In the newest volume in the award-winning Penguin History of American Life series, James R. Barrett chronicles how a new urban American identity was forged in the streets, saloons, churches, & workplaces of the American city. This process of ” Americanization from the bottom up” was deeply shaped, Barrett argues, by the Irish. From Lower Manhattan to the South Side of Chicago to Boston`s North End, newer waves of immigrants & African Americans found it nearly impossible to avoid the Irish. While historians have emphasized the role of settlement houses & other mainstream institutions in Americanizing immigrants, Barrett makes the original case that the culture absorbed by newcomers upon reaching American shores had a distinctly Hibernian cast. By 1900, there were more people of Irish descent in New York City than in Dublin; more in the United States than in all of Irel&. But in the late nineteenth century, the sources of immigration began to shift, to southern & eastern Europe & beyond. Whether these newcomers wanted to save their souls, get a drink, find a job, or just take a stroll in the neighborhood, they had to deal with Irish Americans. Barrett reveals how the Irish vacillated between a progressive & idealistic impulse toward their fellow immigrants & a parochial defensiveness stemming from the hostility earlier generations had faced upon their own arrival in America. They imparted racist attitudes toward African Americans; they established ethnic ”deadlines” across city neighborhoods; they drove other immigrants from docks, factories, & labor unions. Yet the social teachings of the Catholic Church, a sense of solidarity with the oppressed, & dark memories of poverty & violence in both Ireland & America ushered in a wave of progressive political activism that eventually embraced other immigrants. Drawing on contemporary sociological studies & diaries, newspaper accounts, & Irish American literature, The Irish Way illustrates how the interactions between the Irish & later immigrants on the streets, on the vaudeville stage, in Catholic churches, & in workplaces helped forge a multi-ethnic American identity that has a profound legacy in the USA today. ...

The first Irish photographs date from 1840, a year after Louis Daguerre announced to the world his discovery of the photographic process. In the century that followed, Irish political life was dominated by the struggle for land rights, for Home Rule, & finally for independence. Ireland was to know tragedy & triumph, bitter struggle & agonized compromise. Much of that experience, now so remote, is brought to life here in images so powerful that they remind one of the miracle that photography once seemed. Yet these photographs, which cover the first century of Ireland in the era of photography, do more than tell a gripping political story. They give a wider insight into a people, a landscape, & a lost way of life. They capture the sheer hard labour of rural survival: cutting peat for fuel, gathering seaweed, fishing & tilling the soil, against the magnificence of the often harsh Irish landscape. & they show the grandeur, elegance & complacency of life in the Big House, home & symbol of the doomed Anglo-Irish elite. ...

` This is the original game of thrones` George R.R. Martin From the publishers that brought you A Game of Thrones comes the series that inspired George R.R. Martin`s epic work. ” Accursed! Accursed! You shall be accursed to the thirteenth generation!” The Iron King
- Philip the Fair
- is as cold & silent, as handsome & unblinking as a statue. He governs his realm with an iron h&, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak & their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men. A web of scandal, murder & intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich & powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty...

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”A classic is something utterly strange & original, & yet as deeply familiar & necessary as your own hands. The Iron Man is like no other story in the world &, fifty years after its first publication, we need it as much as ever.” -- Philip Pullman Part modern fairy tale, part science-fiction myth, The Iron Man describes the unexpected arrival in England of a mysterious giant ”metal man” who wreaks havoc on the countryside by attacking the neighbouring farms & eating all their machinery. A young boy called Hogarth befriends him, & Hogarth & the extraordinary being end up defending & saving the earth when it is attacked by a fearsome ”space-bat-angel-dragon” from outer space. Ted Hughes` classic tale, with its message of peace & hope, is known & loved all over the UK & is an exciting collaboration between Walker Books & Faber & Faber. This beautiful, small-format paperback celebrates 50 wonderful years of Ted Hughes` classic tale.WINNER OF THE V&A BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR”A stunning production.. . spectacular” The Sunday Times ...

Israel`s conflict with the Palestinians, & the Arab world at large, casts a long shadow over her history. When 1920s Zionist leaders formulated the ` Iron Wall` strategy
- negotiating from a position of unassailable strength
- they intended that a stronger Israel would eventually be able to make peace with her Arab neighbours. This has been an elusive hope. Here, Shlaim explores the reasons for Israel`s long reliance on military power in the absence of settlement. His analysis will bring scant comfort to partisans on either side, but it is required reading for anyone interested in this fascinating, troubled l&.

