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The Crossing: My journey to the shattered heart of Syria
By Samar Yazbek. 2015
'ONE OF THE FIRST POLITICAL CLASSICS OF THE 21st CENTURY'- Observer'EXTRAORDINARILY POWERFUL, POIGNANT AND AFFECTING. I WAS GREATLY MOVED' Michael…
PalinFOREWORD BY CHRISTINA LAMBJournalist Samar Yazbek was forced into exile by Assad's regime. When the uprising in Syria turned to bloodshed, she was determined to take action and secretly returned several times. The Crossing is her rare, powerful and courageous testament to what she found inside the borders of her homeland.From the first peaceful protests for democracy to the arrival of ISIS, she bears witness to those struggling to survive, to the humanity that can flower amidst annihilation, and why so many are now desperate to flee.Citizen Quinn
By Gavin Daly, Ian Kehoe. 2013
Citizen Quinn tells the staggering story of the rise and fall of Ireland's richest man: Sean Quinn. A few years…
ago, Sean Quinn was ranked among the two hundred richest people in the world, with a personal fortune of some $6 billion. Today he is bust, and his businesses have been taken from him. How did it all happen? In Citizen Quinn, Ian Kehoe and Gavin Daly trace the remarkable life of the 'simple farmer's son' who made most of his money through guts and graft long before the excesses of the Celtic Tiger, who brought economic vibrancy to a depressed border region, and who then lost it all through a disastrous move into the insurance business and a multi-billion-euro gamble on the shares of the world's most toxic bank. 'Gripping and well-researched ... paints a picture of a man who is delusional about what has happened and the extent to which he is to blame' Irish Times'For all those intrigued by by a small Cavan farmer's son came to be one of the richest men in the world, and then lost it all, Citizen Quinn is a must-read' Sunday Business Post 'The book chronicles this truly compelling story, and the story of a compelling man' Irish Mail on Sunday 'A gripping story told in language that people without an MBA can follow' Irish Independent'A great read' Sean O'Rourke, RTE Radio OneChronicles of the First Crusade
By Christopher Tyerman. 2004
The story of the First Crusade, as witnessed by contemporary writers'O day so ardently desired! O time of times the…
most memorable! O deed before all other deeds!'The fall of Jerusalem in the summer of 1099 to an exhausted and starving army of western European soldiers was one of the most extraordinary events of the Middle Ages. It was both the climax of a great wave of visionary Christian fervour and the beginning of what proved to be a futile and abortive attempt to implant a new European kingdom of heaven in an overwhelmingly Muslim world. This remarkable collection brings together a wide variety of contemporary accounts of the First Crusade, including Pope Urban II's initial call to arms of 1095, as well as the first-hand writings of priests, knights, a Jewish pilgrim, a destitute noblewoman, an Iraqi poet and the historian Anna Comnena. Together they provide a vivid and nuanced picture of the First Crusade and the people who were swept up in it.Edited with an introduction and notes by Christopher TyermanChina: A History
By Arthur Cotterell. 2008
One of the most far-reaching events since the Second World War is the re-emergence of China as a world power,…
and its present government's willingness to open up the country to the rest of the world.This comprehensive cultural history ranges from prehistoric times to the present - from the disunity of Pre-Imperial China to the renaissance of the Sung and Tang dynasties, from the Mongol conquest to Tiananmen Square and the 1989 student revolt. By placing the modern country in historical perspective this brilliant study reveals how many continuities there are within the oldest of all civilizations.Bushido: The Soul of Japan (Penguin Great Ideas)
By Inazo Nitobe. 2020
'What Japan was she owed to the samurai. They were not only the flower of the nation, but its root…
as well.'Inazo Nitobe's book, the most influential ever written on Bushido, or the samurai Way of the Warrior, argues that the philosophy of Bushido is the true key to understanding 'the soul of Japan'.One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.He was the most celebrated and successful British investor of his generation - but it was all built on a…
lie. Neil Woodford spent years beating the market; betting against the dot com bubble and the banks before the financial crash in 2008, making blockbuster returns for investors and earning himself a reputation of 'the man who made Middle England rich'.But, in 2019, Woodford's asset management company collapsed, trapping hundreds of thousands of rainy-day savers in his flagship fund and hanging £3.6 billion in the balance.In Built on a Lie, Financial Times reporter Owen Walker reveals the disastrous failings of Woodford, the greed at the heart of his operation and the full, jaw-dropping story of Europe's biggest investment scandal in a decade.'Vital financial journalism with heart' Emma Barnett, broadcaster'This is a must read!' Vince Cable, former leader of the Liberal Democrats'Reads like a rip roaring tale of a corporate high wire act' John McDonnell, former Shadow Chancellor'Should be sold with a bottle of blood-pressure pills' Edward Lucas, The TimeBreakfast with Anglo
