Best Selling European History Books

Chart of the top 50 most popular and best selling European history eBooks on Apple Books.

Chart list of the top Europe history eBook best sellers is updated daily

History Ebook Best Sellers

Apple Books Top European History eBooks

1

The Betrayal of Anne Frank - Rosemary Sullivan Cover Art

The Betrayal of Anne Frank

The Betrayal of Anne Frank A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan

A New York Times Bestseller Less a mystery unsolved than a secret well kept... Using new technology, recently discovered documents and sophisticated investigative techniques, an international team—led by an obsessed retired FBI agent—has finally solved the mystery that has haunted generations since World War II: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family? And why? Over thirty million people have read The Diary of a Young Girl, the journal teen-aged Anne Frank kept while living in an attic with her family and four other people in Amsterdam during World War II, until the Nazis arrested them and sent them to a concentration camp. But despite the many works—journalism, books, plays and novels—devoted to Anne’s story, none has ever conclusively explained how these eight people managed to live in hiding undetected for over two years—and who or what finally brought the Nazis to their door. With painstaking care, retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke and a team of indefatigable investigators pored over tens of thousands of pages of documents—some never before seen—and interviewed scores of descendants of people familiar with the Franks. Utilizing methods developed by the FBI, the Cold Case Team painstakingly pieced together the months leading to the infamous arrest—and came to a shocking conclusion.  The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation is the riveting story of their mission. Rosemary Sullivan introduces us to the investigators, explains the behavior of both the captives and their captors and profiles a group of suspects. All the while, she vividly brings to life wartime Amsterdam: a place where no matter how wealthy, educated, or careful you were, you never knew whom you could trust. 

2

Tunnel 29 - Helena Merriman Cover Art

Tunnel 29

Tunnel 29 The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helena Merriman

A "riveting" ( Wall Street Journal ) book tells the unbelievable true story of an escape tunnel under the Berlin Wall--the people who built it, the spy who betrayed it, and the media event it inspired. In September 1961, at the height of the Cold War, 22-year-old Joachim Rudolph escaped from East Germany, one of the world's most brutal regimes. He'd risked everything to do it. Then, a few months later, working with a group of students, he picked up a spade... and tunneled back in. The goal was to tunnel into the East to help people escape. They spend months digging, hauling up carts of dirt in a tunnel ventilated by stove pipes. But the odds are against them: a Stasi agent infiltrates their group and on their first attempt, and dozens of escapees and some of the diggers are arrested and imprisoned. Despite the risk of prison and death, a month later, Joachim and the other try again and hit more bad luck: the tunnel springs a leak. After several attempts, run-ins with a spy and secret police, and some unlikely financial aid from an American TV network, they finally break through into the East, and free 29 people. This is the story of their great escape, the NBC documentary crew that filmed it, and the U.S. government's attempts to block the film from ever seeing the light of day. But more than anything, this is the story of what people will do to be free.

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In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson Cover Art

In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Devil in the White City, delivers a remarkable story set during Hitler’s rise to power. The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Nazi Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.     A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another, including with the suprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels. But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance—and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler’s true character and ruthless ambition.     Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming--yet wholly sinister--Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.

4

Blitzed - Norman Ohler Cover Art

Blitzed

Blitzed Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler

A New York Times bestseller, Norman Ohler's Blitzed is a "fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich” (Washington Post). The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of a form of crystal meth—the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs—ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin—administered by his personal doctor. Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows. “Delightfully nuts.”—The New Yorker

5

The Wide Wide Sea - Hampton Sides Cover Art

The Wide Wide Sea

The Wide Wide Sea Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “thrilling and superbly crafted” ( The Wall Street Journal ) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. One of The New York Times Book Review’ s 10 Best Books of the Year A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: THE NEW YORK TIMES , TIME, THE ECONOMIST , NPR, THE NEW YORKER, THE SMITHSONIAN , AND KIRKUS REVIEWS “In this masterly history, Sides tracks the 18th-century English naval officer James Cook’s third and final voyage across the globe, painting a vivid and propulsive portrait."— The New York Times Book Review On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution . Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers.

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The Perfectionists - Simon Winchester Cover Art

The Perfectionists

The Perfectionists How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester

“Another gem from one of the world’s justly celebrated historians specializing in unusual and always fascinating subjects and people.” — Booklist (starred review) The revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement—precision—in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future. The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools—machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras—and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider. Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today’s cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia. As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?

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The History of Rome in 12 Buildings - Phillip Barlag Cover Art

The History of Rome in 12 Buildings

The History of Rome in 12 Buildings A Travel Companion to the Hidden Secrets of The Eternal City by Phillip Barlag

Any travel guide to Rome will urge visitors to go the Colosseum, but none answers a simple question: Why is it called the Colosseum?The History of Rome in 12 Buildings: A Travel Companion to the Hidden Secrets of The Eternal City is compelling, concise, and fun, and takes you behind the iconic buildings to reveal the hidden stories of the people that forged the Roman Empire.Typical travel guides provide torrents of information but deny their readers depth and perspective. In this gap is the really good stuff--the stories that make the buildings come alive and vividly enhance any trip to Rome.The History of Rome in 12 Buildings will immerse you in the world of the Romans, one full of drama, intrigue, and scandal. With its help, you will be able to trace the rise and fall of the ancient world's greatest superpower:Find the last resting spot of Julius Caesar.Join Augustus as he offers sacrifices to the gods.Discover the lie on the façade of the Pantheon.Walk in the footsteps of Jesus.And so much more.

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Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman - Rush Loving Cover Art

Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman

Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman Göring, Ribbentrop, and the Nazi Invasion of Poland by Rush Loving

"A wonderfully researched, written, and fast-paced book about the inevitable march toward World War II, and the personalities who made it a reality." —Fred Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman  offers a compelling behind-the-scenes exploration of the road to World War II and the invasion of Poland by the Hitler's Third Reich. Focusing on the personal power plays within Hitler's inner circle, author Rush Loving details the struggle for Hitler's approval, long before the battle for Poland had begun. The rivalry was between "Fat Boy," the moniker given to Hermann Göring by his fellow Nazi generals, and "the Champagne Salesman," Joachim von Ribbentrop, nicknamed for his previous career, and it was at the heart of Germany's plans for the expansion of the Reich into Poland. Göring, founder of the Lüftwaffe and the man who oversaw the armaments industry, was convinced that any invasion of Poland would lead to war with England and France, who were committed to its defense. Von Ribbentrop, Hitler's foreign minister, argued that the Allies would stand down and continue their policy of appeasement. Only one would be proven correct. An engrossing and dramatic tale,  Fat Boy and the Champagne Salesman  shows Göring and Ribbentrop playing a tug-of-war with Hitler's will. Loving's vivid narrative of the struggle between the two advisers lends a new understanding of the events leading to the opening days of World War II. "A fascinating, meticulously researched account of the infighting at the top of the Nazi hierarchy during the run-up to the opening act of World War II."—Andrew Nagorski, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs

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The Escape Artist - Jonathan Freedland Cover Art

The Escape Artist

The Escape Artist The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award · New York Times Bestseller "A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information—and misinformation. Is it possible to stop mass murder by telling the truth?" — Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow A complex hero. A forgotten story. The first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust . . . Award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing true story of Rudolf Vrba, the man who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of a truth too few were willing to hear. In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the Pope. And yet too few heeded the warning that Vrba had risked everything to deliver. Though Vrba helped save two hundred thousand Jewish lives, he never stopped believing it could have been so many more. This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who, even as a teenager, understood that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death. Rudolf Vrba deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler, and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.

