A masterful history of how war and insecurity, both real and perceived, have driven Russia's destiny for centuries, including the disastrous invasion of Ukraine. Putin retains his stranglehold on his position in Russia despite an almost ruinous invasion of Ukraine. The answer as to how and why can be found in Russian history. With no naturally defensible borders, and environmental factors constraining its economy, Russia has been pitched against the pre-eminent military powers of the age across the centuries, and often at a technological disadvantage. To respond to these challenges, it has had to sit heavily on the backs of its people, and so war - and the need to be able to fight it - has shaped its evolution, from tsars to commissars and presidents. The national identity has been forged in the furnace of war. From the medieval kingdom of Rus battling against a Scandinavian princes and Mongol emperors, to its own empire-building conflicts in 19th-century Asia, to the formative wars of the 20th century which saw Russia pitch from Tsarist empire to communist state and defender against Nazism, all these conflicts stained the lands of Russia red with blood. A weak post-Cold War Russia then turned to Putin, who created a new mood for martial triumphalism which led directly to the Ukrainian war. Packed with contemporary accounts, Forged in War strips away the myth to give an insider's view on Russia's past and present.

Bloomsbury presents The Silk Roads written and read by Peter Frankopan. Spellbinding ... a pitch-perfect treasure' LoveReading4Kids Set your sails east with this stunningly original new history of the world. Peter Frankopan, number one bestselling author and historian, explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science and technology in this extraordinary book about how the east married the west with a remarkable voyage at its heart – the journey along the Silk Roads. From ancient world laws laid down by King Hammurabi and the mighty Persian empire, to terrifying huns, the rise of Europe, two world wars and politics today, The Silk Roads children's edition moves through time and history sewing together the threads from different peoples, empires and continents into a phenomenal history of the globe. With stories from each and every corner of society, Frankopan's magnificent brand new text based on his literary triumph The Silk Roads is a must-have world history. 'An extraordinarily vivid book on an often-neglected corner of history' Inis Reading Guide 'Not just children, but people of any age will find this book an absorbing read' New York Journal of Books 'Peter Frankopan's text is pitched at exactly the right level for children to read and for adults to share with them' Armadillo magazine 'This is an ambitious account that nevertheless tackles big themes in a friendly, accessible way' History Revealed magazine

Die Transformationen der Zarenmacht in der ‚Zeit der Wirren‘ bieten ein reiches Projektionsfeld für den interdisziplinären Diskurs über Grundaspekte autokratischer Herrschaft. Ausgehend vom moskowitischen Beispiel setzt sich dieser Band mit historischen Analogien in Japan, Kaschmir, Kastilien, dem Karolingerreich und Byzanz auseinander. Grenz- und epochenübergreifend werden einige spannungsreiche Forschungsschwerpunkte in Bezug auf die Vormoderne behandelt, darunter die praktische Umsetzung autokratischer Herrschaftsmodelle in verschiedenen Kulturen, Formen der weiblichen Teilhabe an der Macht, die Rolle von Herrschaftseliten in politischen Umbruchphasen sowie die Bedeutung religiöser Ideen für dynastische Herrschaftslegitimationen. Interdisziplinär reflektiert werden die Ideen über das dritte Rom, die Schicksale ‚falscher Zaren‘ oder der ersten gekrönten russischen Zarin Marina Mniszech. Starting with the Muscovite example, the book deals with the phenomena of ‘Macht’ and ‘Herrschaft’ in a period of crisis, using historical analogies in Japan, Kashmir, Castile, Carolingian Empire and Constantinople. Across borders and epochs, such key aspects of research are dealt with concerning the pre-modern age, as the practical implementation of autocratic models of rule in different cultures, forms of female participation in power, the influence of ruling elites in phases of political upheaval, and the significance of religious ideas for the legitimation of political and dynastic power. Thus, the idea of the Third Rome, the fates of ‘false tsars’ or the first crowned Russian tsarina Marina Mniszech get an interdisciplinary reflection.

Here is the second novel in the blockbuster new trilogy that reveals the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars(r) movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler and thief. Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies...a battle where even victory means death!

