Forever in the shadow of the war which followed, 1913 is usually seen as little more than the antechamber to apocalypse. Our perspectives narrowed by hindsight, the world of that year is reduced to its most frivolous features
- last summers in grand aristocratic residences, a flurry of extravagant social engagements
- or its most destructive ones: the unresolved rivalries of the great European powers, the anxieties of a period of accelerated change, the social fear of revolution, the violence in the Balkans. Our images of the times are too often dominated by the faded pastels of upper-class indulgence or by the unmitigated blackness of a world rushing headlong into the abyss of an inevitable war. 1913: The World before the Great War proposes a strikingly different portrait, returning the world in that year to its contemporary freshness, its future still undecided, its outlook still open. Told through the stories of twenty-three cities
- Europe`s capitals at the height of their global reach, the emerging metropolises of America, the imperial cities of Asia & Africa, the boomtowns of Australia & the Americas
- Charles Emmerson presents a panoramic view of a world crackling with possibilities, from St Petersburg to Shanghai & from Los Angeles to Jerusalem. What emerges is a rich & complex world, more familiar than we expect, connected as never before, on the threshold of events which would change the course of global history.



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A witty yet moving narrative worked up from sketched biographical fragments, 1913 is an intimate vision of a world that is about to change forever. The stuffy conventions of the nineteenth century are receding into the past, & 1913 heralds a new age of unlimited possibility. Kafka falls in love; Louis Armstrong learns to play the trumpet; a young seamstress called Coco Chanel opens her first boutique; Charlie Chaplin signs his first movie contract; & new drugs like cocaine usher in an age of decadence. Yet everywhere there is the premonition of ruin
- the number 13 is omnipresent, & in London, Paris & Vienna, artists take the omen & act as if there were no tomorrow. In a Munich hotel lobby, Rilke & Freud discuss beauty & transience; Proust sets out in search of lost time; & while Stravinsky celebrates the Rite of Spring with industrial cacophony, an Austrian postcard painter by the name of Adolf Hitler sells his conventional cityscapes.
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In August 1914, the European powers plunged the world into a war that would kill or wound 37 million people, tear down the fabric of society, uproot ancient political systems & set the world on course for the bloodiest century in human history. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of that terrible year, Ham takes the reader on a journey into the labyrinth, to reveal the complexity, the layered motives, the flawed & disturbed minds that drove the world to war. What emerges is a clear sense of what happened & why. ` To understand the past, ` Ham concludes, `and share that understanding, is the chief role of the historian. To understand the past is to liberate ourselves from its awful shadow & steel ourselves against it happening again.` ...

The mud-filled, blood-soaked trenches of the Low Countries & North-Eastern Europe were essential battlegrounds during the First World War, but the war reached many other corners of the globe, & events elsewhere significantly affected its course. Covering the twelve months of 1916, eminent historian Keith Jeffery uses twelve moments from a range of locations & shows how they reverberated around the world. As well as discussing better-known battles such as Gallipoli, Verdun & the Somme, Jeffery examines Dublin, for the Easter Rising, East Africa, the Italian front, Central Asia & Russia, where the killing of Rasputin exposed the internal political weakness of the country`s empire. &, in charting a wide range of wartime experience, he studies the `intelligence war`, naval engagements at Jutland & elsewhere, as well as the political consequences that ensued from the momentous US presidential election. Using an extraordinary range of military, social & cultural sources, & relating the individual experiences on the ground to wider developments, these are the stories lost to history, the conflicts that spread beyond the sphere of Europe & the moments that transformed the war. ...

The mud-filled, blood-soaked trenches of the Low Countries & North-Eastern Europe were essential battlegrounds during the First World War, but the war reached many other corners of the globe, & events elsewhere significantly affected its course. Covering the twelve months of 1916, eminent historian Keith Jeffery uses twelve moments from a range of locations & shows how they reverberated around the world. As well as discussing better-known battles such as Gallipoli, Verdun & the Somme, Jeffery examines Dublin, for the Easter Rising, East Africa, the Italian front, Central Asia & Russia, where the killing of Rasputin exposed the internal political weakness of the country`s empire. &, in charting a wide range of wartime experience, he studies the `intelligence war`, naval engagements at Jutland & elsewhere, as well as the political consequences that ensued from the momentous United States presidential election. Using an extraordinary range of military, social & cultural sources, & relating the individual experiences on the ground to wider developments, these are the stories lost to history, the conflicts that spread beyond the sphere of Europe & the moments that transformed the war. ...

100 years since the Russian Revolution: the 20th century`s greatest Russian writers respond ` This is the last of you, old world
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Produced in association with Imperial War Museums, 1918: How the First World War Was Won gives a detailed account of the final year of the war. It examines each battle in turn, from the German Spring Offensives on the Western Front, through the Battle of Amiens that heralded the start of the Hundred Days campaign, to the Battle of Megiddo at the start of the final British-led offensive. Major General Julian Thompson`s authoritative text is illustrated with contemporary photographs & full-colour maps. It tells the story of the US entry in to the war, the tactical command of Allied Supreme Commander Ferdinand Foch, & the final push that gave the Allies total victory. ...

A contemporary classic. 1920s Weber Costello globe is displayed on ebonized wood stand accented bronze. Colored gores are applied to the globe core by hand with authentic construction & detail. There is no question that this handcrafted globe will bring an antique & elegant feel to any room`s decor. If we do not have this item in stock we will order it for you from our supplier. Delivery generally takes 3 weeks within the UK. For overseas delivery queries please email sales@stanfords.co.uk ...

A sailor’s dream, attractive & well proportioned, a beauty. This classic 1930s yacht model sits on a beautifully molded antique finished st&, supported by two brass feet. Clean & crisp sails, bronze portholes & lots of nice details. Available in two sizes. The vessel is complete with elaborate fittings, rigging, sails & other features to create a beautiful & detailed model of the original ship. If we do not have this item in stock we will order it for you from our supplier. Delivery generally takes 3 weeks within the UK. For overseas delivery queries please email sales@stanfords.co.uk ...

A sailor’s dream, attractive & well proportioned, a beauty. This classic 1930s yacht model sits on a beautifully molded antique finished st&, supported by two brass feet. Clean & crisp sails, bronze portholes & lots of nice details. Available in two sizes. The vessel is complete with elaborate fittings, rigging, sails & other features to create a beautiful & detailed model of the original ship. If we do not have this item in stock we will order it for you from our supplier. Delivery generally takes 3 weeks within the UK. For overseas delivery queries please email sales@stanfords.co.uk ...