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Napoleon Against Russia - Digby Smith Cover Art

Napoleon Against Russia

Napoleon Against Russia A Concise History of 1812 by Digby Smith

In June 1812 500,000 men of Napoleon's army invaded Russia. Six months later barely 20,000 returned. The disastrous advance to Moscow and the subsequent retreat irreparably damaged Napoleon's military power and prestige and resulted one of the most celebrated catastrophes of in all military history. Digby Smith's new account of the grim events of 1812 is based on the diaries and letters of soldiers who survived, many of which have not been published in English before. They describe the deadly effect of Napoleon's faulty decisions on the lives of his men, to say nothing of the innumerable Russian military and civilian casualties his campaign caused.

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The Operation Reinhard Death Camps - Yitzhak Arad Cover Art

The Operation Reinhard Death Camps

The Operation Reinhard Death Camps Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka by Yitzhak Arad

Under the code name Operation Reinhard, more than one and a half million Jews were murdered between 1942 and 1943 in the concentration camps of Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, located in Nazi-occupied Poland. Unlike more well-known camps, which were used both for slave labor and extermination, these camps existed purely to murder Jews. Few victims survived to tell their stories, and the camps were largely forgotten after they were dismantled in 1943. The Operation Reinhard Death Camps bears eloquent witness to this horrific tragedy. This newly revised and expanded edition includes new material on the history of the Jews under German occupation in Poland; the execution and timing of Operation Reinhard; information about the ghettos in Lublin, Warsaw, Krakow, Radom, and Galicia; and updated numbers of the victims who were murdered during deportations. In addition to documenting the horror of the camps, Yitzhak Arad recounts the stories of those courageous enough to struggle against the Nazis and their "final solution." Arad's work retrieves the experiences of Operation Reinhard's victims and survivors from obscurity and exposes a terrible chapter in humanity's history.

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The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Cover Art

The Gulag Archipelago

The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Reviews:  “To live now and not to know this work is to be a kind of historical fool missing a crucial part of the consciousness of the age.” (W.L. Webb, Guardian );  “The ferocious testimony of a man of genius.” (Stephen Spender, London Magazine );  “What gives the book its value is the sound it gives out; the harsh roar give out by a wise and experienced animal as a warning that the herd is in danger.” (Rebecca West, Sunday Telegraph );  “He is one of the towering figures of the age as a writer, as moralist, as hero... in The Gulag Archipelago he has acheived the impossible.” (Edward Crankshaw, Observer );  “It is impossible to name a book that had a greater effect on the political and moral consciousness of the late twentieth century.” (David Remnick, New Yorker ).  About the Author: Aleksander Solzhenitsyn was born in Kislovodsk, Russia, in 1918. He was brought up in Rostov, where he graduated in mathematics and physics in 1941. After distinguished service with the Red Army in the Second World War, he was imprisoned from 1945 to 1953 for making unfavourable remarks about Joseph Stalin. He was rehabilitated in 1956, but in 1969 he was expelled from the Soviet Writers’ Union for denouncing official censorship of his work. He was forcibly exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974 and deported to West Germany. Later he settled in America, but after Soviet officials finally dropped charges against him in 1991, he returned to his homeland in 1994 and died in August 2008, aged eighty-nine. Solzhenitsyn wrote many books, of which One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , Cancer Ward and The Gulag Archipelago are his best known.

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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - William L. Shirer Cover Art

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer

National Book Award Winner: The definitive account of Nazi Germany and "one of the most important works of history of our time" ( The New York Times ).   When the Third Reich fell, it fell swiftly. The Nazis had little time to destroy their memos, their letters, or their diaries. William L. Shirer's sweeping account of the Third Reich uses these unique sources, combined with his experience living in Germany as an international correspondent throughout the war.   The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich earned Shirer a National Book Award and continues to be recognized as one of the most important and authoritative books about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany ever written. The diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, as well as evidence and other testimony gained at the Nuremberg Trials, could not have found more artful hands.   Shirer gives a clear, detailed, and well-documented account of how it was that Adolf Hitler almost succeeded in conquering the world. With millions of copies in print, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is a chilling and illuminating portrait of mankind's darkest hours.   "A monumental work." —Theodore H. White

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Anatomy of a Killing - Ian Cobain Cover Art

Anatomy of a Killing

Anatomy of a Killing Life and Death on a Divided Island by Ian Cobain

"A concise and gripping history of the Troubles, revealing the people behind the pain and violence" from the award-winning investigative journalist ( Vice ). On the morning of Saturday 22nd April 1978, members of an Active Service Unit of the IRA hijacked a car and crossed the countryside to the town of Lisburn. Within an hour, they had killed an off-duty policeman in front of his young son. In Anatomy of a Killing , award-winning journalist Ian Cobain documents the hours leading up to the killing, and the months and years of violence, attrition and rebellion surrounding it. Drawing on interviews with those most closely involved, as well as court files, police notes, military intelligence reports, IRA strategy papers, memoirs and government records, this is a unique perspective on the Troubles, and a revelatory work of investigative journalism. "As gripping as a thriller, except that this isn't fiction but cold, spine-tingling reality." — Daily Mail   "A remarkable piece of forensic journalism." —Ed Moloney, author of Voices from the Grave "Reads like a work of fiction . . . True and harrowing." — Irish Sunday Independent (Books of the Year) </

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Motherland - Julia Ioffe Cover Art

Motherland

Motherland A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NAMED ONE OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2025 BY THE WASHINGTON POST NAMED ONE OF THE 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2025 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2025 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF FALL 2025 BY ELLE ONE OF CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY'S MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2025 Acclaimed journalist Julia Ioffe tells the story of modern Russia through the history of its women, from revolution to utopia to autocracy. In 1990, seven-year-old Julia Ioffe and her family fled the Soviet Union. Nearly twenty years later, Ioffe returned to Moscow—only to discover just how much Russian society had changed while she had been living in America. The Soviet women she had known growing up—doctors, engineers, scientists—seemed to have been replaced by women desperate to marry rich and become stay-at-home moms. How had Russia gone from portraying itself as the vanguard of world feminism to becoming a bastion of conservative Christian values? In Motherland , Ioffe turns modern Russian history on its head, telling it exclusively through the stories of its women. From her own physician great-grandmothers to Lenin’s lover, a feminist revolutionary; from the hundreds of thousands of Soviet girls who fought in World War II to the millions of single mothers who rebuilt and repopulated a devastated country; from the members of P***y Riot to Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Ioffe chronicles one of the most audacious social experiments in history and documents how it failed the very women it was meant to liberate—and how that failure paved the way for the revanche of Vladimir Putin. Part memoir, part journalistic exploration, part history, Motherland paints a portrait of modern Russia through the women who shaped it. With deep emotion, Ioffe reveals what it means to live through the cataclysms of revolution, war, idealism, and heartbreak—and how the story of Russia today is inextricably tied to the sacrifices of its women.

