Novedades

For almost five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, standing as the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. With the risk of nuclear annihilation too high for physical combat, conflict was reserved for the psychological sphere. No one understood this battle of hearts, minds, and intellects more clearly than Bucharest-born George Minden, the head of a covert intelligence operation known as the “CIA books program.” This initiative aimed to win the Cold War with literature.

World War II was more than just a clash of armies—it was a battle of ideologies, economies, and strategies on a global scale. It was the deadliest conflict in human history, involving more than 30 countries and resulting in the deaths of an estimated 70 to 85 million people, including both military personnel and civilians. For a time, it seemed as though Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, might succeed in reshaping the world according to its vision. Germany’s early victories stunned observers and instilled fear across Europe.

homas More: A Life is a monumental biography of this hypnotic, flawed figure. Overturning prior interpretations of this titan of the sixteenth century, Joanne Paul shows Thomas More to have been intellectually and politically central to the making of modern Europe.

Since the Brexit referendum of 2016, extraordinary uncertainty has hung over the future of the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, creating a crisis for the unionist community. A referendum that began on the question of sovereignty quickly degenerated into cries of betrayal over a redrawn border in the Irish Sea, and has led to unionists becoming more insular again, resurrecting ethnic and nationalist notions of what constitutes the Union. In A People Under Siege, historian Aaron Edwards, a native of Belfast, explores the profound challenges facing the community and, in the ...

"Shadows of Empire – Understanding Britain’s Global Legacy and Its Modern Implications" takes listeners on a thought-provoking journey through the intricate and enduring consequences of the British Empire. This comprehensive exploration, rooted in conversations with individuals from Britain and former British colonies, offers fresh perspectives on the empire's impact on our world. The book's author, with a unique background that spans both the UK and former colonies, provides a balanced and objective analysis of historical events.

In 1919, in Newfoundland, four teams of aviators came from Britain to compete in "the Big Hop": an audacious race to be the first to fly, nonstop, across the Atlantic Ocean. One pair of competitors was forced to abandon the journey halfway, and two pairs never made it into the air. Only one team, after a death-defying sixteen-hour flight, made it to Ireland.

Christianity in England is in decline. Congregations are dwindling and ever fewer young people believe. Should we merely shrug our shoulders and accept this as inevitable and even healthy, or is something important being lost? Bijan Omrani argues that this decline is the most momentous change to occur in English history. He shows how a religion that has been part of our national story for over 1700 years was instrumental in the creation and development of the English nation, its codes of law and morality, and its structures of government and kingship.

Christianity is the most enduring and influential legacy of the ancient world, and its emergence the single most transformative development in Western history. Even the increasing number in the West today who have abandoned the faith of their forebears, and dismiss all religion as pointless superstition, remain recognisably its heirs. Seen close-up, the division between a sceptic and a believer may seem unbridgeable.

On November 29, 1943, as the Allies’ primary leaders met in Tehran, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt described to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin his idea for the organization that would become the United Nations. The American president suggested that the active arm of the organization be “the Four Policemen”: the U.S., USSR, UK, and China. Stalin agreed with much of the framework in principle, but asserted that China likely would not possess the strength after the war to assist.

Marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, What Matters in Jane Austen? solves the mysteries of Austen’s fictional world. Jane Austen’s novels have been a staple of the English canon since the nineteenth century. Yet critics of the time did not appreciate the true complexity of her work. Nothing, John Mullan argues, is accidental or coincidental in Austen. As Austen herself said, she wrote for readers who have "a great deal of ingenuity themselves."

Before the Second World War, Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was one of the most famous performers in the world. She made her name dancing on the Parisian stage, but when war broke out she decided not to return to America. Instead, Baker turned spy for the French Secret Services. In this engaging, deeply researched study, Hanna Diamond tells the full story of Baker’s actions for the French and Allied powers in World War Two.

The German Army lost two consecutive wars and the conclusion is often drawn that it simply wasn't able to cope with its opponents. This image is constantly reinforced in literature and in the media, where seemingly brainless operating German units led by fanatical officers predominate. Nothing was as far from the truth. The records show that the Germans consistently outfought the far more numerous Allied armies that eventually defeated them: their relative battlefield performance was at least 1.5 and in most cases three times as high as that of its opponents.

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.

Embark on a captivating journey into the heart of ancient Ireland with Celtic Mythology Explained: Cú Chulainn, Morrigan, and the Legends of Ancient Ireland. This audiobook delves deep into the rich tapestry of Celtic myths, bringing to life the heroic tales and enigmatic deities that have shaped Irish cultural heritage for centuries.

La Isla Esmeralda y sus raíces celtas: Descubre la antigua historia de Irlanda, desde sus orígenes celtas hasta la influencia de los druidas, y cómo estas culturas han dado forma a la identidad irlandesa.

Few figures in history have captured the imagination like Alexander the Great. A military genius, visionary ruler, and cultural bridge between East and West, his conquests reshaped the ancient world. But what was the true extent of his ambition? How did his empire-building efforts leave an enduring mark on civilizations? And what can we learn today from his triumphs—and his failures?

Amidst the turmoil of the battle for the Scottish throne, bonny red-haired Meghan Innes and darkly handsome Black William meet at a Mayday celebration. They delight in the blush of newfound love until Meghan learns that Black William is actually William Bruce, cousin to the self-proclaimed king of Scotland, and enemy to her own clan. But when Meghan’s father is captured by the English, she must swallow her pride and appeal to King Robert and his cousin William for help in freeing her father. Forced into each other's company, can they conquer their differences and rekindle their love? War ...

In Penelope’s Bones, award-winning classicist and historian Emily Hauser pieces together compelling evidence from archaeological excavations and scientific discoveries to unearth the richly textured lives of women in Bronze Age Greece—the era of Homer’s heroes. Here, for the first time, we come to understand the everyday lives and experiences of the real women who stand behind the legends of Helen, Briseis, Cassandra, Aphrodite, Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso, Penelope, and more.

One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar.

When the Troubles broke out in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, Fianna Fáil was hopelessly ill-prepared for the ensuing crisis. Between the emotive years of 1969 to 1971 Fianna Fáil was brought face to face with one of its most blatant contradictions – the gap between the party’s habitual pronouncements of its desire for a united Ireland and the reality that the party could offer no practical solutions to deliver this objective. Why had this gap developed? This book answers this question and many more, tracing the historical reasons for why Fianna Fáil failed to devise a realistic...