By Simon Kelly. 2010
Simon Kelly's involvement in property development began when, as a computer-mad child in the 1980s, he started making spreadsheets for…
his father, the developer Paddy Kelly. By 2008, when the Irish property market crashed, Simon and Paddy owed their creditors nearly a billion euro. In 2009, they were the first big developers to admit they were bust - and they encouraged their fellow developers to face reality in the same way. In 2010, in the pages of a national newspaper, Simon Kelly apologized for his part in the long-term damage created by the property bubble.Until now, the story of Ireland's property boom and bust has been told only by people on the outside. The bankers and the developers have kept quiet. Now, Simon Kelly breaks the silence with this vivid and unsparing account of how it all worked and why it went sour. He brings us to the muddy fields, humble cafés and grand dining rooms where the deals were made; he explains how it was that debt always begat more debt; and he takes us through the hitherto opaque portals of Anglo Irish Bank, the Kellys' main lender. In an account packed with telling and indiscreet detail, Simon Kelly makes no excuses for ending up bust. He simply shows how it happened - to him, to other developers, to the banks, and to the country. In doing so, he courageously breaks ranks with the insiders who created this disaster, and who would prefer to blame 'international forces', bad luck, or one another. Breakfast with Anglo is a landmark in our national accounting of the present crisis, an essential read for anyone who wants to know how we got into this mess and how we might begin to think about getting out of it.Bread: The Story of Greggs
By Ian Gregg. 2013
When Ian Gregg was just a boy he joined his father at work selling pies from his van to miners’…
wives around Newcastle. Now retired, he can look back on a business that began as a husband-and-wife team in the 1930s, and survived a world war and two major recessions to become our favourite bakery, beloved by everyone from children to office workers to soldiers overseas.Ian Gregg led the family firm as it grew, employing generations of families from around Newcastle and then becoming a public company with bakeries in Scotland and across the North, and now with shops on every high street. This is a story of extraordinary success, but it is also a triumphant tale of how doing right by your people makes for great business. Bucking every trend, Greggs have always put their customers, employees and local communities before quick profits for directors and shareholders. Their astounding record of charitable works includes hardship grants, an environment fund, sponsorship of the North East Children’s Cancer run and over £1 million raised annually for Children in Need.Ian Gregg will donate all of his royalties and Greggs plc will donate all its profits from the sale of this book to the Greggs Foundation to help fund more Breakfast Clubs for children.Persians: The Age of The Great Kings
By Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. 2022
THE PERSIANS is a definitive new history of the Persian Empire, the world's first superpower.The Great Kings of Persia ruled…
over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was the fabled palace-city of Persepolis where the Achaemenid monarchs held court in unparalleled grandeur. From here, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs passed laws, raised armies, and governed their multicultural Empire of enormous diversity.The Achaemenids, however, were one of the great dysfunctional families of history. Brothers fought brothers for power, wives and concubines plotted to promote their sons to the throne, and eunuchs and courtiers vied for influence and prestige.Our understanding of the Persian Empire has traditionally come from the histories of Greek writers such as Herodotus - and as such, over many centuries, our perspective has been skewed by ancient political and cultural agendas. Professor Llewellyn-Jones, however, calls upon original Achaemenid sources, including inscriptions, art, and recent archaeological discoveries in Iran, to create an authentic 'Persian Version' of this remarkable first great empire of antiquity - the Age of the Great Kings.This book provides a novel theoretical framework to understand EU-China diplomatic relations.The existing scholarly literature on EU-China relations is characterised…