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The Gathering Storm - Winston S. Churchill Cover Art

The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm by Winston S. Churchill

"It is our immense good fortune that a man who presided over this crisis in history is able to turn the action he lived through into enduring literature." — The New York Times   This book is the first in Winston Churchill's monumental six-volume account of the struggle between the Allied Powers in Europe against Germany and the Axis during World War II. Told from the unique viewpoint of a British prime minister, it is also the story of one nation's heroic role in the fight against tyranny.   Having learned a lesson at Munich they would never forget, the British refused to make peace with Hitler, defying him even after France had fallen and it seemed as though the Nazis were unstoppable. What lends this work its tension and power is Churchill's inclusion of primary source material. We are presented with not only Churchill's retrospective analysis of the war, but also memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. We listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler's conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia. Together they give a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.   The Gathering Storm covers the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the capitulation of Munich, and the entry of Britain into the war. This book makes clear Churchill's feeling that the Second World War was a largely senseless but unavoidable conflict—and shows why Churchill earned the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, in part because of this awe-inspiring work.

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The Wars of the Roses - Dan Jones Cover Art

The Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones

The author of the New York Times bestseller The Plantagenets and The Templars  chronicles the next chapter in British history—the historical backdrop for Game of Thrones The inspiration for the Channel 5 series Britain's Bloody Crown The crown of England changed hands five times over the course of the fifteenth century, as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. In this riveting follow-up to  The Plantagenets , celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest-reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains of history were thrown together in these turbulent times, from Joan of Arc to Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt marked the high point of the medieval monarchy, and Richard III, who murdered his own nephews in a desperate bid to secure his stolen crown. This was a period when headstrong queens and consorts seized power and bent men to their will. With vivid descriptions of the battles of Towton and Bosworth, where the last Plantagenet king was slain, this dramatic narrative history revels in bedlam and intrigue. It also offers a long-overdue corrective to Tudor propaganda, dismantling their self-serving account of what they called the Wars of the Roses.

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With Wings Like Eagles - Michael Korda Cover Art

With Wings Like Eagles

With Wings Like Eagles A History of the Battle of Britain by Michael Korda

“[With Wings Like Eagles is] bold and refreshing… Korda writes with great elegance and flair.”—Wall Street Journal From the New York Times bestselling author of Ike and Horse People, Michael Korda, comes With Wings Like Eagles, the harrowing story of The Battle of Britain, one of the most important battles of World War II. In the words of the Washington Post Book World, “With Wings Like Eagles is a skillful, absorbing, often moving contribution to the popular understanding of one of the few episodes in history … to deserve the description ‘heroic.’”

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The Shortest History of Italy - Ross King Cover Art

The Shortest History of Italy

The Shortest History of Italy 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic - A Retelling for Our Times by Ross King

Discover the prodigious global influence of il bel paese in this star-studded retelling of Italy’s past—from a foremost author of historic Italy. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read. “Each page brims with Bill Bryson-like trivia that is sure to delight.”—Booklist, starred review The calendar. The Senate. The university. The piano, the heliocentric model, and the pizzeria. It’s hard to imagine a world without Italian influence—and easy to assume that inventions like these could only come from a strong, stable peninsula, sure of its place in the world. In this breakneck history, bestselling author Ross King dismantles this assumption, uncovering the story of a land rife with inner uncertainty even as its influence spread.   As the Italian tale unfolds, prosperity and power fluctuate like the elevation in the Dolomites. If Rome’s seven hills could talk, they might speak of the glorious time of Trajan—or bemoan the era of conquest and the Bubonic Plague that decimated Rome’s population. Episodes of wealth like the First Triumvirate and the time of the Medicis are given fresh life alongside descriptions of the Middle Ages, the early days of Venice, the invasion of Napoleon, and the long struggle for unification.   Highlighting key events and personalities, King paints a vibrant portrait of a country whose political and cultural legacies enrich our lives today.  The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

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The Blazing World - Jonathan Healey Cover Art

The Blazing World

The Blazing World A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689 by Jonathan Healey

AN ECONOMIST AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A fresh, exciting, “readable and informative ” history ( The New York Times ) of seventeenth-century England, a time of revolution when society was on fire and simultaneously forging the modern world . • “Recapture[s] a lost moment when a radically democratic commonwealth seemed possible.”—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker   “[Healy] makes a convincing argument that the turbulent era qualifies as truly ‘revolutionary,’ not simply because of its cascading political upheavals, but in terms of far-reaching changes within society.... Wryly humorous and occasionally bawdy”— The Wall Street Journal The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time—for the only time in history—England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and almost impossible for monarchs to control. But the story of this century is less well known than it should be. Myths have grown around key figures. People may know about the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, but the Civil War is a half-remembered mystery to many. And yet the seventeenth century has never seemed more relevant. The British constitution is once again being bent and contorted, and there is a clash of ideologies reminiscent of when Roundhead fought Cavalier. The Blazing World is the story of this strange, twisting, fascinating century. It shows a society in sparkling detail. It was a new world of wealth, creativity, and daring curiosity, but also of greed, pugnacious arrogance, and colonial violence.

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What We Knew - Eric A. Johnson &amp; Karl-Heinz Reuband Cover Art

What We Knew

What We Knew Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany by Eric A. Johnson & Karl-Heinz Reuband

An American historian and a German sociologist seek answers from those who lived through Nazi Germany: how did the country stand by while one of the biggest genocides in history took place?   The horrors of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust still present some of the most disturbing questions in modern history: Why did Hitler's party appeal to millions of Germans, and how entrenched was anti-Semitism among the population? How could anyone claim, after the war, that the genocide of Europe's Jews was a secret? Did ordinary non-Jewish Germans live in fear of the Nazi state?  ​ In this unprecedented firsthand analysis of daily life as experienced in the Third Reich,  What We Knew  offers answers to these most important questions. Combining the expertise of Eric A. Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband,  What We Knew  is the most startling oral history yet of everyday life in the Third Reich.

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Stalingrad - Antony Beevor Cover Art

Stalingrad

Stalingrad The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943 by Antony Beevor

The Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of  D-Day  and  The Battle of Arnhem. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has itnerviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable. Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial  Stalingrad  as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle.

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The Plantagenets - Dan Jones Cover Art

The Plantagenets

The Plantagenets The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England by Dan Jones

The New York Times bestseller, from the author of Powers and Thrones , that tells the story of Britain’s greatest and worst dynasty—“a real-life Game of Thrones ” ( The Wall Street Journal ) The first Plantagenet kings inherited a blood-soaked realm from the Normans and transformed it into an empire that stretched at its peak from Scotland to Jerusalem. In this epic narrative history of courage, treachery, ambition, and deception, Dan Jones resurrects the unruly royal dynasty that preceded the Tudors. They produced England’s best and worst kings: Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, twice a queen and the most famous woman in Christendom; their son Richard the Lionheart, who fought Saladin in the Third Crusade; and his conniving brother King John, who was forced to grant his people new rights under the Magna Carta, the basis for our own bill of rights. Combining the latest academic research with a gift for storytelling, Jones vividly recreates the great battles of Bannockburn, Crécy, and Sluys and reveals how the maligned kings Edward II and Richard II met their downfalls. This is the era of chivalry and the Black Death, the Knights Templar, the founding of parliament, and the Hundred Years’ War, when England’s national identity was forged by the sword.

