Historiska & politiska biografier

For the privileged a cosmopolitan pleasure ground; For the desperate a port of last resort. A pot of gold at the end of an Oriental rainbow; A thick slice of hell denounced from the pulpit. The start of a journey for many; The end of the road for some. A place to find fame, or to seek anonymity; Rogues, chancers, showgirls, criminals... For so many people from so many lands, there was one phrase that sent a tingle of hope or a shiver of anticipation down every spine: "e;DESTINATION SHANGHAI"e;

On 20 January 1973, the Bissau-Guinean revolutionary Amílcar Cabral was killed by militants from his own party. Cabral had founded the PAIGC in 1960 to fight for the liberation of Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde. The insurgents were Bissau- Guineans, aiming to get rid of the Cape Verdeans who dominated the party elite. Despite Cabral''s assassination, Portuguese Guinea became the independent Republic of Guinea- Bissau. The guerrilla war that Cabral had started and led precipitated a chain of events that would lead to the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, toppling the forty-year-old authoritarian regime. This paved the way for the rest of Portugal''s African colonies to achieve independence. Written by a native of Angola, this biography narrates Cabral''s revolutionary trajectory, from his early life in Portuguese Guinea to his death at the hands of his own men. It details his quest for national sovereignty, beleaguered by the ethnic-based identity conflicts the national liberation movement struggled to overcome. Through the life of Cabral, António Tomás critically reflects on existing ways of thinking and writing about the independence of Lusophone Africa.

This full-length biographical study of one of the most important women in Irish political life in the 20th century is now reissued by UCD Press. Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, trailblazing feminist and part of a pioneering generation, played a significant role in the early Irish Republic.

The professional triumphs and personal struggles of a pioneering woman scientist

Never before has any biographer had such close access to Fidel Castro as did Tad Szule. The outcome of a long, direct relationship, this riveting portrait reveals astonishing and exclusive information about Cuba, the revolution, and the notorious, larger-than-life leader who has ruled his country with an iron fist for more than forty years.Only Tad Szule could bring Fidel to such vivid life--the loves and losses of the man, the devious tactics of the conspirator, the triumphs and defeats of the revolutionary leader who challenged an American president and brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster.From Jesuit schools to jungle hideouts and the Palace of the Revolution, here is Fidel...The Untold Story.Never before has any biographer had such close access to Fidel Castro as did Tad Szulc. The outcome of a long, direct relationship, this riveting portrait reveals astonishing and exclusive information about Cuba, the revolution, and the notorious, larger-than-life leader who has ruled his country with an iron fist for more than forty years.Only Tad Szulc could bring Fidel to such vivid life--the loves and losses of the man, the devious tactics of the conspirator, the triumphs and defeats of the revolutionary leader who challenged an American president and brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster.From Jesuit schools to jungle hideouts and the Palace of the Revolution, here is FIDEL...THE UNTOLD STORY.

Ron Paul is well read, he speaks in complete sentences, and his views are often so far right that they make sense. Did I mention that he's a Republican with Tea Party tendencies? Find out what makes this Presidential hopeful tick. TidalWave's Political Power: Ron Paul, written by New York Times bestselling author Marc Shapiro, has readers on either side of the aisle agreeing to disagree.As featured on CNN, FOX News, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, LA Times, OK Magazine, and MSNBC! Political Power is a comic book series that features biographies on modern politics. Read about the world of Ron Paul in comic book form! 

For over a century, Karl Marx's critique of capitalism has been a crucial resource for social movements. Now, recent economic crises have made it imperative for us to comprehend and actualize Marx's ideas. But without a knowledge of Karl Marx's life as he lived it, neither Marx nor his works can be fully understood.

On 16 October 1946 Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's wartime Foreign Minister, was executed at Nuremberg, convicted on four counts including deliberately planning a war of aggression and war crimes.

THE FIRST FULLY ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF JAPAN'S GREATEST SWORDSMANMiyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) is the most celebrated swordsman in Japanese history. Yet few of the many works on the enigmatic warrior have hewn to the original sources. Fewer still have explored the emotional turmoil that drove him on to be the very best in his field.A Life in Arms debunks many of the convenient myths, while at the same time uncovering the more controversial aspects that have been left hidden: his deeply troubled relationship with his father, his whereabouts during the battle of Sekigahara, his role in the siege of Osaka castle, and the birth and death of an illegitimate child, an event that deeply influenced his art.It shows how Musashi's path through life was shaped by strong personal traits: a reckless valor in the face of danger, a sensitive intelligence in the fields of art and architecture, a generosity toward peers and pupils, and a defiant stubbornness in old age. The complex yet human portrait that arises is a far cry from the accepted one-dimensional caricatures.Drawing from a wealth of images, maps, photographs, and woodprints, this Illustrated Edition gives the reader an even more authentic and in-depth experience of the life of Japan's greatest swordsman.

The papers which form this autobiography were originally published in The Outlook, the chapter telling of my going "home to mother" in The Churchman, and parts of one or two others in The Century Magazine. To those who have been asking if they are made-up stories, let me say here that they are not. And I am mighty glad they are not. I would not have missed being in it all for anything.

This set of postcards celebrates the lives of women who have changed the world, from the writers of the popular book Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls. Figures depicted on the postcards include Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and the Bronte Sisters.

The stenographer to Goebbels reflects on how she perceived her work at the centre of the Nazi operation, achieving a powerful reflection on the banality of evil.

Discover the USA Today bestselling self-help memoir from a former Army Ranger, a hero of the 2012 Benghazi siege, and the subject of the book and movie 13 Hours, as he shares life-changing lessons of discipline, motivation, success, and peace.

Henry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of the most dynamic, restless and clever men ever to rule England, he was brought down both by his catastrophic relationship with his archbishop Thomas Becket and his debilitating arguments with his sons, most importantly the future Richard I and King John. His empire may have ultimately collapsed, but in Richard Barber's vivid and sympathetic account the reader can see why Henry II left such a compelling impression on his contemporaries.

Edward III lived through bloody and turbulent times. His father was deposed by his mother and her lover when he was still a teenager; a third of England's population was killed by the Black Death midway through his reign; and the intractable Hundred Years War with France began under his leadership. Yet Edward managed to rule England for fifty years, and was viewed as a paragon of kingship in the eyes of both his contemporaries and later generations. Venerated as the victor of Sluys and Cr cy and the founder of the Order of the Garter, he was regarded with awe even by his enemies. But he lived too long, and was ultimately condemned to see thirty years of conquests reversed in less than five. In this gripping new account of Edward III's rise and fall, Jonathan Sumption introduces us to a f ted king who ended his life a heroic failure.

Dare Not Linger is the remarkable story of Nelson Mandela's presidency told in his own words and those of distinguished South African writer Mandla Langa.

A compelling account of a young man's flying experiences over the north Atlantic during WW2. Joining the RAF in October 1940 aged 21 Jack is sent to Canada to learn to fly. On becoming a Pilot/Navigator he joins Coastal Command on Liberators based in Iceland, renowned for its bad weather. The difficulties encountered hunting U-boats are relived.

Tied in to Ken Burns' forthcoming (2017) TV series on Vietnam, to which the author is a major contributor, the reissue of a Pulitzer finalist memoir of a Vietnamese family in the 20th century

Veil, one of France's most beloved political figures, is admired for her personal and political courage,and enjoys respect from all political spectrums.

A small girl's fascination with a battered old box of letters and photographs from a pioneer family in Queensland leads to the discovery of a tale of industrial unrest in the mining communities of County Durham in the 1880s.