Bloomsbury presents Carême, written and read by Ian Kelly. NOW A MAJOR APPLE+ TV SERIES 'Magnificent' ANTHONY BOURDAIN 'Irresistible' HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL 'A classic' DAMIAN BARR From historian and screenwriter, Ian Kelly, comes the legendary story of Carême, the original celebrity chef. Recounting the fairy-tale-like rise of Antonin Carême from Parisian orphan to a household name synonymous with culinary luxury, Carême offers a unique conflation of historical biography, social history and cookery guide. Kelly lifts the veil on one of the most momentous and sensuous periods in European history: First Empire Paris, Georgian England and the tsarist Russia of War and Peace, depicting Carême's entanglements with the social and political elite of his age, from King George IV to Napoleon, the Romanovs to the Rothschilds. Alongside this story of Carême, the trail-blazing celebrity chef, culinary artist and revolutionary food writer, Ian Kelly brings to life the recipes themselves. As Carême wrote, 'You should try this yourself, at home'.

In a Man's World, She Became a Legend Mary Read never fit the mold. Raised as a boy to inherit her family's farm, she craved adventure on the open seas. Disguised as a man, she enlisted in the army, fought bloody battles, and fell in love with a fellow soldier. But fate had a crueler twist in store. Betrayal, loss, and the lure of freedom propel Mary onto the decks of pirate ships. From the gunpowder-scorched battlefields of Europe to the shark-infested waters of the Caribbean, Mary Read carves her own path. She faces legendary pirates, storms that tear ships apart, and the ever-present threat of capture and a hangman's noose. But Mary Read isn't alone. When she meets the fiery Anne Bonny, their friendship ignites a legend. Together, they defy expectations, becoming the most feared female pirates of the Golden Age. "Forget buried treasure and rum-soaked brawls. This is the untold story of a woman who defied empires and carved her name in legend." - Penny Nicolson, Historian

Here is the explosive conclusion of the blockbuster trilogy that chronicles the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars(r) movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief. The Millennium Falcon is "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy." So when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc, he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers--uncatchable, unstoppable. But with the Empire clamping down, Han knows his luck can't last. Still, when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune, Han can't resist. The plan seems a sure thing. The resistance will be light and the take enormous. Han and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels. Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover, that the Rebels have an agenda of their own, and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies...quicker than lightspeed.

Here is the explosive conclusion of the blockbuster trilogy that chronicles the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars(r) movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief. The Millennium Falcon is "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy." So when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc, he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers--uncatchable, unstoppable. But with the Empire clamping down, Han knows his luck can't last. Still, when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune, Han can't resist. The plan seems a sure thing. The resistance will be light and the take enormous. Han and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels. Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover, that the Rebels have an agenda of their own, and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies...quicker than lightspeed.

Timeless wisdom about how to be healthy in body and mind from one of the greatest physicians of the ancient world The second-century Greek physician Galen—the most famous doctor in antiquity after Hippocrates—is a central figure in Western medicine. A talented doctor, surgeon, writer, philosopher, teacher, pharmacologist, and inventor, Galen attended the court of Marcus Aurelius, living through outbreaks of plague (likely smallpox) that devastated the Roman Empire. He also served as physician for professional gladiators, boasting that only two fighters died during his first year (his predecessor had lost sixteen). In writings that provided the foundation of Western medicine up to the nineteenth century, Galen created a unified account of health and disease. In How to Be Healthy, practicing physician and classical historian Katherine Van Schaik presents a collection of Galen’s enduring insights about how we can take care of our bodies and minds, prevent disease, and reach a healthy old age. Although we now know that many of Galen’s ideas about physiology are wrong, How to Be Healthy shows that much of his advice remains sound. In these selections from his writings, presented in fresh translations, Galen discusses the art of medicine, exercise and diet, the mind-body connection, the difficulty of applying general medical principles to individuals, and much more. Featuring an introduction, brief commentaries that connect ancient medical practices to modern ones, and the original Greek on facing pages, How to Be Healthy offers an entertaining and enlightening new perspective on the age-old pursuit of wellness, from the importance of “the exercise with a small ball” to the benefits of “avoiding distress.”