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The Dead and Those About to Die - John C. McManus Cover Art

The Dead and Those About to Die

The Dead and Those About to Die D-Day: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach by John C. McManus

From the author of Fire and Fortitude and Island Infernos , a white-knuckle account of the 1st Infantry Division’s harrowing D-Day assault on the eastern sector of Omaha Beach—acclaimed historian John C. McManus has written a gripping history that will stand as the last word on this titanic World War II battle. Nicknamed the Big Red One, 1st Division had fought from North Africa to Sicily, earning a reputation as stalwart warriors on the front lines and rabble-rousers in the rear. Yet on D-Day, these jaded combat veterans melded with fresh-faced replacements to accomplish one of the most challenging and deadly missions ever. As the men hit the beach, their equipment destroyed or washed away, soldiers cut down by the dozens, courageous heroes emerged: men such as Sergeant Raymond Strojny, who grabbed a bazooka and engaged in a death duel with a fortified German antitank gun; T/5 Joe Pinder, a former minor-league pitcher who braved enemy fire to save a vital radio; Lieutenant John Spalding, a former sportswriter, and Sergeant Phil Streczyk, a truck driver, who together demolished a German strong point overlooking Easy Red, where hundreds of Americans had landed. Along the way, McManus explores the Gap Assault Team engineers who dealt with the extensive mines and obstacles, suffering nearly a fifty percent casualty rate; highlights officers such as Brigadier General Willard Wyman and Colonel George Taylor, who led the way to victory; and punctures scores of myths surrounding this long-misunderstood battle. The Dead and Those About to Die draws on a rich array of new or recently unearthed sources, including interviews with veterans. The result is history at its finest, the unforgettable story of the Big Red One’s nineteen hours of hell—and their ultimate triumph—on June 6, 1944.

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Hitler's Willing Executioners - Daniel Jonah Goldhagen Cover Art

Hitler's Willing Executioners

Hitler's Willing Executioners Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

This groundbreaking international bestseller lays to rest many myths about the Holocaust: that Germans were ignorant of the mass destruction of Jews, that the killers were all SS men, and that those who slaughtered Jews did so reluctantly. Hitler's Willing Executioners provides conclusive evidence that the extermination of European Jewry engaged the energies and enthusiasm of tens of thousands of ordinary Germans. Goldhagen reconstructs the climate of "eliminationist anti-Semitism" that made Hitler's pursuit of his genocidal goals possible and the radical persecution of the Jews during the 1930s popular. Drawing on a wealth of unused archival materials, principally the testimony of the killers themselves, Goldhagen takes us into the killing fields where Germans voluntarily hunted Jews like animals, tortured them wantonly, and then posed cheerfully for snapshots with their victims. From mobile killing units, to the camps, to the death marches, Goldhagen shows how ordinary Germans, nurtured in a society where Jews were seen as unalterable evil and dangerous, willingly followed their beliefs to their logical conclusion. " Hitler's Willing Executioner's is an original, indeed brilliant contribution to the...literature on the Holocaust."--New York Review of Books "The most important book ever published about the Holocaust...Eloquently written, meticulously documented, impassioned...A model of moral and scholarly integrity."--Philadelphia Inquirer

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How Paris Became Paris - Joan DeJean Cover Art

How Paris Became Paris

How Paris Became Paris The Invention of the Modern City by Joan DeJean

"This lively history charts the growth of Paris from a city of crowded alleyways and irregular buildings into a modern marvel."--New Yorker At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Paris was known for isolated monuments but had not yet put its brand on urban space. Like other European cities, it was still emerging from its medieval past. But in a mere century Paris would be transformed into the modern and mythic city we know today. Though most people associate the signature characteristics of Paris with the public works of the nineteenth century, Joan DeJean demonstrates that the Parisian model for urban space was in fact invented two centuries earlier, when the first complete design for the French capital was drawn up and implemented. As a result, Paris saw many changes. It became the first city to tear down its fortifications, inviting people in rather than keeping them out. Parisian urban planning showcased new kinds of streets, including the original boulevard, as well as public parks and the earliest sidewalks and bridges without houses. Venues opened for urban entertainment of all kinds, from opera and ballet to a pastime invented in Paris, recreational shopping. Parisians enjoyed the earliest public transportation and street lighting, and Paris became Europe's first great walking city. A century of planned development made Paris both beautiful and exciting. It gave people reasons to be out in public as never before and as nowhere else. And it gave Paris its modern identity as a place that people dreamed of seeing. By 1700, Paris had become the capital that would revolutionize our conception of the city and of urban life.

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The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior - Paul Strathern Cover Art

The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior

The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior The Intersecting Lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped by Paul Strathern

Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia—three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man’s perceptions—and the course of Western history. In 1502, Italy was riven by conflict, with the city of Florence as the ultimate prize. Machiavelli, the consummate political manipulator, attempted to placate the savage Borgia by volunteering Leonardo to be Borgia’s chief military engineer. That autumn, the three men embarked together on a brief, perilous, and fateful journey through the mountains, remote villages, and hill towns of the Italian Romagna—the details of which were revealed in Machiavelli’s   frequent dispatches and Leonardo’s meticulous notebooks.  Superbly written and thoroughly researched,  The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior  is a work of narrative genius—whose subject is the nature of genius itself.

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The Story of Ireland - Neil Hegarty Cover Art

The Story of Ireland

The Story of Ireland A History of the Irish People by Neil Hegarty

In this groundbreaking history of Ireland, Neil Hegarty presents a fresh perspective on Ireland's past. Comprehensive and engaging, The Story of Ireland is an eye-opening account of a nation that has long been shaped by forces beyond its coasts. The Story of Ireland re-examines Irish history, challenging the accepted stories and long-held myths associated with Ireland. Transporting readers to the Ireland of the past, beginning with the first settlement in A.D. 433, this is a sweeping and compelling history of one of the world's most dynamic nations. Hegarty examines how world events, including Europe's 16th century religious wars, the French and American revolutions, and Ireland's policy of neutrality during World War II, have shaped the country over the course of its long and fascinating history. With an up-to-date afterword that details the present state of affairs in Ireland, this is an essential text for readers who are fascinated by current events, politics, and history. Spanning Irish history from its earliest inhabitants to the country's current financial crisis, The Story of Ireland is an epic and brilliant re-telling of Ireland's history from a new point of view.

