Historical genre books (726)
61.
Ask that Mountain : The Story of Parihaka by Dick Scott EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Parihaka has become a byword for Maori refusal to yield land, culture and dignity to New Zealand's colonial government. Well after the end of the New Zealand Wars, the people of this small settlement at the foot of Mt Taranaki held out against the encroachments of Pakeha settlers in a struggle that swapped the weapons of war for the weapons of peace. Taking as their symbol the white feather, the chiefs Te Whiti and Tohu led Parihaka in one of the world's first-recorded campaigns of passive resistance. Maori ploughmen wrote its message across the settlers' pastures, and Maori fencers underlined... continue
Romania63.
Athens: City of Wisdom by Bruce Clark EN
IrelandDescription:
A sweeping history of Athens, telling the three-thousand-year story of the birthplace of Western civilization, from Runciman Award winner Bruce Clark 'A stunning retrospect and beautifully written overview of one of the world's greatest cities' Paul Cartledge 'Courageously grand in scale yet sensitive to the details that make Athens' extraordinary history come alive' Sofka Zinovieff 'Bruce Clark brings an eye for the quirky, human detail, a pithy turn of phrase, and an affection for his subject honed over many decades' Roderick Beaton 'Bruce Clark's enchantingly readable history revealed how l... continue
64.
Atoll Politics : The Republic of Kiribati editor Howard Van Trease EN
KiribatiDescription:
Edited by Howard Van Trease, but including Kiribati authors.
65.
Attila the Hun : A Barbarian King and the Fall of Rome by John Man EN
EnglandDescription:
The name Attila the Hun has become a byword for barbarism, savagery and violence. His is a truly household name, but what do we really know about the man himself, his position in history and the world in which he lived? This riveting biography reveals the man behind the myth. In the years 434-454AD the fate of Europe hung upon the actions of one man, Attila, king of the Huns. The decaying Roman empire still stood astride the Western World, from its twin capitals of Rome and Constantinople, but it was threatened by a new force, the much-feared Barbarian hordes. It was Attila who united the Barb... continue
66.
August in Kabul : America's Last Days in Afghanistan by Andrew Quilty EN
AustraliaDescription:
Told through the eyes of witnesses to the fall of Kabul, Walkley award-winning journalist Andrew Quilty's debut book offers a remarkable record of this historic moment. As night fell on 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. After a 20-year conflict with the United States, its Western allies and a proxy Afghan government, the Islamic militant group once aligned with al Qaeda was about to bury yet another foreign foe in the graveyard of empires. And for the US, world superpower, this was yet another foreign disaster. As cities and towns fell to the Taliban in rapid s... continue
67.
Australia Day by Stan Grant EN
Description:
As uncomfortable as it is, we need to reckon with our history. On January 26, no Australian can really look away. There are the hard questions we ask of ourselves on Australia Day. Since publishing his critically acclaimed, Walkley Award-winning, bestselling memoir Talking to My Country in early 2016, Stan Grant has been crossing the country, talking to huge crowds everywhere about how racism is at the heart of our history and the Australian dream. But Stan knows this is not where the story ends. In this book, Australia Day, his long-awaited follow up to Talking to My Country, Stan talks about... continue
68.
Aya: Life in Yop City by Marguerite Abouet, Clément Oubrerie EN
Country: Africa / 
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast
Description:
"Aya is an irresistible comedy, a couple of love stories and a tale for becoming African. It's essential reading." -Joann Sfar, cartoonist of The Rabbi's Cat Ivory Coast, 1978. It's a golden time, and the nation, too-an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa-seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private tr... continue
69.
Babette's Feast by Karen Blixen EN
DenmarkDescription:
These five rich, witty and magical stories from the author of Out of Africa include one of her most well known tales, ‘Babette’s Feast’, which was made into the classic film. It tells the story of a French cook working in a puritanical Norwegian community, who treats her employers to the decadent feast of a lifetime. There is also a real-life Prospero and his Ariel in ‘Tempests’, a mysterious pearl-fisher in ‘The Diver’ and a brief, tragic encounter in ‘The Ring’. All the stories have a mystic, fairy-tale quality, linked by themes of angels, the sea, dreams and fate. They were among the last t... continue
70.
Bad Gays : A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey, Ben Miller EN
Description:
These “very funny-deep dives into the lives of the most dastardly queer people in history” offer a passionate argument for rethinking gay politics beyond identity (Vogue). What can we learn from the homosexual villains, failures, and baddies of our past? We all remember Oscar Wilde, but who speaks for Bosie? What about those ‘bad gays’ whose unexemplary lives reveal more than we might expect? Many popular histories seek to establish homosexual heroes, pioneers, and martyrs but, as Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller argue, the past is filled with queer people whose sexualities and dastardly deeds have b... continue