Ebooks de historia, página 20 de 2376

Ranging from portraits of Rasputin and Lenin to observations on the Russian Revolution, and from profiles of cultural figures to moving domestic scenes, this short collection includes writings by the inimitable Teffi never before published in English. Everything is here - politics, society, art and literature, love and family life - and all is told in Teffis multifaceted style: amusing, sincerely moving, ironic and always honest, pervaded by an intensely felt understanding of humanitys simultaneous tragedy and absurdity.

The story of the man who became a music legend. Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington was arguably the greatest jazz composer of the twentieth centuryand an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to understand. His music, too, was powerful and entirely original. Andre Previn compared him to Stravinsky and Prokofiev, Percy Grainger to Bach and Delius. But in fact he was very much his own man. The grandson of a slave, Ellington dropped out of high school to become a musical showman of incomparable suavity, as comfortable in Carnegie Hall as in the nightclubs where he honed his famous style. When he raised his fingers, the music that blazed out had its own unique richness and range. He wrote hundreds of compositions, many of which remain beloved standards, and sought inspiration in an endless string of transient lovers, concealing himself behind a smiling mask of flowery language and ironic charm. In this revealing biography, Terry Teachout skillfully peels away the countless layers of Ellingtons evasion to tell the unvarnished truth about a creative genius and musical pioneer.

In "Scenes and Adventures in Affghanistan," William Taylor delivers a vivid and immersive account of his experiences during the tumultuous period of British intervention in Afghanistan. Richly detailed, the narrative combines a mix of travelogue and military history, allowing readers to engage with the landscapes and cultures that defined this critical geopolitical context. Taylors literary style is marked by a direct yet evocative prose, offering both firsthand accounts and reflections that shed light on the complexities of imperial ambition and the profound impacts on local societies. Written in the mid-19th century, the book serves as a crucial text in understanding colonial narratives and the often romanticized view of imperial endeavors, juxtaposed against the harsh realities faced by both soldiers and civilians alike. William Taylor, a soldier and adventurer, was deeply influenced by his experiences in Afghanistan, where he served during a period characterized by conflict and cultural exchange. His background reflects a keen awareness of the geopolitical intricacies of the time, as well as a personal commitment to documenting the lives and landscapes encountered during his service. Taylors perspectives are steeped in the ethos of Victorian exploration and the moral questions surrounding imperialism, which provide readers with valuable insight into the mindset of the era. This remarkable work is highly recommended for historians, students, and anyone fascinated by the complexities of colonial expansion. Taylors engaging narrative not only captures the essence of his personal adventures but also invites a critical examination of the legacies of empire. Readers will find themselves drawn into a world that is both exotic and challenging, rendering "Scenes and Adventures in Affghanistan" a compelling addition to the canon of travel and military literature.

In "State of the Union Addresses," Zachary Taylor presents a masterful collection of the presidential addresses that articulate the evolving ambitions and challenges faced by the United States. The book captures the duality of government rhetoric, revealing how each address is a reflection of its historical moment, employing a stark yet eloquent literary style characterized by straightforward diction and a fervent appeal to national identity. Taylor meticulously situates these addresses within the broader context of American political history, demonstrating how they respond to contemporary issues such as sectionalism, foreign policy, and national unity. Zachary Taylor, as a prominent political figure and U.S. President, possessed firsthand experience of the intricate dynamics of American governance and societal strife in the mid-19th century. Often emerging from a military background, Taylor was acutely aware of the tensions between emerging political ideologies. His own encounter with the complexities of national identity and domestic conflict undoubtedly inspired his contemplative and direct approach to articulating the countrys mission through these addresses. This book is an indispensable resource for scholars, students, and citizens alike, seeking to comprehend the foundational narratives that shaped the United States. Taylors articulate presentation and contextual analysis make this collection vital for understanding our contemporary political landscape, encouraging readers to reflect on the enduring significance of presidential discourse in the American democratic experiment.In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience:- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader erasocial currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different works strengths.- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the authors overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.- Lastly, our handpicked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collections central themes.