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The Tudors - The Tudors, Henry VIII &amp; Henry the Eighth Cover Art

The Tudors

The Tudors The Life of Henry VIII by The Tudors, Henry VIII & Henry the Eighth

THE TUDORS (Bestseller iBook Edition): LIFE OF HENRY VIII  (Including History of the Six Wives of Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr) Inspiration for Hit TV Series [Apple iBook Edition] HISTORY The Tudors: The Life of Henry VIII With the Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn Fully Annotated with Page Numberings Based on New Hardcover Edition By A.F. Pollard (Professor of Oxford University) and J. O. Halliwell Phillips (Fellow of the Royal Society) Love Letters Composed By Henry VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS THE TUDORS CHAPTER I. THE EARLY TUDORS  CHAPTER II. PRINCE HENRY AND HIS ENVIRONMENT  CHAPTER III. THE APPRENTICESHIP OF HENRY VIII.  CHAPTER IV. THE THREE RIVALS  CHAPTER V. KING AND CARDINAL  CHAPTER VI. FROM CALAIS TO ROME  CHAPTER VII. THE ORIGIN OF THE DIVORCE  CHAPTER VIII. THE POPE'S DILEMMA  CHAPTER IX.) THE CARDINAL'S FALL  CHAPTER X. THE KING AND HIS PARLIAMENT  CHAPTER XI. "DOWN WITH THE CHURCH"  CHAPTER XII. "THE PREVAILING OF THE GATES OF HELL"  CHAPTER XIII. THE CRISIS  CHAPTER XIV. REX ET IMPERATOR  CHAPTER XV. THE FINAL STRUGGLE  CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION  INDEX LOVE LETTERS OF HENRY EIGHTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER FIRST TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER SECOND TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER THIRD TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER FOURTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER FIFTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER SIXTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER SEVENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER EIGHTH: ANN BOLEYN TO WOLSEY POSTSCRIPT BY HENRY VIII LETTER NINTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER TENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER ELEVENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER TWELFTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER THIRTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER FOURTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER FIFTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER SIXTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER SEVENTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN LETTER EIGHTEENTH TO ANN BOLEYN NOTES: LOVE LETTERS OF HENRY VIII TO ANNE BOLEYN EXCERPT "MY MISTRESS & FRIEND,  my heart and I surrender ourselves into your hands, beseeching you to hold us commended to your favour, and that by absence your affection to us may not be lessened: for it were a great pity to increase our pain, of which absence produces enough and more than I could ever have thought could be felt, reminding us of a point in astronomy which is this: the longer the days are, the more distant is the sun, and nevertheless the hotter; so is it with our love, for by absence we are kept a distance from one another, and yet it retains its fervour, at least on my side; I hope the like on yours, assuring you that on my part the pain of absence is already too great for me; and when I think of the increase of that which I am forced to suffer, it would be almost intolerable, but for the firm hope I have of your unchangeable affection for me: and to remind you of this sometimes, and seeing that I cannot be personally present with you, I now send you the nearest thing I can to that, namely, my picture set in a bracelet, with the whole of the device, which you already know, wishing myself in their place, if it should please you.  This is from the hand of your loyal servant and friend, Henry"

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Allies at War - Tim Bouverie Cover Art

Allies at War

Allies at War How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World by Tim Bouverie

An “enthralling and authoritative” ( The Wall Street Journal ) political history of World War II that opens a window onto the difficulties of holding together the coalition that ultimately defeated Hitler—by the acclaimed author of Appeasement “A fine reassessment of Allied politics and diplomacy during the Second World War: impeccably researched, elegantly written and compellingly argued.”— The Times (UK) AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR After the fall of France in June 1940, all that stood between Adolf Hitler and total victory was a narrow stretch of water and the defiance of the British people. Desperate for allies, Winston Churchill did everything he could to bring the United States into the conflict, drive the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany apart, and persuade neutral countries to resist German domination. By early 1942, after the German invasion of Russia and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the British-Soviet-American alliance was in place. Yet it was an improbable and incongruous coalition, divided by ideology and politics and riven with mistrust and deceit. Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin were partners in the fight to defeat Hitler, but they were also rivals who disagreed on strategy, imperialism, and the future of liberated Europe. Only by looking at their areas of conflict, as well as cooperation, are we able to understand the course of the war and world that developed in its aftermath. Allies at War is a fast-paced, narrative history, based on material drawn from more than a hundred archives. Using vivid, firsthand accounts and unpublished diaries, Bouverie invites readers into the rooms where the critical decisions were made and goes beyond the confines of the Grand Alliance to examine, among other topics, the doomed Anglo-French partnership and fractious relations with General Charles de Gaulle and the Free French, and interactions with Poland, Greece, Francoist Spain and neutral Ireland, Yugoslavia, and Nationalist China. Ambitious and compelling, revealing the political drama behind the military events, Allies at War offers a fresh perspective on the Second World War and the origins of the Cold War.

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The Hotel on Place Vendôme - Tilar J. Mazzeo Cover Art

The Hotel on Place Vendôme

The Hotel on Place Vendôme Life, Death, and Betrayal at the Hotel Ritz in Paris by Tilar J. Mazzeo

A captivating history of Paris's famous Hôtel Ritz, set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of WWII, from the New York Times –bestselling author. When France fell to the Germans in June 1940, the legendary Hôtel Ritz on the Place Vendôme—an icon of Paris frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American heiresses and risqué flappers, playboys, and princes—was the only luxury hotel of its kind allowed in the occupied city by order of Adolf Hitler. Tilar J. Mazzeo traces the history of this cultural landmark from its opening in fin de siècle Paris. At its center, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime, when the Hôtel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers, such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Göring, and home to exclusive patrons, including Coco Chanel. Mazzeo takes us into the grand palace's suites, bars, dining rooms, and wine cellars, revealing a hotbed of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue, as well as stunning acts of defiance and treachery. Rich in detail, illustrated with black-and-white photos, The Hotel on Place Vendôme is a remarkable look at this extraordinary crucible where the future of post-war France—and all of post-war Europe—was transformed. "Must read . . . a work of history that reads as enticingly as a novel." — Harper's Bazaar "This gorgeously written book is a feast for readers wanting to be swept away . . . A breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity." —Brad Thor, The Today Show Summer Reads

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Fighting the Invasion - David C. Isby &amp; Robert Kershaw Cover Art

Fighting the Invasion

Fighting the Invasion The German Army at D-Day by David C. Isby & Robert Kershaw

In one of history’s most violent battles, Allied troops gathered along the shores of southern England, preparing for the invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe. Facing them—from the Pas de Calais to Brittany—were German troops, dug in, waiting and preparing for the inevitable confrontation. History is often told from the perspective of the victors and oftentimes we do not hear the other side of the story. In this unique compilation, David Isby selects a series of in-depth accounts written by German commanders present at D-Day. All of these accounts were written after the war under the commission of the US Army in an attempt to intricately chart the development of German strategy in the event of future wars and invasions. These once private accounts detail everything from the planning stage of the invasion, to the uncertain waiting, and finally to the ordeal of D-Day itself—the reactions to the first reports of troop landings and a blow-by-blow account of the battle. Fighting the Invasion paints a vivid picture of D-Day from the German perspective, bringing home the entire experience from the initial waiting to the bitter fighting on the beaches and in running battles in Normandy villages. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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Scotland: A Concise History - Magnus Linklater &amp; Fitzroy Maclean Cover Art

Scotland: A Concise History

Scotland: A Concise History by Magnus Linklater & Fitzroy Maclean

A highly readable account that disentangles the complex threads of the history of Scotland from its beginnings to the present. Bringing the story of Scotland up to date, this revised fifth edition of Fitzroy Maclean’s classic work includes additional chapters by distinguished journalist Magnus Linklater. Linklater examines how the new Scottish parliament has fared and discusses significant events, such as devolution and the transfer of taxation rights from Westminster, the release of the Lockerbie bomber, and the fallout from the 2008 global financial crash. This edition also touches on the independence referendum, the future of the United Kingdom now that the Scottish National Party is in power, and Britain’s impending exit from the European Union. Written with wit and scholarship, Scotland presents a highly readable account that disentangles the complex history of Scotland from its beginnings to the present. This book offers a rich record of Scotland’s art, politics, intellectual life, and national identity.

