy.   ...Show more

Images of the Ice Age

$131.99 NZD

Category: History

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

$30.00 NZD

Category: History

THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER Sapiens shows us where we came from. Homo Deus shows us where we're going. Yuval Noah Harari envisions a near future in which we face a new set of challenges. Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century and beyond - from o vercoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: how can we protect this fragile world from our own destructive power? And what does our future hold? 'Homo Deus will shock you. It will entertain you. It will make you think in ways you had not thought before' Daniel Kahneman ...Show more

Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen

$42.00 NZD

Category: History

Looking for coffee table books that do more than look great on your table? Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World, delivers on both counts. Featuring 100 women who made history, it's a book you can be proud to display in your home.Aphra Behn, first female professional w riter. Sojourner Truth, women's rights activist and abolitionist. Ada Lovelace, first computer programmer. Marie Curie, first woman to win the Nobel Prize. Joan Jett, godmother of punk. The 100 revolutionary women highlighted in this gorgeously illustrated book were bad in the best sense of the word: they challenged the status quo and changed the rules for all who followed. From pirates to artists, warriors, daredevils, women in science, activists, and spies, the accomplishments of these incredible women who dared to push boundaries vary as much as the eras and places in which they effected change. Featuring bold watercolor portraits and illuminating essays by Ann Shen, Bad Girls Throughout History is a distinctive, gift-worthy tribute to rebel girls everywhere. ...Show more

The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple

$25.00 NZD

Category: History

THE TOP 5 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019 THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2019 A FINANCIAL TIMES, OBSERVER, DAILY TELEGRAPH, WALL STREET JOURNAL AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Dalrymple is a superb historian with a visceral understanding of India A book of beauty' o Gerard DeGroot, The Times In August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish a new administration in his richest provinces. Run by English merchants who collected taxes using a ruthless private army, this new regime saw the East India Company transform itself from an international trading corporation into something much more unusual- an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business. William Dalrymple tells the remarkable story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power. ...Show more

World History by DK

$48.00 NZD

Category: History

An essential gift for every history buff, this boldly illustrated book maps out the events that have shaped our world - from the dawn of human civilization to the present day. A comprehensive and accessible guide to the history of human civilisation, World History profiles everything from the emergence of Homo Sapiens to the Greek and Roman empires, through Chinese dynasties, the rise of the Vikings, and the Renaissance, to the Industrial Revolution and World War I and II. Offering a concise and insightful overview of key historical milestones that have occurred over the course of the last century, the book also covers more recent events such as the rise of ISIS, the Arab Spring, and Brexit and populism in the Western world. ...Show more

Expeditions Unpacked by Ed Stafford

$60.00 NZD

Category: History

"A fascinating and unique look at these celebrated expeditions. Ed Stafford knows all too well how important an explorer's kit can be and this brilliant book gives great insight into the role it plays." --Sir Ranulph Fiennes In this unique and enthralling book, explorer and survivalist Ed Stafford curat es 25 great expeditions through the lens of the kit these remarkable explorers took with them. In an environment where failure to prepare could mean certain death, the equipment carried, ridden, and sailed into uncharted territories could mean success or failure--with dire consequences. Was it simply a case of better provisions and preparation that helped Amundsen beat Scott to the South Pole? And how has the equipment taken to Everest changed since Hillary's first ascent? Here for the first time in rare photographs and comprehensive illustrations we can see at a glance the scale, style, and complexity of the items taken into the unknown by the greatest explorers of all time, and the impact each item had on their journey. How it potentially saved a life, or was purely for comfort or entertainment, and how these objects of survival have evolved and adapted as science advances, and we plunge further into the extremes. Conquering fears and mountains, adversity and wild jungles, each item these explorers flew, pulled, or hauled played a crucial role in their ambitious and dangerous missions to find out a little more about our world. Through each of these objects, we can gain a better understanding ourselves. Get an intimate view of these and more amazing expeditions: Roald Amundsen, race to the Pole: Norwegian expedition (snowshoes, Primus stove, piano, violin, gramophone...) Amelia Earhart, first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (Bendix radio direction finder, parachutes, emergency life raft, rouge...) Tim Slessor, first overland from London to Singapore (machetes, crowbar, typewriter, Remington dry shaver, tea...) Nellie Bly, around the world in 72 days (Mumm champagne, accordion, silk waterproof wrap, dark gloves...) ...Show more