This history of the pivotal WWII Battle of Stalingrad reveals newly translated firsthand accounts from Russian and German soldiers as well as civilians.In August of 1942, the German Army and Axis Powers invaded the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. The ensuing battle was one of the most protracted and bitterly fought conflicts of the Second World War. More than five months later, Germany was forced to retreat in what would be a major turning point in the war.

D-Day - June 6, 1944 - was a pivotal day in human history. This was the great turning point of the Second World War, when the largest armada ever assembled took a third of a million Allied men across the English Channel.The invasion force of 150,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and many other nations fighting on the Allied side on D-Day under the command of Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery landed on five beaches to spearhead Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-oc...

Journey to the seventeenth century and a dramatic period of political upheaval, plague, and fire, with this "vivid portrait of Restoration England" ( History Today).Inside Pepys' London reveals a vivid picture of London at a critical point in history, as it was poised to become a major center of international commerce and culture. It provides accounts of all aspects of contemporary life, from the arts and entertainment, to politics and religion.

Contemporary creative writers reflect on the past, present and future of the novelIn 2012-2013, a year-long conversation between writers took place at 17 literary festivals around the world, from Jaipur to Krasnoyarsk, and from Melbourne to Berlin. Distinguished novelists such as Irvine Welsh, Ahdaf Soueif and Ali Smith shared their thoughts on various aspects of contemporary literature the challenges it faces and the directions it is taking. This book is in part an anthology of the best o...

New York Times 'Could hardly be a more timely parable for our day' Evening Standard 'An engrossing and vivid impression of those terrible days' Sunday Express 'Absorbing. . .an excellent account of the two most fantastic years in London's history' This book chronicles the horror and human suffering of two of the most terrible years in London's long and vivid history. 1665 brought the plague and cries of "Bring Out Your Dead" echoed the city. A year later, the ...

Samuel Pepyss London was a turbulent, boisterous city, enduring the strains caused by foreign wars, the Great Plague and the Great Fire, yet growing and prospering. The Restoration in 1660 brought the reopening of the theatres, with women appearing on the stage for the first time, and the period saw the development of English opera and the first public concerts. Pepys lived through a time of change in a city of contrasts, which maintained a sophisticated cultural scene, yet was a focus for...

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOKHere are two thousand years of London’s history and folklore, its chroniclers and criminals and plain citizens, its food and drink and countless pleasures. Blackfriar’s and Charing Cross, Paddington and Bedlam. Westminster Abbey and St. Martin in the Fields. Cockneys and vagrants. Immigrants, peasants, and punks. The Plague, the Great Fire, the Blitz. London at all times of day and night, and in all kinds of weather. In well-ch...

In London: The Autobiography the life of the capital is told, for the first time, by those who made it and saw it at first hand.From Roman times to the 21st century, Londoners and visitors to the city have recounted the extraordinary events, everyday life and character of this unique and influential city - from politics, culture, sport, religion, and reportage.This book brings to vivid life the human trial of the capital including invasions by the Vikings, ...

Collecting texts taken from letters, diaries, literature, scientific journals and reports, Pandæmonium gathers a beguiling narrative as it traces the development of the machine age in Britain.Covering the years between 1660 and 1886, it offers a rich tapestry of human experience, from eyewitness reports of the Luddite Riots and the Peterloo Massacre to more intimate accounts of child labour, Utopian communities, the desecration of the natural world, ground-breaking scientific exper...

'Fascinating scholarship. Todd conveys Behn's vivacious character and the mores of the time' New York Times'All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn; for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds,' said Virginia Woolf. Yet that tomb, in Westminster Abbey, records one of the few uncontested facts about this Restoration playwright, poet of the erotic and bisexual, political propagandist, novelist and spy: the date of her death,...

Elizabeth I is perhaps England's most famous monarch. Born in 1533, the product of the doomed marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was heir to her father's title, then disinherited and finally imprisoned her half sister Mary. Her childhood was one of fear and danger, she was aware from the outset that the eyes of the world were upon her and that to survive she would have to rely on her own judgement and strength of character. Many tried to use her for their ow...

We have reached that prominent milestone of four centuries since the Pendle Witch trials of 1612. During the period of March to August of that year the number of people accused of witchcraft, and eventually standing trial for their lives, numbered almost two-score. Over half of these unfortunates ended their days on the rope at Gallows Hill in Lancaster.Four hundred years on it is perhaps surprising that the true Pendle Witch story still remains the stuff of half-fact and legend. I...