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The Autumn of the Middle Ages - Johan Huizinga Cover Art

The Autumn of the Middle Ages

The Autumn of the Middle Ages by Johan Huizinga

"Here is the first full translation into English of one of the twentieth century's few undoubted classics of history." — The  Washington Post Book World The Autumn of the Middle Ages  is Johan Huizinga's classic portrait of life, thought, and art in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France and the Netherlands. Few who have read this book in English realize that  The Waning of the Middle Ages , the only previous translation, is vastly different from the original Dutch, and incompatible will all other European-language translations. For Huizinga, the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century marked not the birth of a dramatically new era in history—the Renaissance—but the fullest, ripest phase of medieval life and thought. However, his work was criticized both at home and in Europe for being "old-fashioned" and "too literary" when  The Waning of the Middle Ages  was first published in 1919. In the 1924 translation, Fritz Hopman adapted, reduced and altered the Dutch edition—softening Huizinga's passionate arguments, dulling his nuances, and eliminating theoretical passages. He dropped many passages Huizinga had quoted in their original old French. Additionally, chapters were rearranged, all references were dropped, and mistranslations were introduced. This translation corrects such errors, recreating the second Dutch edition which represents Huizinga's thinking at its most important stage. Everything that was dropped or rearranged has been restored. Prose quotations appear in French, with translations preprinted at the bottom of the page, mistranslations have been corrected.   "A once pathbreaking piece of historical interpretation . . . This new translation will no doubt bring Huizinga and his pioneering work back into the discussion of historical interpretation." —Rosamond McKitterick,  The New York Times Book Review

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The Story of Scandinavia - Stein Ringen Cover Art

The Story of Scandinavia

The Story of Scandinavia From the Vikings to Social Democracy by Stein Ringen

In The Story of Scandinavia , political scholar Stein Ringen chronicles more than 1,200 years of drama, economic rise and fall, crises, kings and queens, war, peace, language and culture. Scandinavian history has been one of dramatic discontinuities of collapse and restarts, from the Viking Age to the Age of Perpetual War to the modern age today. For a thousand years, the Scandinavian countries were kingdoms of repression where monarchs played at the game of being European powers, at the expense of their own populations. The brand we now know as "Scandinavia" is a recent invention. During most of its history, Denmark and Sweden, and to some degree Norway, were bloody enemies. These sentiments of enmity have not been fully settled. Under the surface of collaboration remain undercurrents of hatred, envy, contempt and pity. What does it mean today to be Scandinavian? For the author, whose identity is Scandinavian but his life European, this masterly history is a personal exploration as well as a narrative of compelling scope.

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Merlin - Geoffrey Ashe Cover Art

Merlin

Merlin The Prophet and His History by Geoffrey Ashe

Geoffrey Ashe's book on this legendary figure offers a succession of surprises. The Merlin of legend was born to be a magician. He was 'immaculately' conceived and was able to interpret dreams and utter prophecies. Even his fate was imbued with magic. Like Arthur, he acquired immortality and sleeps on Bardsey Island, in a subterranean chamber with nine companions. Ashe reveals the man behind the myth, establishing beyond doubt the historicity of a Welsh prophet called Myrddin Emrys. Despite his 'supernatural' status it is Merlin , of all the great characters of the Arthurian world, who has the strongest claim to have existed.

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War and Peace - The Unabridged Maude Translation - Leo Tolstoy Cover Art

War and Peace - The Unabridged Maude Translation

War and Peace - The Unabridged Maude Translation by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace is regarded as one of the central works of world literature and was first published in its entirety in 1869. The novel charts the history of the French invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, through the stories of five Russian aristocratic families. Time magazine ranked War and Peace third in its poll of the 10 greatest books of all time. This complete English version translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude was originally published in 1922. The Maudes are classical translators of Leo Tolstoy who worked directly with the author and gained his personal endorsement. This edition includes all 15 books + the first and second epilogue along with reminiscences. Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy or Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, he is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877) which are often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. Table of Contents: Introduction Leo Tolstoy: A Short Biography "Tolstoy the Artist" and "Tolstoy the Preacher" by Ivan Panin "Count Tolstoi and the Public Censor" by Isabel Hapgood War and Peace Book One: 1805 Book Two: 1805 Book Three: 1805 Book Four: 1806 Book Five: 1806 - 07 Book Six: 1808 - 10 Book Seven: 1810 - 11 Book Eight: 1811 - 12 Book Nine: 1812 Book Ten: 1812 Book Eleven: 1812 Book Twelve: 1812 Book Thirteen: 1812 Book Fourteen: 1812 Book Fifteen: 1812 - 13 First Epilogue: 1813 - 20 Second Epilogue Reminiscences Reminiscences of Tolstoy, by His Son by Graf Ilia LvovichTolstoi My Visit to Tolstoy by Joseph Krauskopf Check out Ruwix to learn the solution of the Rubik's Cube and other twisty puzzles like Pyraminx, Square-1 etc.

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The Sinews of Peace - Winston S. Churchill Cover Art

The Sinews of Peace

The Sinews of Peace by Winston S. Churchill

The first volume in this captivating collection of the prime minister's speeches brings to life the heady days after V-Day—and a nation newly at peace.   Legendary politician and military strategist Winston S. Churchill was a master not only of the battlefield, but of the page and the podium. Over the course of forty books and countless speeches, broadcasts, news items and more, he addressed a country at war and at peace, thrilling with victory but uneasy with its shifting role on the global stage. In 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for "his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values." During his lifetime, he enthralled readers and brought crowds roaring to their feet; in the years since his death, his skilled writing has inspired generations of eager history buffs.   The Sinews of Peace was the alternate title of the 1946 "Iron Curtain Speech" delivered at Westminster College—in which Churchill championed the idea of a "fraternal association" between people of the English-speaking world to preserve the spirit of military and political cooperation forged during the war. President Truman was in the audience. Was Churchill proposing a formal alliance between the two world powers?   This inspiring collection contains the first of Churchill's speeches delivered immediately after World War II. In his signature charismatic, impassioned style, he calls for unity and cooperation between the victims and the limping former Axis powers—including a partnership between Germany and France. These speeches both recounted history and made it, as the leaders of Europe convened to form a new world order.

