Author:David Abulafia,Jonathan Keeble
Brought to you by Penguin.
For over three thousand years, the Mediterranean Sea has been one of the great centres of civilization. David Abulafia's The Great Sea is the first complete history of the Mediterranean, from the erection of temples on Malta around 3500 BC to modern tourism. Ranging across time and the whole extraordinary space of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Jaffa, Genoa to Tunis, and bringing to life pilgrims, pirates, sultans and naval commanders, this is the story of the sea that has shaped much of world history.
© Dabid Abulafia 2011 (P) Penguin Audio 2020
He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco’s irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling
—— GuardianFrankl’s is a voice that seems as necessary now as it was in the shadow of the Holocaust
—— GuardianAn unmissable opportunity to understand the man and his work more deeply
—— The Jewish ChronicleThe case studies are relatable and the overall viewpoint convincing. More than 70 years later, Frankl’s philosophy still inspires
—— KirkusThis slim, powerful collection from Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) attests to life’s meaning, even in desperate circumstances. . . . This lovely work transcends its original context, offering wisdom and guidance
—— Publishers WeeklyHistoric walks covering all corners of the city . . . [Cruickshank] tells little known stories including the West Ham churches inscribed with the occult symbols of the Knights Templar, and the features of Tower Bridge that were included to appease Queen Victoria’s temper.
—— LondonistA closer look at our magnificent city, under the eagle eye of Dan Cruickshank.
—— Robert Elms, BBC Radio LondonFeaturing maps and photographs, this new book is the perfect guide to the hidden history of London’s streets.
—— BBC History MagazineFor armchair walkers or history buffs wanting a stroll with a headful of interesting facts to share, it’s an excellent guide.
—— This EnglandThe notion of cultural relativism was as unique in its way as was Einstein’s theory of relativity in the discipline of physics, a shattering of the European mind. This remarkable book explains why. Franz Boas’s intuitions and insights, distilled in theory and practice by generations of scholars, a lineage that includes Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, and Zora Neale Hurston, all brilliantly portrayed in the book, continue to inform contemporary anthropology, allowing the discipline to stand today as the antidote to nativism and the poisonous rhetoric of political demagogues. The entire purpose of anthropology, wrote Ruth Benedict, is to make the world safe for human differences. Never has the voice of anthropology been more important, and the arrival of this astonishing book can only be described as a gift to us all
—— Wade Davis, author of Into the SilenceMasterful. A vital book for our times
—— IBRAM X. KENDI, National Book Award-winning author of How To Be An AntiracistEngaging, deeply thought-provoking and brilliantly written. Charles King takes you on an unforgettable journey as daring anthropologists unravel the profound mysteries of culture and mankind
—— DAVID HOFFMAN, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Dead HandVitally relevant
—— GILLIAN TETT , Financial TimesA motley crew of rebellious young female scientists, inspired by a scar-faced mad-genius professor, boldly set out on intrepid journeys to study strange far-flung worlds, and discover that their own home-world is stranger than they thought. Along the way, they have tempestuous love-affairs, scary adventures, swashbuckling battles against armies of racists, sexists and eugenicists. In the end, they change our moral universe. Sounds like a sci-fi fantasy movie? It happened, here on Earth, nearly a century ago. A fascinating and important story, beautifully told
—— KATE FOX, author of Watching the EnglishAs told very engagingly by Charles King, their research turned upside down the then unshakeable assumption that certain people were innatley superior to others, because of their skin colour, culture and gender
—— Julia Lllewellyn Smith , *****Mail on SundayNothing short of magnificent … in many ways a deeply touching book. Charles King’s prose is immensely readable and perceptive and lends itself perfectly to telling one of the most fascinating tales of twentieth-century science
—— All About HistoryNo one until now has told this story of anthropology’s rise to [its] ‘master key’ status … Charles King’s book … does this with both subtlety and panache … A compelling account of mutliculturalism’s intellectual precursors
—— Peter Mandler , History TodayKing's book tells this many-layered, mostly forgotten story cogently and compellingly ... a gift to the field of anthropology and to us all
—— TLSKing's book tells...[a] many-layered history, mostly forgotten story cogently and compellingly, and his collective method is a wise and welcome departure from the standard genre of a book focused on one towering individual... it also enriches our understanding of his [Boas's] female students, especially Hurston, enabling us to appreciate that she worked to develop innovative, story-driven ways of communicating anthropological insights... In breathing new life Boas's story he [Charles King] has given a gift to the field of anthropology and to us all
—— Times Literary SupplementFranz Boas, whose achievements are set out in Charles King's The Reinvention of Humanity, recast the foundations of American anthropology. Against the prevailing political and intellectual orthodoxy, Boas and his students insisted that the basic unity of humankind was beyond dispute, and that within this unity there was no natural hierarchy of races, languages or cultures... That their ideas were found radical and strange is an indictment of their culture; that King's book seems timely is an indictment of our own
—— Francis Gooding , London Review of BooksFairweather tells this tragic tale in gripping fashion, bringing a new angle to the literature of the Holocaust
—— Publishers WeeklyBrilliantly researched, Jack Fairweather's book is both gripping and powerfully written - a riveting and deeply moving tale of courage in the face of unimaginable horror
—— Henry Hemming, bestselling author of M