Life Aboard a British Privateer in the Time of Queen Anne offers a vivid account of maritime warfare, commerce, and endurance during the War of the Spanish Succession. Drawing on the plain-spoken precision of the early eighteenth-century voyage narrative, the book combines logbook detail with moments of dramatic immediacy: storms, prize-taking, discipline, disease, and the fragile economy of survival at sea. Its literary context belongs to the age of Defoe and Dampier, when factual travel writing helped shape the English prose of adventure and empire. Woodes Rogers was not merely an observer but a participant in the world he describes. A Bristol mariner and privateer, he commanded the Duke and Duchess on a circumnavigation that famously rescued Alexander Selkirk, later associated with Robinson Crusoe. His practical experience, commercial ambitions, and exposure to imperial conflict inform the book's attention to command, profit, risk, and Providence. This is a rewarding volume for readers interested in naval history, early modern travel writing, or the realities behind romantic images of privateering. It illuminates the hard structures of life at sea while preserving the excitement of an expanding world.

Life Aboard a British Privateer in the Time of Queen Anne offers a vivid account of maritime warfare, commerce, and endurance during the War of the Spanish Succession. Drawing on the plain-spoken precision of the early eighteenth-century voyage narrative, the book combines logbook detail with moments of dramatic immediacy: storms, prize-taking, discipline, disease, and the fragile economy of survival at sea. Its literary context belongs to the age of Defoe and Dampier, when factual travel writing helped shape the English prose of adventure and empire. Woodes Rogers was not merely an observer but a participant in the world he describes. A Bristol mariner and privateer, he commanded the Duke and Duchess on a circumnavigation that famously rescued Alexander Selkirk, later associated with Robinson Crusoe. His practical experience, commercial ambitions, and exposure to imperial conflict inform the book's attention to command, profit, risk, and Providence. This is a rewarding volume for readers interested in naval history, early modern travel writing, or the realities behind romantic images of privateering. It illuminates the hard structures of life at sea while preserving the excitement of an expanding world.

Ein elitäres Wiener Internat, untergebracht in der ehemaligen Sommerresidenz der Habsburger, der Klassenlehrer ein antiquierter und despotischer Mann. Was lässt sich hier fürs Leben lernen? Till Kokorda kann weder mit dem Kanon noch mit dem snobistischen Umfeld viel anfangen. Seine Leidenschaft sind Computerspiele, konkret: das Echtzeit-Strategiespiel Age of Empires 2. Ohne dass jemand aus seiner Umgebung davon wüsste, ist er mit fünfzehn eine Online-Berühmtheit, der jüngste Top-10-Spieler der Welt. Nur: Wie real ist so ein Glück? Tonio Schachinger erzählt von einer Jugend zwischen Gaming und Klassikerlektüre, von Freiheitslust, die sich bewähren muss gegen flammende Traditionalisten - und von dem unkalkulierbaren Rest, der nicht nur die Abschlussklasse 2020 vor ungesehene Herausforderungen stellt. Dabei sind die Wendungen so überraschend, sein Humor so uneitel und nahbar: Echtzeitalter ist Beispiel und Beweis für die zeitlose Kraft einer guten Geschichte. Und ein großer Gesellschaftsroman.

Der preisgekrönte Macher von "Age of Empires", Brian Sullivan, hat die epische Geschichte von "Titan Quest" um die dunkle und unwirkliche Unterwelt des Hades erweitert. Direkt nach Ihrem Sieg auf dem Olymp geraten Sie wieder in neue Probleme, doch befinden Sie sich dieses Mal unter der Erde. Bekämpfen Sie völlig neue Gegner in dem äußerst detailreichen unterirdischen Reich der dunklen Intrigen und trotzen Sie den todbringenden Gefahren. Vom Ufer des Flusses Styx bis zu den Feldern von Elysion erwarten Sie zahlreiche Feinde und Verbündete... Stoßen Sie das Tor zum Hades auf! Titan Quest: Immortal Throne ist die erste Erweiterung zum erfolgreichen Action-Adventure Titan Quest! Setzen Sie Ihre Reise durch die Welt von Titan Quest fort und stoßen Sie das Tor zum Totenreich der Antike auf - dem Hades! Dort erwarten Sie eine vollständig neue Unterwelt, gefährliche neue Monster und unvorstellbare Reichtümer. Titan Quest: Immortal Throne bietet zudem acht neue Charakterklassen, eine komplett neue Meisterschaft und zahlreiche neue Feat