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The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two - Richard Overy Cover Art

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two

The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two by Richard Overy

World War Two was the most devastating conflict in recorded human history. It was both global in extent and total in character. It has understandably left a long and dark shadow across the decades. Yet it is three generations since hostilities formally ended in 1945 and the conflict is now a lived memory for only a few. And this growing distance in time has allowed historians to think differently about how to describe it, how to explain its course, and what subjects to focus on when considering the wartime experience. For instance, as World War Two recedes ever further into the past, even a question as apparently basic as when it began and ended becomes less certain. Was it 1939, when the war in Europe began? Or the summer of 1941, with the beginning of Hitler's war against the Soviet Union? Or did it become truly global only when the Japanese brought the USA into the war at the end of 1941? And what of the long conflict in East Asia, beginning with the Japanese aggression in China in the early 1930s and only ending with the triumph of the Chinese Communists in 1949? In The Oxford Illustrated History of World War Two a team of leading historians re-assesses the conflict for a new generation, exploring the course of the war not just in terms of the Allied response but also from the viewpoint of the Axis aggressor states. Under Richard Overy's expert editorial guidance, the contributions take us from the genesis of war, through the action in the major theatres of conflict by land, sea, and air, to assessments of fighting power and military and technical innovation, the economics of total war, the culture and propaganda of war, and the experience of war (and genocide) for both combatants and civilians, concluding with an account of the transition from World War to Cold War in the late 1940s. Together, they provide a stimulating and thought-provoking new interpretation of one of the most terrible and fascinating episodes in world history.

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L'Histoire de France pour les Nuls, 3e édition - Jean-Joseph Julaud Cover Art

L'Histoire de France pour les Nuls, 3e édition

L'Histoire de France pour les Nuls, 3e édition by Jean-Joseph Julaud

Un champ de ruines ! LIVRE SUR L'HISTOIRE DE FRANCE : Voilà ce que risquent de devenir vos connaissances en Histoire de France si vous n'y prenez pas garde. Mais, rassurez-vous, nous allons tout reconstruire ensemble depuis les fondations jusqu'à nos jours. Au cours de votre voyage, vous croiserez l'homme de Cro-Magnon, Clovis, Aliénor d'Aquitaine, Louis XIV, Napoléon, Charles de Gaulle, et plus encore... Sont inclus dans ce livre les derniers évènements de l'Histoire de France, comme l'élection d'Emmanuel Macron. Découvrez comment : - La Gaule est devenue la France - La Révolution a mis fin aux privilèges - Napoléon Ier a conquis l'Europe - La Première et la Seconde Guerre mondiale ont profondément marqué le XXe siècle - La Ve République a vu se succéder des hommes de pouvoir emblématiques tels que De Gaulle, Mitterand ou encore Jacques Chirac. POUR LES CURIEUX ET LES PASSIONNÉS : Que vous souhaitiez redécouvrir des évènements marquants ou simplement améliorer votre culture générale, ce livre pour les Nuls retracera pour vous le grand fil de notre histoire. De Cro-Magnon à Emmanuel Macron, en passant par la Révolution française, le sacre de Napoléon Ier ou la Seconde Guerre mondiale, réintéressez-vous à l'histoire de façon claire et ludique ! RENFORCEZ VOTRE CULTURE GÉNÉRALE : Avec ce livre sur l'Histoire de France de la collection pour les Nuls , enrichissez votre culture générale et commencez à briller en société !

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France - Jonathan Fenby Cover Art

France

France A Modern History from the Revolution to the War with Terror by Jonathan Fenby

With the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the next two centuries for France would be tumultuous. Critically acclaimed historian and political commentator Jonathan Fenby provides an expert and riveting journey through this period as he recounts and analyzes the extraordinary sequence of events of this period from the end of the First Revolution through two others, a return of Empire, three catastrophic wars with Germany, periods of stability and hope interspersed with years of uncertainty and high tensions. As her cross-channel neighbor Great Britain would equally suffer, France was to undergo the wrenching loss of colonies in the post-Second World War era as the new modern world we know today took shape. Her attempts to become the leader of the European union was a constant struggle, as was her lack of support for America in the two Gulf Wars of the past twenty years. Alongside this came huge social changes and cultural landmarks, but also fundamental questioning of what this nation, which considers itself exceptional, really stood—and stands—for. That saga and those questions permeate the France of today, now with an implacable enemy to face in the form of Islamic extremism which so bloodily announced itself this year in Paris. Fenby will detail every event, every struggle, and every outcome across this expanse of 200 years. It will prove to be the definitive guide to understanding France.

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The Mongol Archive in Late Medieval France - Mark Cruse Cover Art

The Mongol Archive in Late Medieval France

The Mongol Archive in Late Medieval France Texts, Objects, Encounters, 1221–1422 by Mark Cruse

The Mongol Archive in Late Medieval France is the first comprehensive study of contact between France and the Mongols in the late Middle Ages. As these realms expanded across Eurasia—the French through crusade and settlement, the Mongols through conquest—their encounters altered each other's understanding of the world and their place in it. The Mongol influence on French culture is visible in what Mark Cruse calls the Mongol archive—a wide range of materials including chronicles, crusade treatises, encyclopedias, manuscript illuminations, maps, romances, and travel accounts—revealing how the French court made sense of a people previously unknown to the European intellectual tradition. Cruse mines this archive of Franco-Mongol contact to reassess France's place in the continental history of medieval Eurasia. By comparing the French and Mongol courts, Cruse shows how their similarities allowed meaningful communication between them and highlights the surprising connections—diplomatic, intellectual, and genealogical—across vast distances. The library of King Charles V (r. 1364–1380), one of the largest in medieval Europe, is a monument to the richness of these encounters, which anticipate the global interconnectedness of the modern world. Ultimately, the innovative approach in The Mongol Archive in Late Medieval France toward French conceptions of and relations with the Mongols demonstrates how a global perspective transforms our understanding of the medieval world.

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Kayak Across the Atlantic - Pete Bray Cover Art

Kayak Across the Atlantic

Kayak Across the Atlantic by Pete Bray

'I confess to several moments of mixed excitement and apprehension … It was a clear night, the wind and tide were in my favour. I felt really up for it.' Kayak Across the Atlantic is an extraordinary first-hand account of the first ever single-handed crossing of the North Atlantic, achieved against all formidable odds. Former SAS sergeant Pete Bray's solo unsupported voyage in a flimsy twenty-seven-foot kayak is one of the most courageous feats undertaken by man through one of the most inhospitable oceans in the world. For seventy-six days in 2001, the indomitable Cornishman paddled relentlessly across more than 2,000 miles of sea, enduring extremes of fatigue, equipment failure and foul weather before finally making landfall on the west coast of Ireland a few days before 9/11. Written in an approachable and matter-of-fact style, this is an incredible true adventure story.