In "Scenes and Adventures in Affghanistan," William Taylor presents a vivid and evocative narrative that transports readers to the tumultuous landscapes of Afghanistan in the mid-19th century. Drawing on his personal experiences as a soldier and traveler in a war-torn region, Taylor employs a descriptive literary style that captures the harsh realities and lush beauty of the Afghan terrain. The book serves not only as a memoir but also as a significant historical document, reflecting the British Empires intricate engagements in Central Asia during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Through a blend of adventure and poignant reflection, Taylor invites the reader to contemplate both the exoticism and the brutality of this foreign land. William Taylor, a lieutenant in the British Army, was deeply influenced by the complexities of his military service and the cultural encounters he experienced while stationed in Afghanistan. His first-hand accounts of battle, survival, and local customs illustrate his keen observation skills and offer invaluable insight into a society often shrouded in misunderstanding. Taylors writings emerge from a tumultuous historical context marked by colonial ambitions and intercultural relationships that would shape the region for decades to come. For readers intrigued by military history, colonial narratives, or personal accounts of travel, "Scenes and Adventures in Affghanistan" stands as a compelling read. Taylors portrayal not only entertains but also educates, making it a crucial addition to any library seeking to understand the complexities of Afghanistans past. A fascinating weave of adventure and history, this book continues to resonate with those seeking a nuanced view of a pivotal era.

La biografía definitiva del líder que transformó el mundo, narrada por el Premio Pulitzer, William Taubman.En marzo de 1985, Mijaíl Gorbachov se convirtió en el líder de la Unión Soviética, una de las dos superpotencias mundiales de la guerra fria. Tras seis trepidantes años, sus reformas politicas, la perestroika y la glasnost, destinadas a transformar profundamente el comunismo sovietico para salvarlo, condujeron al espectacular e inesperado derrumbe de la URSS y el final de la politica de bloques que caracterizo la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Admirado en occidente y denostado en su pais, Gorbachov es uno de los personajes clave de nuestra epoca.En la primera biografia exhaustiva del ultimo gran lider sovietico, William Taubman, ganador del premio Pulitzer por su biografia de Kruschev, explica como un joven hijo de campesinos se convirtio en maximo dirigente y promesa de renovacion del sistema sovietico, y como encontro un terreno comun con el presidente Reagan que puso fin a la tension de la guerra fria y acabo provocando que la URSS y su imperio se desmoronaran.¿Fue un lider excepcional o un personaje atrapado por sus propias deficiencias y por el destino al que se enfrento? A lo largo de estas paginas, Taubman nos perfila todas las facetas de un personaje unico y, en palabras del propio Gorbachov, de dificil comprension. Basandose en entrevistas con el ex lider sovietico, transcripciones y documentos de los archivos rusos, conversaciones con amigos y enemigos y multiples lideres internacionales, William Taubman nos ofrece en esta monumental biografia un retrato intimo y honesto, conmovedor, punzante y severo, de un personaje cuya vida podria situarse a la altura de las grandes novelas rusas.Reseñas: Magistral. [...] Sera por mucho tiempo la biografia definitiva de esta fascinante figura.The New York Times Book ReviewGorbachov, como su Khrushchev, es un logro extraordinario. [...] Repleto de nueva informacion y juicios inteligentes; un doble triunfo para el genero biografico. John Lewis Gaddis, ganador del Premio PulitzerUna lectura esencial para el siglo XXI.The New York TimesTaubman aplica una lupa tolstoyana a la historia reciente de Rusia y despliega una especial sensibilidad al analizar una vida que demostraria ser mas rica que la politica.The EconomistUna penetrante historia y un fascinante estudio psicologico.Foreign Affairs Magazine

A biografia de um líder que transformou o mundo.Quando em 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev se tornou líder da União Soviética, esta era uma das duas superpotências mundiais. Em 1989, a sua política liberal da

The pages of the novel resurrect before the reader the events of a hundred years ago from 1912 to 1925 in the Balkans, in particular, in Bulgaria during the two Balkan wars, the echo of which was the Great War, which drew all countries and continents into its orbit and gave birth to a lost generation. Three wars led to dramatic events in Bulgaria: a coup detat and the establishment of despotism, against which the heroes of the country rise to fight. Brave, fearless, daring, elusive, they defy the executioners power and prepare the people for the uprising to overthrow the junta. The noble at heart and free spirited, they wage a heroic battle for freedom, risking their lives to save the life of another. It is a hymn to the beauty of nature of the Balkans. It is a wide panorama of life of the era and society. It is based on real events. It is dedicated to the memory of Alexander Stamboliysky, it is dedicated to the memory of all the freedom fighters of all the times and countries.

