Stalin's Englishman by Andrew Lownie

$39.99 NZD

Category: History

A Guardian Book of the Year. The Times Best Biography of the Year. Mail on Sunday Biography of the Year. Daily Mail Biography of Year. 'Andrew Lownie's biography of Guy Burgess, Stalin's Englishman ...shrewd, thorough, revelatory.' William Boyd 'In the sad and funny Stalin's Englishman, [Lownie] manages to convey the charm as well as the turpitude.' Craig Brown Guy Burgess was the most important, complex and fascinating of 'The Cambridge Spies' - Maclean, Philby, Blunt - all brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5 and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers. In this first full biography, Andrew Lownie shows us how even Burgess's chaotic personal life of drunken philandering did nothing to stop his penetration and betrayal of the British Intelligence Service. Even when he was under suspicion, the fabled charm which had enabled many close personal relationships with influential Establishment figures (including Winston Churchill) prevented his exposure as a spy for many years. Through interviews with more than a hundred people who knew Burgess personally, many of whom have never spoken about him before, and the discovery of hitherto secret files, Stalin's Englishman brilliantly unravels the many lives of Guy Burgess in all their intriguing, chilling, colourful, tragi-comic wonder. ...Show more

The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition by Robert Graves

$40.00 NZD

Category: History

*The definitive and comprehensive edition of Robert Graves's classic retelling of the Greek myths*'Icarus disobeyed his father's instructions and began soaring towards the sun, rejoiced by the lift of his great sweeping wings. Presently, when Daedalus looked over his shoulder, he could no longer see Ica rus; but scattered feathers floated on the waves below...'These are the greatest stories ever told - the labours of Hercules, the voyage of the Argonauts, Theseus and the minotaur, Midas and his golden touch, the Trojan War and Odysseus's journey home - brought together into one epic and unforgettable story. Ideal for the first time reader, it can be read as a single page-turning narrative, while full commentaries as well as a comprehensive index of names make it equally valuable for anyone seeking an authoritative and detailed account of the spectacular stories that make up the bedrock of Western literature.The Greek Myths is a classic among classics, a treasure trove of extraordinary tales and a masterful work of literature in its own right. ...Show more

Mistborn: Secret History (A Novella) by Brandon Sanderson

$29.99 NZD

Category: History

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History b uilds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn't the place to start your journey into Mistborn (though if you have read the trilogy - but it has been a while - you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books). Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story's existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There's always another secret. ...Show more

Explorer's Atlas : For the Incurably Curious by Michat Gaszynski; Piotr Wilkowiecki

$45.00 NZD

Category: History

Discover the most intriguing, fascinating and extraordinary facts about the world in this lavishly illustrated, large format atlas. Feed your imagination and go on an adventure with this unusual atlas which is illustrated with a wealth of quirky facts and curiosities from around the world. Uncover hidde n secrets on every page - from world cultures to history, the economy to nature, geography to sporting events and following the trails of great explorers. Be inspired and surprised by carefully selected and composed text, with icons, graphics and routes that will make you see the world through different eyes. Plan your next adventure, or revisit where you have been already - Explorer's Atlas has been created for travellers, map lovers and adventurers of any age. ...Show more

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

$39.99 NZD

Category: History | Reading Level: near fine

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

Codename Suzette: An extraordinary story of resistance and rescue in Nazi Paris by Anne Nelson

$32.99 NZD

Category: History

The thrilling and previously untold true story of Suzanne Spaak, who abandoned her life of opulence to save the Jewish children of Occupied Paris during the Second World War. Suzanne Spaak was born into an affluent Belgian Catholic family and married into the country's leading political dynasty. Her br other-in-law was the prime minister while her husband Claude was a playwright and patron of the painter René Magritte. In occupied Paris she was part of the cultural elite and a neighbour of Colette and Jean Cocteau. But Suzanne was living a double life. Her friendship with a Polish Jewish refugee led her to her life's purpose. When France fell and the Nazis occupied Paris, she joined the Resistance. She used her fortune and social status to enlist allies among wealthy Parisians and church groups. Under the eyes of the Gestapo, Suzanne and women from the Jewish and Christian resistance groups 'kidnapped' hundreds of Jewish children to save them from the gas chambers. Codename Suzette is a masterpiece of research and narrative, bringing to life a truly remarkable woman and painting a vivid and unforgettable picture of wartime Paris. ...Show more

Diana - The People's Princess by Nicholas Kirkwood

$45.00 NZD

Category: History

This updated edition of Diana: The People's Princess is a respectful, sensitive and poignant tribute to this elegant, charming and sympathetic symbol of our times.