The gripping history of electricity and how the fateful collision of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse left the world utterly transformed. In the final decades of the nineteenth century, three brilliant and visionary titans of America’s Gilded Age—Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse—battled bitterly as each vied to create a vast and powerful electrical empire. In Empires of Light, historian Jill Jonnes portrays this extraordinary trio and their riveting and ruthless world of cutting-edge science, invention, intrigue, money, death, and hard-eyed Wall Street millionaires. At the heart of the story are Thomas Alva Edison, the nation’s most famous and folksy inventor, creator of the incandescent light bulb and mastermind of the world’s first direct current electrical light networks; the Serbian wizard of invention Nikola Tesla, elegant, highly eccentric, a dreamer who revolutionized the generation and delivery of electricity; and the charismatic George Westinghouse, Pittsburgh inventor and tough corporate entrepreneur, an industrial idealist who in the era of gaslight imagined a world powered by cheap and plentiful electricity and worked heart and soul to create it. Edison struggled to introduce his radical new direct current (DC) technology into the hurly-burly of New York City as Tesla and Westinghouse challenged his dominance with their alternating current (AC), thus setting the stage for one of the eeriest feuds in American corporate history, the War of the Electric Currents. The battlegrounds: Wall Street, the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Niagara Falls, and, finally, the death chamber—Jonnes takes us on the tense walk down a prison hallway and into the sunlit room where William Kemmler, convicted ax murderer, became the first man to die in the electric chair.

The gripping history of electricity and how the fateful collision of Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse left the world utterly transformed. In the final decades of the nineteenth century, three brilliant and visionary titans of America’s Gilded Age—Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse—battled bitterly as each vied to create a vast and powerful electrical empire. In Empires of Light, historian Jill Jonnes portrays this extraordinary trio and their riveting and ruthless world of cutting-edge science, invention, intrigue, money, death, and hard-eyed Wall Street millionaires. At the heart of the story are Thomas Alva Edison, the nation’s most famous and folksy inventor, creator of the incandescent light bulb and mastermind of the world’s first direct current electrical light networks; the Serbian wizard of invention Nikola Tesla, elegant, highly eccentric, a dreamer who revolutionized the generation and delivery of electricity; and the charismatic George Westinghouse, Pittsburgh inventor and tough corporate entrepreneur, an industrial idealist who in the era of gaslight imagined a world powered by cheap and plentiful electricity and worked heart and soul to create it. Edison struggled to introduce his radical new direct current (DC) technology into the hurly-burly of New York City as Tesla and Westinghouse challenged his dominance with their alternating current (AC), thus setting the stage for one of the eeriest feuds in American corporate history, the War of the Electric Currents. The battlegrounds: Wall Street, the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Niagara Falls, and, finally, the death chamber—Jonnes takes us on the tense walk down a prison hallway and into the sunlit room where William Kemmler, convicted ax murderer, became the first man to die in the electric chair.

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! The steampunk danmei/Boys’ Love series set in a world like historical China that inspired multimedia adaptations–officially in English for the first time! Don’t miss this tale by the blockbuster author behind live-action hits Guardian (original novels also published by Seven Seas) and Word of Honor! The discovery of violet gold, a vital fuel for steam-powered machines, propelled the empire of Great Liang into an age of prosperity. But for Chang Geng, a young man raised on the impoverished northern border, the concerns of the empire are as distant as the stars above. When raiders from the north attack Chang Geng’s small village, he discovers that the life he knows is a lie. His mother, his teacher, and even his godfather whom he trusted more than any other, Shen Shiliu, are not what they seem. As enemy nations close in, Chang Geng follows his godfather to the heart of the imperial capital, where a greater fate lies in store for him. This steampunk series set in a world like historical China, built around the desire between two men (danmei), was penned by blockbuster author priest, whose works have been translated into many languages and inspired global multimedia franchises, including the live-action dramas Guardian and Word of Honor. The Seven Seas English-language edition will include exclusive, all-new covers and new interior illustrations.

