History/Politics - history

The eighteenth century was an era when brave mariners took their ships beyond the horizon in search of an unknown world. Those chosen to lead these expeditions were exceptional navigators, men who had shown brilliance as they ascended the ranks in the Royal Navy. They were also bloody good sailors.
From ship's boy to vice-admiral, discover how much more there was to Captain Bligh than his infamous bad temper. Meet a 24-year-old Master Bligh as he witnesses the demise of his Captain and mentor Cook; a 34-year-old Lieutenant B... read more

The definitive biography of the world's most important body of water - the Atlantic.
One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world's tectonic plates led to the creation of an immense chasm. This giant gash in the flanks of the planet slowly opened up and eventually evolved into the most important and most travelled ocean in our world. In this utterly original biography, Simon Winchester explores the life of the Atlantic; its birth, its relationship with mankind, and what lies in store for... read more

New Zealand was the last major landmass, other than Antarctica, to be settled by humans. The story of this rugged and dynamic land is beautifully narrated, from its origins in Gondwana some 80 million years ago to the twenty-first century. Philippa Mein Smith highlights the effects of the country's smallness and isolation, from its late settlement by Polynesian voyagers and colonisation by Europeans - and the exchanges that made these people Maori and Pakeha - to the dramatic struggles over land and recent efforts to manage global ... read more

Promised New Zealand is the true tale of refugees who fled Nazi terror in Europe for a safe haven on the opposite side of the world ÃÂÃÃÃ... read more

The ancient system of clans grew out of ancient Celtic tribal traditions, and is based around a fierce love for both family and homeland. Historically, the clan tartan can be viewed almost as a uniform, proclaiming a clansman's loyalties and family ties - a way of recognising friend or foe.

New Zealand Truth's scandal-ridden history has never before been told. This book not only documents an important part of New Zealand's media history, but also gives us a fascinating and colourful window on this country's social history.

This is a unique, eye-witness account of everyday life right at the heart of the Nazi extermination machine. Slomo Venezia was born into a poor Jewish-Italian community living in Thessaloniki, Greece. At first, the occupying Italians protected his family; but when the Germans invaded, the Venezias were deported to Auschwitz. His mother and sisters disappeared on arrival, and he learned, at first with disbelief, that they had almost certainly been gassed. Given the chance to earn a little extra bread, he agreed to become a ‘Sonder... read more

An elegant visual record of the life and times of the Kennedy brothers - Jack, Robert, Edward and the ill-fated eldest, Joseph Junior - the sons of one of America's most dynamic and accomplished political dynasties. Through more than 120 stunning photographs, this book presents a fascinating look at the lives of perhaps the most influential - and most controversial - political figures of our lifetime and how they shaped the American saga. Included are highlights from their childhoods in New York, Hyannis Port and London; their day... read more

Kilts have been worn for hundreds of years, but the distinctive pattern of tartan originated in Scotland, spreading to Ireland, and reaching a crescendo of popularity in the nineteenth century. This giftbook presents over 300 tartans from Scotland and Ireland, arranged alphabetically for ease of reference.

The terrible conflict that dominated the mid 19th century, the Crimean War killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Ort... read more

In Bligh, the story of the most notorious of all Pacific explorers is told through a new lens as a significant episode in the history of the world, not simply of the West. Award-winning anthropologist Anne Salmond recounts the triumphs and disasters of William Bligh's life and career in a riveting narrative that for the first time portrays the Pacific islanders as key players.
From 1777, Salmond charts Bligh's three Pacific voyages - with Captain James Cook in the Resolution, on board the Bounty and as commander of the Provid... read more

Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne is a defining figure of both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. Crowned king of the Franks in 768, he expanded their kingdoms into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe, recreating a single Christian imperium in the heartlands of the old Western Roman empire for the first time since the decline and fall of that polity in the late fifth century AD. After his imperial coronation Charlemagne was seen as a rival, in power and majesty, of the Byzan... read more

The editors of "TIME" magazine select the 100 events that have shaped civilization, and take readers on an illustrated journey through history's most important events and people.

From the Other End of the World brings together experiences of immigrants to New Zealand from the UK who left the austerity of war conditions for a new life ? or for what was intended to be a two year ?OE?. All but one sailed between 1946 and 1956; the other sailed in 1965. The experiences range from romantic and humorous to the disappointing and deeply moving. Together they capture the activities, attitudes and expectations of the time as well as many interesting individual experiences ? urban and rural. They are a testament to pe... read more

The Pacific voyages of James Cook sailed across perilous tropical seas, survived hurricanes and volcanic eruptions, discovered unknown lands and peoples and made their Captain an icon of imperial history. Yet, as Anne Salmond shows, the story of these epic South Sea journeys is far more than one of conquest and control. She has devoted a lifetime to the study of relations between Europeans and Polynesians, and this book is the result.
In Salmond's account, Cook's great voyages regain their dreamlike quality as they encounter ... read more

The appearance of a hastily-constructed barbed wire entanglement through the heart of Berlin during the night of 12-13 August 1961 was both dramatic and unexpected. Within days, it had started to metamorphose into a structure that would come to symbolise the brutal insanity of the Cold War: the Berlin Wall. A city of almost four million was cut ruthlessly in two, unleashing a potentially catastrophic East-West crisis and plunging the entire world for the first time into the fear of imminent missile-borne apocalypse. This threat wou... read more

China's Great Wall north of Beijing is one of the world's most famous sights. Millions every year climb the line of stone snaking over mountains. We all feel we know the Wall. But we are wrong. It is too big, too varied, too complex to be captured by a few images or a day-trip. Myths surround it. Many believe that the stone barrier marches across all China, that it has been in existence for over 2,000 years, and that it is the only man-made structure visible from the Moon. In fact, most of it is made of earth, and much of it is not... read more

The excitement surrounding the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton has prompted four of Britain's top historical biographers to look closely at Royal Weddings from 1066 to the present day. Professionally, Alison Weir, Kate Williams, Sarah Gristwood and Tracy Borman do events and television together, and are known affectionately, as the 'History Girls'. They bring an elan, and a passion for detail and dramatic narrative to all their subjects. Each writer focuses on different areas of interest. Alison Weir deals with the med... read more

The RMS Titanic was built as one of the world′s largest and most luxurious liners. A marine Ritz, it was a 45,000-tonne hotel of thin steel plates, travelling at a speed of 21 knots across the North Atlantic.

On the night of 14 April 1912, midway through her maiden voyage, the seemingly unsinkable ship hit an iceberg, sustaining a 300-feet gash as six compartments were wrenched open to the sea. In little over two hours, the palatial Titanic nose-dived to the bottom of the ocean. Over 1,500 people perished in the free... read more