The Kings and Queens of Britain by Cath Senker

$37.99 NZD

Category: History

Who was the first King of England? Did Henry I assassinate his brother? How did 'Bloody Mary' reinstate Roman Catholicism? For more than 1,000 years the British monarchy has dramatically shaped national and international history. Kings and queens have conquered territory, imposed religious change and e xtracted taxation, each with their own motivations and ambitions. In this beautifully illustrated book, Cath Senker delves into the extraordinary history of the British monarchy and its host of kings, queens and pretenders. There have been benevolent rulers, violent ones, religious fanatics, brilliant economists, masters of diplomacy and the power hungry. But whether they have abused their power or used it for good, each monarch has played a part in the rich tapestry of British history, coping with both international and civil wars, rebellions and criticism. The Kings and Queens of Britain introduces this fascinating thousand-year history, providing rich biographical detail of Britain's remarkable monarchs. ...Show more

Who Discovered What When by Ellyard David

$35.00 NZD

Category: History

Who Discovered What When? is an absorbing and easy-toread book about the growth of scientific ideas and knowledge since 1500. From Galileo, Newton and Darwin to Ernest Rutherford, Neils Bohr and Linus Pauling, it presents the scientists who have hypothesised, experimented and revealed the physical worki ng of our world. It spans disciplines as broad as astronomy, palaeontology, chemistry, mathematics, geology, physics, biology and medicine. The book also sets scientific ideas in the context of the world stage at the time, sketching out what was happening in politics, the arts, exploration and technology. Each chapter covers half a century and include 200-300 word stories which are arranged chronologically. Each of the 400 plus stories are largely self-contained and cross references will guide the reader to earlier or later developments that complete each story. Reading Who Discovered What When? from cover to cover, science buffs, budding historians and even the most casual fan will find an unfolding multitude of stories of scientific endeavor and discovery. ...Show more

Propaganda: Truth and Lies in Times of Conflict by Tony Husband

$19.99 NZD

Category: History

Soviet Image by Peter Radetsky

$112.50 NZD

$125.99 (10% off)

Category: Photography

For the first time, the Russian news agency TASS has opened its complete photographic archives to create an unprecedented and uncensored look at the last 100 years of life in the Soviet Union and the new Russia as seen through Russian eyes. Featuring more than 250 astonishing photographs - many never be fore published - these images capture the life of a people and the dramatic sweep of Russian history, from royalty to revolution, the rise and fall of communism, and daily life throughout. Illuminated by richly informative essays and extended captions providing context on the times and the photographs, this is the definitive visual record of Russian history. The book is structured as an introduction and 8 chronological chapters that each begin with a lively essay giving history and context on the years covered, followed by photographs with extended captions. ...Show more

The Code Breaker - Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson

$59.99 NZD

Category: History

The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a gripping account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies. When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she cam e home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed. She put it aside, thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved. When she read it on a rainy Saturday, she discovered she was right, in a way. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the code of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn't become scientists, she decided she would. Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, she would help to make what the book's author, James Watson, told her was the most important biological advance since his co-discovery of the structure of DNA. She and her collaborators turned ​a curiosity ​of nature into an invention that will transform the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. The development of CRISPR and the race to create vaccines for coronavirus will hasten our transition to the next great innovation revolution. The past half-century has been a digital age, based on the microchip, computer, and internet. Now we are entering a life-science revolution. Children who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code. Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses? What a wonderful boon that would be! And what about preventing depression? Hmmm...Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids? After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020. Her story is a thrilling detective tale that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species.   ...Show more