Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  The Big Change - America...

  Frederick Lewis Allen

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  During the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the United States saw two world wars, a devastating economic depression, and more social, political, and economic changes than in any other five-decade period before. Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper's Magazine, recounts these years—spanning World War I, the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, World War II, and the early Cold War—in vivid detail, from the fashions and customs of the times to major events that changed the course of history. 
   
   
    
  Politically, the United States grew into its own as a global superpower during these years, even as domestic developments altered the everyday lives of its citizens. The introduction of the automobile, mass production, and organized labor changed the way Americans lived and worked, while innovations like penicillin and government regulation of food safety contributed to an increase in average life expectancy from forty-nine years in 1900 to sixty-eight years in 1950. With the development of a strong, centralized government, a thriving middle class, and widespread economic prosperity, the nation emerged from the Second World War transformed in virtually every way. 
   
   
    
  Richly informative, The Big Change is an indispensable volume charting the many changes that ushered in our contemporary age.

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  Military Gazette Box Set - A...

  Mr Punch

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  A fascinating foray into British military history in two volumes, told entirely in the words of those who were there, as we join the men and women who took part. 
    
  The ARMY Gazette 
  From the Roman invasion of Britain to the retreat from Dunkirk, from the horrors of Culloden to the courage of Rourke’s Drift, we hear first-hand the stories behind the triumphs and tragedies that make up the history of the British Army.  
    
  The NAVY Gazette 
  Experience the reality of life in the British Navy as we sail from the Viking invasion of Anglo Saxon England to a young sailor’s grief at the death of Lord Nelson, from the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Jutland and from organised press gangs to murderous mutinies.  
    
  Performed by an outstanding company of award-winning actors including Dame Eileen Atkins, Cheryl Campbell, Nigel Davenport, Alex Jennings, Richard Johnson OBE, Hugh Laurie CBE, Michael Maloney, Geoffrey Palmer OBE, Michael Pennington, Prunella Scales CBE, Samuel West, John Wood CBE & full supporting cast. 
      
  Also available as part of The Gazettes Box Set, a six-volume edition (Military, Sport & Travel) creating a vivid portrait of British life through the centuries. 
    
  It is a highly enjoyable collection. Some pieces are just dazzling. Independent on Sunday 
    
  An extraordinary series... deserves a medal. The readers are all excellent and many of them distinguished. The Spectator 
    
  From the same stable that produced The Chronicle, my favourite audio this year, I've just listened equally spellbound to a compilation of travellers' tales at home. The Guardian 
    
  ©2022 Mr Punch Audiobooks Ltd. (P)2022 Mr Punch Audiobooks Ltd

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  The French Art of Living Well -...

  Cathy Yandell

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  Cathy Yandell's The French Art of Living Well is a delightful look at French culture, from literature to cuisine to humor and more, showing how the French have captured that magic elixir known as joie de vivre. 
   
   
   
  What is joie de vivre, and why is it a fundamentally French concept? 
   
   
   
  In search of those ineffable qualities that make up the joy of living, this lively book takes listeners on a voyage to France through forays into literature, history, and culture. How does art contribute to daily life? Why is cuisine such a central part of French existence? Why are the French more physical than many other cultures? How do French attitudes toward time speak volumes about their sense of pleasure and celebration? And finally, to what extent is this zest for life exportable? These and other questions give way to a dynamic sketch of French life today. 
   
   
   
  Peppered with anecdotes and humor, this book uncovers some of the secrets of the celebrated French art of living well. Drawing from her years of living in France as a student, professor, and mother, Yandell crafts an honest and profound appraisal of French culture and how la joie de vivre can be developed in anyone's life.

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  English Armada The: The History...

  Editors Charles River

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  On July 12, 1588, the legendary Spanish Armada headed for the English Channel. The Spanish plan was to take this invasion, led by the Duke of Parma, to the coast of southeast England, where they would be unleashed to conquer Elizabethan England for Spain’s King Philip II and Catholic Christendom. The Armada included over 150 ships, 8,000 sailors, and 18,000 soldiers, and it boasted a firepower of 1,500 brass guns and 1,000 iron guns. Just leaving port itself took the entire Armada two days.  
  	As everyone who has been taught history now knows, the Armada was one of the most famous military debacles in history. Regardless of the debate over whether it was simple mathematical miscalculation or plain bad luck, coupled with English fire ships assailing the Spanish ships, the Armada was decisively defeated. The Armada ultimately found its reluctant way home in awful conditions, having permanently lost over a third of the ships, and on the Irish coast, the Armada suffered further losses.  
  	For the Counter Armada, Elizabeth turned to the most notorious English sailor of the era. The life of Sir Francis Drake, or, more precisely the tale of it, is a prime example that history is written by the winners. Drake’s successes against the Spanish as a captain and a privateer were legendary, and Drake was celebrated for fighting the queen’s enemies, sinking their ships and capturing the treasure that would otherwise be used to finance attacks on England. Drake vigorously pursued every mission given to him by Elizabeth I, and he brought all his skill, experience, and training to bear against her enemies. He was recognized at court for his valor, praised in story and song, and remembered for the kind of personality and esprit de corps that the English have long desired and celebrated in their military heroes. They were to patrol the shores of England and Spain and destroy any remaining Spanish ships.

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  The Political Development of...

  Emily Zackin, Chloe N. Thurston

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  A political history of the rise and fall of American debt relief. 
  Americans have a long history with debt. They also have a long history of mobilizing for debt relief. Throughout the nineteenth century, indebted citizens demanded government protection from their financial burdens, challenging readings of the Constitution that exalted property rights at the expense of the vulnerable. Their appeals shaped the country’s periodic experiments with state debt relief and federal bankruptcy law, constituting a pre-industrial safety net. Yet, the twentieth century saw the erosion of debtor politics and the eventual retrenchment of bankruptcy protections. 
  The Political Development of American Debt Relief traces how geographic, sectoral, and racial politics shaped debtor activism over time, enhancing our understanding of state-building, constitutionalism, and social policy.

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  How to Steal a City - The Battle...

  Crispian Olver

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  How to Steal a City is the gripping insider account of this intervention, which lays bare how Nelson Mandela Bay metro was bled dry by criminal syndicates, and how factional politics within the ruling party abetted that corruption.  
  As a former senior state official and local government ‘fixer’, Crispian Olver was no stranger to dodgy politicians and broken organisations. Yet what he found in Nelson Mandela Bay went far beyond rigged contracts, blatant conflicts of interest and garden-variety kickbacks. The city’s administration had evolved into a sophisticated web of front companies, criminal syndicates and compromised local politicians and officials. The metro was effectively controlled by a criminal network closely allied to a dominant local ANC faction. What Olver found was complete state capture – a microcosm of what has taken place in national government. 
  Olver and his team initiated a clean-up of the administration, clearing out corrupt officials and rebuilding public trust. Then came the ANC’s doomed campaign for the August 2016 local government elections. Having lost its way in factional battles and corruption, the divided party went down to a humiliating defeat in its traditional heartland.  
  Olver paid a high price for his work in Nelson Mandela Bay. Intense political pressure and even threats to his personal safety took a toll on his mental and physical health. When his political support was withdrawn, he had to flee the city as the forces stacked against him took their revenge. This is his story.

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