Showing 13–24 of 34 resultsSorted by latest
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£25.00
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has reshaped history. In the decades after the collapse of Soviet communism, the West convinced itself that liberal democracy would henceforth be the dominant, ultimately unique, system of governance. Putin is a paradox. In the early years of his presidency, he appeared to commit himself to friendship with the West, suggesting that Russia could join the European Union or even NATO. He said he supported free-market democracy and civil rights. But the Putin of those years is unrecognisable today. So, what happened? Was he lying when he proclaimed his support for freedom, democracy and friendship with the West? Or, was he sincere? This book examines these questions in the context of Russia’s thousand-year past, tracing the forces and the myths that have shaped Putin’s politics of aggression.
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£25.00
The British monarchy has been through turbulent times of late. Rocked by scandal and strife, and without it seems a clear plan for the future following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we have been left wondering: what happens next? Nothing seems certain. Will the monarchy survive with its continuing echoes of an Imperial past? Will young people – disenchanted with the political status quo – find the ritual and practice of the monarchy quite so mesmerising as previous generations have done? What might a republican Britain look like? Ed Owens argues that the monarchy must embrace reform and transform itself radically. No more private jets while preaching about the importance of the environment; no more secrecy obscuring royal influence in high places; and no more hangers on enjoying grace-and-favour homes. A major slimming down is essential. And it’s time the family archives were opened.
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£20.00
Who said that dictatorship was dead? The world today is full of strong men and their imitators. Caesarism is alive and well. Yet in modern times it’s become a strangely neglected subject. Ferdinand Mount opens up a fascinating exploration of how and why Caesars seize power and why they fall. There is a comforting illusion shared by historians and political commentators from Fukuyama back to Macaulay, Mill and Marx, that history progresses in a nice straight line towards liberal democracy or socialism, despite the odd hiccup. In reality, every democracy, however sophisticated or stable it may look, has been attacked or actually destroyed by a would-be Caesar, from Ancient Greece to the present day. Marx was wrong. This Caesarism is not an absurd throwback, it is an ever-present danger.
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£10.99
Known for his journalism, biographies and novels, A.N. Wilson turns a merciless searchlight on his own early life, his experience of sexual abuse, his catastrophic mistakes in love (sacred and profane) and his life in Grub Street as a prolific writer.
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£20.00
Here are some of the best of Churchill’s letters, many of a more personal and intimate nature, presented in chronological order, with a preface to each letter explaining the context. The recipients include a vast range of people, including his schoolmaster, his American grandmother and former President Eisenhower. They are taken from within the Churchill Archive in Cambridge, where there is a mass of Churchill’s correspondence. Several of the letters included have never appeared in book form before. Winston Churchill has become an iconic figure greatly loved the world over, but maybe especially these days in the USA. Churchill understood the power of words and he used his writing to sustain and complement his political career, publishing over 40 books and receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. This volume concentrates on his more intimate words.
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£16.99
What is a meaningful life? What does it mean to flourish? Antonia Case, the co-founder of New Philosopher and Womankind magazines, quits her corporate job in the city and, with her partner, travels across the world in search of meaning. In a quest to find answers, she turns off the soundtrack of the media, rids herself of technology, and with little more than books as carry-on luggage, she journeys from Buenos Aires to Paris, from Barcelona to Byron Bay, seeking guidance from ancient philosophers and modern-day psychologists on what is a good life, and what is a life worth living. Along the way she discovers why winning the lottery doesn’t make you happy, why making is better than having, and how love and belonging are vital to our sense of selves. Packed with insight into life’s big questions, ‘Flourish’ will take you on a riveting journey in search of what matters most.
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£16.99
In showing how the great philosophers of human history lived and thought – and what they thought about – the popular philosopher Peter Cave provides an accessible and enjoyable introduction to thinking philosophically and how it can change our everyday lives. As well as displaying optimists and pessimists, believers and non-believers, the book displays relevance to current affairs, from free speech to abortion to the treatment of animals to our leaders’ moral character. In each brief chapter, Cave brings to life these often prescient, always compelling philosophical thinkers, showing how their ways of approaching the world grew out of their own lives and times and how we may make valuable use of their insights today. Now, more than ever, we need to understand how to live, and how to understand the world around us. This is the perfect guide.
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£20.00
An in-depth exploration of the importance of the North of England in the modern era, ‘The North Will Rise Again’ covers the colourful adventures of its inhabitants, the expansiveness and optimism that defines Northern culture and the recurrent sense of failure and despair that is at the heart of one of the West’s most impoverished regions. By telling the story of the North in the last few decades, author Alex Niven goes in search of answers to some of the big questions at the forefront of British politics and society today, touching on live issues including the North/South divide, austerity, the impact of Brexit, the collapse of Labour’s ‘Red Wall’, and calls for regional devolution.
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£18.99
Jimi Famurewa, a British-Nigerian journalist, journeys into the hidden yet vibrant world of African London. Seeking to understand the ties that bind Black African Londoners together and link them with their home countries, he visits their places of worship, roams around markets and restaurants, attends a traditional Nigerian engagement ceremony, shadows them on their morning journeys to far-flung grammar schools and listens to stories from shopkeepers and activists, artists and politicians. But this isn’t just the story of energetic, ambitious Londoners. Jimi also uncovers a darker side, of racial discrimination between White and Black communities and, between Black Africans and Afro-Caribbeans. This is a vivid new portrait of London, and of modern Britain.
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£14.99
There are so many Latin phrases in everyday use that often we use them without understanding the background and context within which they were actually used. Many of these phrases are humorous, but they are also a rich source of wisdom: the wisdom of the ancients. Each chapter of this book starts with a quotation and is lightly sprinkled with many more, with accompanying English translations. The background to each quotation is explained so that the context is fully understood.
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£8.99
‘Making Nice’ takes place in the murky world of London PR firms, the back rooms of Westminster and on the campaign trail in America and Africa. We follow the hapless Dickie Pentecost, lately the diplomatic correspondent for a London financial newspaper, together with his wife Jane and daughters Flo, an aspiring ballet dancer, and Lucy, a teenager of fourteen. The family find themselves bound up in an ever more alarming series of unfortunate events revolving around the shady character of Ethel (full name Ethelbert), founder of the dubious public relations agency Making Nice.
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£20.00
Known for his journalism, biographies and novels, A.N. Wilson turns a merciless searchlight on his own early life, his experience of sexual abuse, his catastrophic mistakes in love (sacred and profane) and his life in Grub Street as a prolific writer.