by a dichotomous distinction between material and ideational factors and overemphasises the ‘interest versus value’ motif undergirding EU-China relations. The diplomacy and future direction of the relationship seem as opaque as their extent remains incalculably complex. This book takes us beyond binary motives by introducing a novel theoretical model of diplomatic relationship-building that brings to the fore the more nuanced and latent factors to make sense of EU-China diplomatic relationship-building; the new theory captures the ‘relational’ nature of diplomatic relationship-building by integrating the social layer of ‘intentions’ in understanding international diplomacy. This study further sheds light on the opportunities and challenges in enhancing EU-China relations, through a comparative in-depth investigation of the processes, practices and politics of EU-China climate change and agricultural-trade relations over the past two decades. The book draws on a rich collection of original data, encompassing over 100 interviews with stakeholders of EU-China relations conducted from 2015–2023; strengthened by participant observation at EU and Chinese institutional headquarters and in diplomatic fora that has taken place over the past ten years. Enriching these data are newly disclosed official minutes and documentation regarding EU-China negotiations and cooperation.This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy studies, Chinese politics, EU politics and international relations in general.Warfare Ethics in Comparative Perspective: China and the West (War, Conflict and Ethics)
By Sumner B. Twiss, Ping-Cheung, Benedict S. B. Chan. 2024
This volume explores East Asian intellectual traditions and their influence on contemporary discussions of the ethics of war and peace.Through…
cross-cultural comparison and dialogue between East and West, this work charts a new trajectory in the development of applied ethics. A sequel to the volume Chinese Just War Ethics, it expands the range of the earlier work and includes attention to Japan and other Eastern and Western traditions for contrastive reflection and engages with the full range of Chinese intellectual traditions for comparative analysis. The book scrutinizes pioneering works such as the Mengzi, the Han Feizi, and the Seven Military Classics, investigating their influence in subsequent times. It also engages with new texts and thinkers such as the Four Books of the Yellow Emperor, Zeng Guofan, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Zedong, along with examining recent writings of the scholars of the People’s Liberation Army. The final section of the book identifies and discusses some emerging issues in the comparative study of military ethics, just war and peace that derive from the preceding sections. The volume editors then offer some concluding remarks at the end of the book.This book will be of much interest to students of the ethics of war and peace, just war theory, military ethics, Asian studies and International Relations in general.Aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories…
from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research.The Reconstruction of Chinese Sociology: An Oral History of 40 Sociologists (1979–2019)
By Zhou Xiaohong. 2023
Tracing the evolution of Chinese Sociology from the late 1970s to the present day, the book aims to record the…
path of reconstruction, localization, change, and reform of Chinese Sociology through interviews with 40 Chinese top sociologists such as Su Guoxun, Zhou Xiaohong, Bian Yanjie, Zhao Dingxin, Zhou Xueguang et al. Divided into three sections, this insightful book is the best proof of the rapid development and overall improvement of the discipline since the reform and opening-up in China. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the restoration and reconstruction of Chinese Sociology, this book is expected to inspire the younger generation of sociology researchers and deepen public’s understanding of sociology.The Real Warren Buffett: Managing Capital, Leading People
By James O'Loughlin. 2004
The Real Warren Buffett unveils the secret of how Warren Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway to staggering success. Zeroing in on…
his original management style and leadership approach, author James O'Loughlin exposes the powerful and practical lessons of Buffett, demonstrating how he became the second richest man in America.Banking On It: How I Disrupted an Industry
By Anne Boden. 2020
ONE WOMAN'S QUEST TO REBUILD BRITAIN'S BROKEN BANKING SYSTEM'If there was ever a business book suitable for TV adaptation, this…
is it' FTIn the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, the British banking industry had come to a standstill. Trust in the sector had been left in tatters and, despite the emergence of technologies which could revolutionise the customer experience, nobody wanted to upset the status quo.That was until Anne Boden decided to do something radical and start her own bank.Founder of Starling Bank, winner of Best British Bank three years running, in this awe-inspiring story Anne reveals how she broke through bureaucracy, successfully tackled prejudice to realise her vision for the future of consumer banking and revolutionised the entire industry forever.***ONE OF THE TIMES TOP 5 BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2020***'A banking blockbuster' The Observer Magazine'Sent shockwaves through the tight-knit world of UK tech and venture capital' Yahoo FinanceThe Art of Peace