An intimate history of LGBTQ+ life over four decades, discovered in a stash of forgotten, handwritten notes.A fantastic journey through an overlooked archive bursting with humanity and real life on every page.DAN SNOWAmong the most vivid social histories Ive read about contemporary queer life in Britain.OISIN MCKENNA, author of Evenings and WeekendsIlluminating.FINANCIAL TIMESTimely and moving.HISTORY TODAYProfound.AnOTHER MAGAZINEIn a crawlspace at the offices of Switchboard, a queer helpline in operation since 1974, lies dozens of log books kept by volunteers describing the phone calls they had taken: a teenager whose parents had kicked them out of home for dressing as the wrong gender; a lesbian terrified of having her baby taken away from her; a man arrested for chatting up another man in a public toilet; a young person wanting to know how to come out.These logs were traces of tens of thousands of queer lives, a bridge to a past hidden from people like Tash Walker and Adam Zmith in their youth, captured by people who lent an ear to those in need. Walker and Zmith came of age in the time of Section 28, a law which banned councils and schools promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship. In recovering these logs, they encountered people grappling with feelings, questions and problems both familiar and different, and set out to learn from - and sometimes speak to - those on both sides of the calls.Charged with joy, gossip, sensuality, humour and sometimes fear, and with a potent relevancy to the world today, these stories are brought together in The Log Books. Walker and Zmith capture queer lives in stunning detail, embarking on a journey of both collective history and self-discovery and propelling it into the very foreground of our national history.In opening the Switchboard archive, and all the vulnerability and thrill contained within its pages, this book manages to capture something of the essence of what it means to be alive.AMELIA ABRAHAM, author of Queer Intentions

At 28, Tamar Valkenier, an investigative psychologist with the Dutch National Police, stands at a crossroads. Despite a successful career, she deeply yearns for more. She makes the daring decision to leave everything behind and embrace a nomadic existence. Tamar embarks on a transformative cycling journey from her hometown in the Netherlands to Istanbul, where she pushes her physical and emotional limits. Along the way, she gains confidence and discovers a fulfillment that exceeds her wildest dreams. From a journey of 1,600 kilometers on horseback in Mongolia to hiking the Jordan Trail with her trusted donkey, and traversing New Zealands Southern Alps with fellow nomad Miriam Lancewood relying solely on hunting and fishing for survival Tamars myriad adventures serve as evidence to the power of personal growth, and the rewards it brings. More than a mere chronicle of Tamars experiences, Full-Time Adventurer is a powerful testament to her transformation from a conventional life to an extraordinary one. Its a captivating narrative of personal growth and courage that continues to inspire many others.

Será que a morte é realmente o último estado? Ou é o momento de purgar os erros da vida? Cinco histórias vão demonstrar como às vezes a vida e a morte se confundem numa linha tênue.

Desde que Alessandro regressou, Elizabeth perdeu a paz. Ela nunca acreditara em amor à primeira vista, até ter a sensação. Se ao menos ele não tivesse se apaixonado primeiro por sua irmã, Simone… E s

This book investigates how women shaped the course of revolutions that routinely erase their names, tracing the lives of women who helped draft manifestos, march on palaces, and organize the streets from the French Revolution to the Russian upheavals of 1905 and 1917. It follows salonhostesses, pamphleteers, rioters, and Bolshevik women cadres who turned bread riots into political insurrections, transforming everyday grievances into the language of rights, sovereignty, and class war.Drawing on police files, prison memoirs, and party archives, the book reconstructs the mechanics of their participation: how women in Paris led the Womens March on Versailles, forcing the monarchy back to the capital; how radical women in Russia joined socialist circles, smuggled propaganda, and manned strikes and uprisings while the state punished them as both "subversives" and "unwomanly"; and how figures like Olympe de Gouges, Sophie de Condorcet, Inessa Armand, and Alexandra Kollontai laid ideological and organizational groundwork that later malecentric histories treated as footnotes. It also examines how revolutionary governments and counterrevolutionary forces alike instrumentalized womens bodies and domestic roles, alternately praising them as "heroines of the street" and then silencing them when their demands for gender equality threatened the new order.

From Sputniks beep to Armstrongs footprint, the space race turned rocketry into proxy warfare between superpowers racing lunar supremacy. This book traces milestonesGagarins Vostok orbit, Shepards suborbital hop, Glenns Friendship 7, Valentina Tereshkovas solo flight, Leonovs spacewalk, Apollo 8 lunar orbit, culminating in Apollo 11s Sea of Tranquility landing. Drawing from declassified mission transcripts, Kennedy speeches, and Baikonur/Cape Canaveral records, To the Moon: Cold War Space Competition reveals engineering duels, political pressures, and technical gambles that propelled humanity beyond Earth. It examines how Saturn V reliability outpaced N1 explosions to claim cosmic high ground.

Across the Eurasian steppes to the gates of Vienna, Genghis Khan forged the largest contiguous land empire through ruthless strategy and unprecedented organization. This book examines the Mongol expansion from tribal unification to imperial dominion, revealing how nomadic warfare, intelligence networks, and administrative genius created a realm connecting East and West. Drawing from The Secret History of the Mongols, Persian chronicles, and recent steppe archaeology, Genghis Khan: Worlds Largest Land Empire uncovers the systemsmeritocracy, religious tolerance, trade routesthat sustained this colossus. It portrays a conqueror whose vision remade the medieval world.