Here is the second novel in the blockbuster new trilogy that reveals the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars(r) movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler and thief. Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies...a battle where even victory means death!

**'LIKE GAME OF THRONES IN AN INDIAN UNIVERSE' DAN JONES** As the Sun sets on the age of virtue, the shadows gather for a final dance. The Mathuran Republic and Magadhan Empire are locked in mortal struggle, but they are not the only pieces on the board. Over the Eastern horizon, storm clouds gather. The Rakshasan Tree Cities have opened their borders for the first time in centuries, gathering kings, clerics, matriarchs and merchant lords to a Conclave of Peace... all the better to carve up the future without having to worry about either Empire or Republic. After all, a season of peace is the time to plant anew the seeds of war. But in this world drenched in oil, three women emerge, each the spark that might light the fire. A Pirate Queen discovers the only gold around is in the bars of her cage. A Temple Courtesan's heart dances for the lowborn archer she was tasked to destroy. A Librarian Princess steals from deathless witches and legendary thieves to save the world from an ancient plague. As smouldering conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals unwind and ancient evils awake, our cast of spoilt heroes and lovesick princes, immortal assassins and their apprentices, deaf swordswomen and exiled snakelings will find no sun to light their path. For the Son of Darkness rises, boiling over with a wrath that all the oracles in the world cannot appease. Seeing the future is one thing, changing it is quite another. Unless it is through a heist.

A living key to Ottoman Turkish. A practical manual for diplomats. Charles Boyd, Major, assembled The Turkish Interpreter as a turkish language grammar guide and an ottoman turkish textbook for use by officers, translators and students. Framed in the cadences of the Victorian age, its pages set out turkish grammar instruction with calm precision: a comparative grammar collection that highlights structural points, clarifies morphology and observes register where the language met administration and correspondence. Intended as a working instrument rather than an ornament, it works equally well as a historical language reference and as a self-study language resource for anyone exploring language learning 19th century practice. Readers interested in diplomatic language studies will recognise the pragmatic orientation; scholars and linguists will value the book for the glimpse it offers into nineteenth-century usage and the pedagogic assumptions of Victorian era language scholarship. Clear headings, orderly explanation and an emphasis on use make it approachable for casual readers, while its authenticity and era-specific outlook reward specialist enquiry into ottoman empire studies and comparative philology. Valued today as both a classic language manual and an object of cultural history, Boyd's interpreter illuminates how grammar underpinned communication, negotiation and translation in ottoman empire studies and in the wider sphere of nineteenth-century foreign affairs. Presented as a classic language manual, this edition suits both active study and reference on a scholar's shelf. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Casual readers will appreciate the direct, serviceable tone and the vivid historical context; classic-literature collectors and institutional libraries will prize this edition as a readable, authoritative companion to any shelf concerned with the language, policy and practice of the Victorian age.

'MESMERIC, TERRIFYING AND WONDERFUL' M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With All the Gifts 'I was cursed in Natal, in 1884. Cursed by truth and by blood. The shadow took to me, and we have been together since.' From the bestselling and award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K comes a powerful new novel about a young man haunted by a ghost from his past, and by the dark crimes committed in the name of the British empire. ' North's talent shines out' Sunday Times 'An irresistible haunting thrill' Joe Hill author of Horns and Locke and Key ' Remarkable . . . One of the most moving , horrifying and gut-wrenching novels of the year' NPR 'A suspenseful tale of the truths that lie hidden in the human heart' Kirkus 'North goes from strength to strength' Guardian 'North's most ambitious novel to date' Locus 'A master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination' Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls Novels by Claire North: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Touch The Sudden Appearance of Hope The End of the Day 84K The Gameshouse The Pursuit of William Abbey Notes from the Burning Age Ithaca