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Publishing to coincide with Bradt`s 40th anniversary, The Irresponsible Traveller is a light but edgy collection of travellers` tales. Travel writers & celebrities alike recount their exciting, & often dangerous, adventures which include being chased by a sea lion, accosted by Brazilian kidnappers & a midnight raid to free turtles on the Amazon. In over 40 years Bradt has built a reputation for publishing books covering the road less travelled, & this collection celebrates exactly the sort of writing & storytelling about `unusual` travel experiences that has helped to establish the company as a firm favourite amongst adventurous travellers. Featuring contributions from Hilary Bradt, Michael Palin, Ben Fogle & Jonathan Scott, the title is a perfect tome to dip in & out of. ...

In May 2013, freelance photographer Daniel Rye was captured in Syria & held prisoner by Islamic State for thirteen months, along with eighteen other hostages. The ISIS Hostage tells the dramatic & heart-breaking story of Daniel`s ordeal & details the misery inflicted upon him by the British guards, which included Jihadi John. This tense & riveting account also follows Daniel`s family & the nerve-wracking negotiations with his kidnappers. It traces their horrifying journey through impossible dilemmas & offers a rare glimpse into the secret world of the investigation launched to locate & free not only Daniel, but also the American journalist & fellow hostage James Foley. Written with Daniel`s full cooperation & based on interviews with former fellow prisoners, jihadists & key figures who worked behind the scenes to secure his release, The ISIS Hostage reveals for the first time the torment suffered by the captives & tells a moving & terrifying story of friendship, torture & survival. ...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2017 ` An eye-opening, well-written & very timely book` Yuval Noah Harari` The best sort of book for our disordered days: timely, urgent & illuminating` Pankaj Mishra ` It strikes a blow...for common humanity` Sunday Times The Muslim world has often been accused of a failure to modernise & adapt. Yet in this sweeping narrative & provocative retelling of modern history, Christopher de Bellaigue charts the forgotten story of the Islamic Enlightenment
- the social movements, reforms & revolutions that transfigured the Middle East from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Modern ideals & practices were embraced across the region, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from purdah & the development of democracy. The Islamic Enlightenment looks behind the sensationalist headlines in order to foster a genuine understanding of Islam & its relationship to the West. It is essential reading for anyone engaged in the state of the world today.
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The Islamic Enlightenment: a contradiction in terms? The Muslim world has often been accused of a failure to modernise, reform & adapt. But, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, Islamic society in its Middle Eastern heartlands has in fact been transformed by modern ideals & practices, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from purdah & the development of democracy. Who were the scholars & scientists, writers & politicians that brought about these remarkable changes? & why is their legacy now under threat? Beginning with the dramatic collision of East & West following Napoleon`s arrival in Egypt, & taking us through 200 tumultuous years of Middle Eastern history, Christopher de Bellaigue, introduces us to key figures & reformers; from Egypt`s visionary ruler Muhammad Ali to brave radicals like Iran`s first feminist Qurrat al-Ayn & the writer Ibrahim Sinasi, who transformed Ottoman Turkey`s language & literature. This book tells the forgotten story of the Islamic Enlightenment. It shows us how to look beyond sensationalist headlines to foster a genuine understanding of modern Islam & Muslim culture, & is essential reading for anyone engaged with the state of the world today. ...

` Brilliant` Orhan Pamuk` The best sort of book for our disordered days: timely, urgent & illuminating` Pankaj Mishra` It strikes a blow.. . for common humanity.` Sunday Times The Islamic Enlightenment: a contradiction in terms? The Muslim world has often been accused of a failure to modernise, reform & adapt. But, from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, Islamic society in its Middle Eastern heartlands has in fact been transformed by modern ideals & practices, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from purdah & the development of democracy. Who were the scholars & scientists, writers & politicians that brought about these remarkable changes? & why is their legacy now under threat? Beginning with the dramatic collision of East & West following Napoleon`s arrival in Egypt, & taking us through 200 tumultuous years of Middle Eastern history, Christopher de Bellaigue, introduces us to key figures & reformers; from Egypt`s visionary ruler Muhammad Ali to brave radicals like Iran`s first feminist Qurrat al-Ayn & the writer Ibrahim Sinasi, who transformed Ottoman Turkey`s language & literature. This book tells the forgotten story of the Islamic Enlightenment. It shows us how to look beyond sensationalist headlines to foster a genuine understanding of modern Islam & Muslim culture, & is essential reading for anyone engaged with the state of the world today. ...