Economic systems do not fail quietly. They collapse through cascading institutional breakdownscurrency crises, sovereign defaults, banking failures, and the sudden evaporation of public confidence in the frameworks that organize daily life. System Collapse examines the most consequential economic reinventions in modern history: the post-WWI hyperinflation and Weimar reconstruction, the Bretton Woods settlement after 1944, the Latin American debt crises of the 1980s, the post-Soviet transition economies of the 1990s, the 2008 global financial restructuring, and the fiscal transformations accelerated by the pandemic era. Each case represents a moment when the existing economic order became unsustainable and something new had to be builtoften under conditions of extreme social stress.Drawing on IMF structural adjustment records, World Bank transition assessments, central bank archives, and the firsthand accounts of economists, policymakers, and ordinary citizens who lived through each transformation, each chapter reconstructs the full anatomy of collapse and reinvention: what failed, who bore the cost, what replaced it, and whose interests shaped the new arrangement. The book pays particular attention to the human dimensionthe wage collapses, pension losses, and community disintegrations that aggregate economic data consistently obscures.The final section examines the structural preconditions visible in contemporary economies: debt-to-GDP ratios at historic highs, central bank balance sheets expanded beyond precedent, and the growing divergence between financial asset valuations and underlying productive capacity. System Collapse is not a forecastit is a historical instrument, giving readers the analytical vocabulary to recognize the conditions that have preceded every major economic reinvention, and to understand what transformation, when it comes, actually demands of the societies it reshapes.

The Industrial Revolution reshaped not only economies but the very fabric of human life. Steam to Steel traces this extraordinary transformation from the first steam engines and textile mills to the rise of steel, railroads, and urban society. Drawing from factory records, workers diaries, and technological archives, the book reveals how invention and ambition powered progress while altering class, labor, and the environment. It examines the birth of industrial capitalism, the spread of mechanization across continents, and the social movements that followed in its wake. This vivid historical study connects innovation to inequality, showing how machines forged both prosperity and disruption across the nineteenth century and beyond.

Across the modern era, corporations have grown from trade entities into global powers rivaling entire states. Mega-Corps investigates this transformation, tracing how companies from the East India Company to todays tech giants have shaped economies, politics, and even wars. Blending economic history with investigative narrative, the book explores how private enterprises have influenced legislation, manipulated markets, and redefined sovereignty itself. Through archival evidence and contemporary analysis, it reveals the recurring pattern of corporate authority expanding beyond accountability. This historical study invites readers to consider whether control over resources, data, and infrastructure has shifted from governments to boardroomsand what that means for the balance of power in the twenty-first century.

When delegates from forty-four nations gathered at Bretton Woods in 1944, they built a monetary order around a single currencythe United States dollar. It was a decision shaped by wartime necessity and American economic supremacy, and it created a global financial architecture that has endured, adapted, and been repeatedly contested for eight decades. Dollar Dominance traces the full historical arc of that system: how it was constructed, how it survived the collapse of the gold standard in 1971, how the petrodollar arrangement extended its reach, and how it has been challenged by rival economies, regional currency blocs, and the emergence of digital finance.Drawing on economic history, declassified treasury records, IMF documentation, and the testimony of policymakers and financial historians, each chapter examines a pivotal moment in the dollars global career. The book does not predict the dollars demiseit examines the structural conditions that have sustained its dominance and the pressures that are genuinely testing it: rising US debt levels, de-dollarization initiatives among BRICS nations, sanctions-driven currency diversification, and the slow emergence of yuan-denominated trade settlement.This is a history of power expressed through monetary policyhow one nations currency became the worlds default language of commerce, debt, and reserves, and what it would mean, historically and practically, if that were to change. For readers seeking to understand global finance through a serious historical lens, this book offers an essential foundation.

Before armies crossed borders, currencies did. For more than a century, the most decisive battles in world history were fought not on battlefields but in central banks, treasury departments, and trading floors. Currency Wars and Silent Sanctions traces the hidden architecture of economic coercionfrom the gold standard rivalries that fractured European alliances before 1914, to the dollars quiet ascent as the postwar worlds enforcer of last resort.This book examines how nations weaponized money: freezing assets, manipulating exchange rates, and cutting rivals off from the global financial systemall without firing a single shot. Drawing on declassified diplomatic cables, central bank records, and firsthand testimony from policymakers, it reveals how financial sanctions shaped colonial hierarchies, accelerated imperial decline, and rewired the political map of the twentieth century.Accessible yet rigorously sourced, this is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how power truly operates in the modern worldnot through force alone, but through the invisible grip of money.