By Sir David Khalili. 2023
In 1967, Sir David Khalili finished his military service in Iran and travelled to study in the United States with…
$750 - his remaining royalties from a book he wrote when he was just 14. Over the course of the next five decades he single-handedly, piece by piece, assembled eight of the finest art collections in their field, ultimately becoming one of the world's greatest collectors, about whom Queen Elizabeth II once said: 'It is scary how much this gentleman knows about art.'For the first time, Sir David shares his extraordinary journey: one that has taken him through the souks of North Africa, the auction houses of Europe and the United States, the bazaars of South Asia, and far beyond. Through a riveting collection of real-life adventures, he reveals his collecting strategy, business ethics and what motivates him to continuously collect, conserve, research, publish and exhibit the treasures in his collections. Through his story, Sir David questions how the undeniable power of art can be harnessed to foster greater peace and unity worldwide. No one is better placed to enlighten us.The Apocryphal Gospels
By Simon Gathercole. 2021
A new translation of the oldest non-canonical Christian gospels In the early years of Christianity, several groups produced 'hidden' or…
'apocryphal' gospels, alternative versions of the story of Christ. Sometimes these texts complemented the four canonical gospels of the New Testament, sometimes they subverted them and often they were completely different. Here, in the widest selection of non-canonical gospels gathered in one volume - which also includes two modern forgeries - we see the young Jesus making live birds from clay, hear his secret words of wisdom, discover gnostic cosmologies and witness the Harrowing of Hell. Preserved by their readers and attacked by their detractors, these gospels shine a fascinating light on the early Christian Church.Translated with an Introduction by Simon GathercoleAnother Bangkok: Reflections on the City
By Alex Kerr. 2021
From the author of Another Kyoto and Lost Japan, a rich, personal exploration of the culture and history of Bangkok,…
and an essential guide for anyone visiting the cityAlex Kerr has spent over thirty years of his life living in Bangkok. As with his bestselling books on Japan, this evocative personal meditation explores the city's secret corners. Here is the huge, traffic-choked metropolis of concrete high-rises, slums and sky trains; but also a place of peace and grace. Looking afresh at everything from ceramics to Thai dance, flower patterns to old houses, Kerr reveals one of Asia's most kaleidoscopically complex cities. Another Bangkok will delight both those who think they know the city well and those visiting for the first time.Afghanistan: Agony of a Nation
By Sandy Gall. 1988
This book is an account of Sandy Gall's last trip to Afghanistan in 1986 to report the war. It tells…
of his journey, with all its hardships and dangers, as well as explaining the background to the war including some dramatic pictures of the fighting. Sandy Gall chose to revisit the man he regards as the outstanding commander in Afghanistan, Ahmed Shah Masud, who is trying to organize resistance to the Russians on a regional and eventually national scale. The author views the war as Russia's Vietnam and believes it merits much wider attention. He believes it has been largely neglected because of the difficulties of the terrain and the length of time it takes to get to the remoter areas. For his work in Afghanistan, Sandy Gall - a Reuter correspondent for ten years and ITN "trouble shooter" since 1963 - was awarded the Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal in 1987.In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story
By Ghada Karmi. 2024
"One of the finest, most eloquent and painfully honest memoirs of the Palestinian exile and displacement."–New StatesmanAn intimate memoir of…
the 1948 Nakba, exile and the dispossession of Palestinian landsIn Search of Fatima reflects the author&’s personal experiences of displacement and loss against a backdrop of the major political events which have shaped conflict in the Middle East. Kharmi was born in Jerusalem but her family were forced out in 1948, following the Nakba, when Palestinians were dispossessed of their lands at the hands of the Israeli state.In this moving account of exile, she charts her family's displacement to Jordan, and finally to Golders Green, London, where she initially refused to lay down roots in alien soil. Through this journey, Kharmi charts the personal account of a young woman's search for identity: as a Palestinian far away from home.Speaking for the millions of displaced people worldwide who have lived suspended between their old and new countries, fitting into neither, this is a nuanced exploration of psychological displacement and loss of identity.