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A Crusader's Death and Life in Acre - Anne E. Lester &amp; Laura K. Morreale Cover Art

A Crusader's Death and Life in Acre

A Crusader's Death and Life in Acre The 1266 Account-Inventory of Eudes of Nevers by Anne E. Lester & Laura K. Morreale

A Crusader's Death and Life in Acre uses five parchment rolls that inventoried the possessions of Eudes of Nevers, son of the duke of Burgundy, at his death in Acre in 1266 to open out a panorama of Christian crusader life. The contents of the rolls, or rouleaux, span from the pay rendered to knights and servants to the numerous possessions of a crusading nobleman. The inventory provides insight into the medieval Outremer even as it provokes questions about trade, diplomacy, remembrance, and the methodological challenges of evoking material objects in texts. Anne E. Lester and Laura K. Morreale present the first complete modern French edition and English translation of the rouleaux along with seven crusade poems by Rutebeuf. In addition, A Crusader's Death and Life in Acre contains a wealth of scholarly commentary that addresses the composition of the rouleaux, the life and relationships of Eudes, and the culture of crusading in its material, written, devotional, and poetic forms. Contributors: Sharon Farmer, Andrew Jotischky, Anne Latowsky, Richard A. Leson, Maureen C. Miller, Jonathan Rubin, Uri Zvi Shachar, and Caroline Smith

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Medieval Canon Law - James A. Brundage &amp; Melodie H. Eichbauer Cover Art

Medieval Canon Law

Medieval Canon Law by James A. Brundage & Melodie H. Eichbauer

It is impossible to understand how the medieval church functioned and, in turn, influenced the lay world within its care without understanding "canon law". This book examines its development from its beginnings to the end of the Middle Ages, updating its findings in light of recent scholarly trends. This second edition has been fully revised and updated by Melodie H. Eichbauer to include additional material on the early Middle Ages; the significance of the discovery of earlier versions of Gratian’s Decretum; and the new research into law emanating from secular authorities, councils, episcopal acta, and juridical commentary to rethink our understanding of the sources of law and canon law's place in medieval society. Separate chapters examine canon law in intellectual spaces; the canonical courts and their procedures; and, using the case studies of deviation from orthodoxy and marriage, canon law in the lives of people. The main body of the book concludes with the influence of canon law in Western society, but has been reworked by integrating sections cut from the first edition chapters on canon law in private and public life to highlight the importance of this field of research. Throughout the work and found in the bibliography are references to current literature and resources in order to make researching in the field more accessible. The first appendix provides examples of how canonical texts are cited while the second offers biographical notes on canonists featured in the work. The end result is a second edition that is significantly rewritten and updated but retains the spirit of Brundage’s original text. Covering all aspects of medieval canon law and its influence on medieval politics, society, and culture, this book provides students of medieval history with an accessible overview of this foundational aspect of medieval history.

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Microliteratures - Jesús R. Velasco &amp; Consuelo López-Morillas Cover Art

Microliteratures

Microliteratures The Production of the Margin in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Books by Jesús R. Velasco & Consuelo López-Morillas

Microliteratures is an innovative examination of writings done in the margins of medieval manuscripts and early modern books. Not always as formal as glosses, sometimes feverish and abbreviated, these marginal writings or, "microliteratures," are the product of readers thinking with the text at the center of the page. Jesús R. Velasco argues that microliteratures are not private annotations but, rather, a humanistic activity performed in the public sphere. These marginal engagements with texts are made public to future readers of the same book. Surveying the microliteratures of a wide range of medieval and early modern Iberian genres—legal, religious, chivalric, and political texts—Velasco finds that in the shared space and time of reading, microliterary actions and artifacts are also models of public humanities work that connects texts to contemporary issues. Microliteratures emerge from this ambitious book as a way of understanding the self as a reflective and politically engaged reader in conversation with past, present, and future readers as contemporaries.

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The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330 - Caroline Wilhelmsson Cover Art

The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330

The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330 Their Lives, Power, and Legacy by Caroline Wilhelmsson

This is the first major piece of scholarship to provide an overview of the lives of Sweden’s earliest documented queens, together with some of their most influential female relatives, who lived between 970 and 1330. Spanning a period over 350 years, approximately 40 biographies are included from the semi-legendary Viking queen Sigrid Storråda to Duchess Ingeborg of Norway, the first female de jure and de facto ruler of Sweden. Rather than merely summarising previous research, this study offers new perspectives on the evolution of queenship in medieval Sweden. It tracks the different religious, political, and socio-economic trends which defined and shaped the office of queen and identifies three main phases of development which led to royal women’s economic and political emancipation by the mid-fourteenth century. The study’s main strength lies in its close reading and novel interpretation of the surviving primary sources, enabling readers to understand the importance of these women and wider themes such as state formation, Christianisation, and international politics. The Queens and Royal Women of Sweden, c. 970–1330 is of interest to scholars of queenship and gender studies, medieval historians in general, those with an interest in ecclesiastical history, and anyone studying medieval Scandinavia.

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Edinburgh: A New History - Alistair Moffat Cover Art

Edinburgh: A New History

Edinburgh: A New History by Alistair Moffat

<p>From prehistory to the present day, the story of Edinburgh is packed with incident and drama. As Scotland's capital since 1437, the city has witnessed many of the key events which have shaped the nation. But Edinburgh has always been much more than just a political centre. During the Enlightenment, it was one the intellectual powerhouses of Europe, and in the twentieth century it became the arts capital of the world with the founding of its many festivals. Finance, religion, education and industry are also important parts of the story.</p> <p>Alistair Moffat explores these themes and many more, showing how the city has grown, changed and adapted over the centuries. He introduces Edinburgh's famous places and people – including monarchs, murderers, writers and philosophers – as well as the ordinary citizens who have contributed so much to the life of one of the world's best-known and most beautiful cites.</p>

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Berengaria of Navarre - Gabrielle Storey Cover Art

Berengaria of Navarre

Berengaria of Navarre Queen of England, Lord of Le Mans by Gabrielle Storey

Berengaria of Navarre was queen of England (1191–99) and lord of Le Mans (1204–30), but has received little attention in terms of a fully encompassing biography from Navarrese, Anglophone, and French perspectives. This book explores her political career whilst utilising the surviving documentation to demonstrate her personal and familial partnerships and life as a dowager queen. This biography follows Berengaria’s journey from a Navarrese infanta, raised in the northern Iberian kingdom, to her travels across Europe to marriage and the Third Crusade, venturing through Sicily, Cyprus, and on to the Holy Land in 1191. Berengaria’s reign and early years as dowager queen are examined in the context of the Anglo-French conflict and domestic disputes, before her decision to negotiate with the king of France, Philip Augustus, and become lord of Le Mans, for which she is far better known in local memory. The volume flows chronologically discussing her roles as infanta, queen, dowager, and lord, and is an ideal resource for scholars and those interested in the history of gender, queenship, lordship, and Western Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

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Early English Queens, 850–1000 - Matthew Firth Cover Art

Early English Queens, 850–1000

Early English Queens, 850–1000 Potestas Reginae by Matthew Firth

This book offers a comprehensive, biography-led examination of queenship in England between 850 and 1000, tracing the development of the queen’s role from bed companion to institutional office. The period 850–1000 is critical to the development of English queenship. In the aftermath of viking invasion, the kings of Wessex expanded their hegemony over neighbouring regions, gradually establishing themselves as the kings of England. Parallel to this broad narrative of political change is the lesser-known story, told in this book, of the royal women who took part in it. The lives of three remarkable women – Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, and the West Saxon consorts Eadgifu and Ælfthryth – are central to the story, here retold through the careful analysis and reappraisal of source documents. These biographies set the stage for detailed study of the agency and advocacy of all women who held queenly office in England between 850 and 1000, as well as their legacies and reception by later generations. Early English Queens, 850–1000 gives important insights into the role women played in the first 150 years of the West Saxon dynasty, offering a compelling narrative that will appeal to students and scholars of early medieval England and royal studies.

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