Historie og samfunn

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war. And it could start in as little as 26 minutes and 40 seconds from now¿An edge-of-your-seat non-fiction thriller for readers of American Prometheus by Kai Bird or Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham.The first rule of nuclear war is that there are no rules.Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization as we know it.If a single nuclear missile is launched, it provokes two dozen in return. Frantic calls over secure lines work to confirm the worst as armoured helicopters are scrambled outside. Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.Because the plans for General Nuclear War are among the most classified secrets held by the United States government, this book takes the reader up to the razor¿s edge of what can legally be known. Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like.Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.

Peter Kingsley is famous as both a historian and a teller of the future long before it appears. Exquisitely written, his Book of Life is a wide open door into the timeless magic and unfathomable mystery we have managed to forget.

Reanimating Industrial Spaces explores the relationships between people and the places of former industry through approaches which incorporate and critique memory-work.

En mytesprengende, øyeåpnende beretning om hvordan mennesker har utviklet seg. Et paradigmeskifte i vår tenkning om kvinnekroppen, hvordan den ble til og hvordan denne evolusjonen fortsatt former livet i dag.Hvordan drev kvinnekroppen 200 millioner år med menneskelig evolusjon? Hvorfor lever kvinner lenger enn menn? Hvorfor er det mer sannsynlig at kvinner får Alzheimers? Hvorfor skårer jenter bedre i alle akademiske fag enn gutter frem til puberteten, når poengsummen deres plutselig faller? Er sexisme nyttig for evolusjon? Og hvorfor, seriøst hvorfor, må kvinner svette gjennom sengetøyet hver natt når vi kommer i overgangsalderen?Med grenseløs nysgjerrighet og skarpt vidd går forsker Cat Bohannon løs på blant annet disse spørsmålene. Med et vitenskapelig blikk på de siste 200 millioner årene forklarer hun hvordan vitenskapen har sett på utviklingen av kvinnekroppen:«Vi trenger en slags brukermanual for det kvinnelige pattedyret. En no-nonsense, hardtslående, seriøst undersøkt (men lesbar) beretning om hva vi er. Hvordan kvinnekropper utviklet seg, hvordan de fungerer, hva det egentlig betyr å være en kvinne biologisk. Noe som ville omskrive historien om kvinnelighet. Denne boken er den historien. Vi må sette kvinnekroppen inn i bildet. Hvis vi ikke gjør det, er det ikke bare feminismen som er kompromittert. Moderne medisin, nevrobiologi, paleoantropologi, til og med evolusjonsbiologi får alle et slag når vi ignorerer det faktum at halvparten av oss har bryster. Så det er på tide vi snakker om bryster. Bryster og blod og fett og skjeder og livmor - alt sammen. Hvordan de ble til og hvordan vi lever med dem nå, uansett hvor rar eller morsom sannheten er.»EVA er ikke bare en omfattende revisjon av menneskets historie, den er et presserende og nødvendig korrektiv for en verden som har fokusert først og fremst på den mannlige kroppen altfor lenge. Ved å fortsette der Sapiens slapp, vil Eva fullstendig endre det du tror du vet om evolusjon og hvorfor Homo sapiens er blitt en så vellykket og dominerende art.«En pageturner om pattedyrs utvikling som begynner i juratiden, EVA forteller den tradisjonelle historien om evolusjonsbiologi på nytt ved å plassere kvinner i sentrum ... Boken er engasjerende, leken, lærd, diskursiv og rik på detaljer.»The New York Times

På flukt fra naziregimet i Tyskland kom den kjente Freud-eleven Wilhelm Reich til Oslo i 1934, invitert av professor Harald Schjelderup. Da hadde flere nordmenn allerede utdannet seg innen psykoanalyse i Wien, Berlin og Zürich. Reichs forelesninger ved Universitetet vakte voldsom debatt. Med ett ble det ubevisste og seksualitetens frigjøring satt på dagsordenen, og frontene var steile. Vidkun Quisling angrep Reich som en «jødisk-bolsjevikisk seksual.pornograf».Reich hadde en rekke norske kulturpersonligheter i analyse. Samtidig hadde han høye forskerambisjoner; han ville løse kreftens gåte og avdekke livsenergien som en medisinsk realitet. Sammen med Sigurd Hoel og Arnulf Øverland møtte han dessuten Lev Trotskij, som befant seg i Norge som flyktning.Du må ikke sove er et banebrytende bidrag til norsk og internasjonal kulturhistorie.

Marcus Aurelius' private notes are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy, and have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death.

*AN INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**A Radio 4 Book of the Week*Selected as a book to look out for in 2024 by the Guardian and The Rest is PoliticsEveryone is originally from Africa, and this book is therefore for everyone.For too long, Africa's history has been dominated by western narratives of slavery and colonialism, or simply ignored. Now, Zeinab Badawi sets the record straight.In this fascinating book, Badawi guides us through Africa's spectacular history - from the very origins of our species, through ancient civilisations and medieval empires with remarkable queens and kings, to the miseries of conquest and the elation of independence. Visiting more than thirty African countries to interview countless historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and local storytellers, she unearths buried histories from across the continent and gives Africa its rightful place in our global story.The result is a gripping new account of Africa: an epic, sweeping history of the oldest inhabited continent on the planet, told through the voices of Africans themselves.

The pacy, sensitive and formidably argued history of the causes of the First World War, from acclaimed historian and author Christopher Clark SUNDAY TIMES and INDEPENDENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2012 The moments that it took Gavrilo Princip to step forward to the stalled car and shoot dead Franz Ferdinand and his wife were perhaps the most fateful of the modern era. An act of terrorism of staggering efficiency, it fulfilled its every aim: it would liberate Bosnia from Habsburg rule and it created a powerful new Serbia, but it also brought down four great empires, killed millions of men and destroyed a civilization. What made a seemingly prosperous and complacent Europe so vulnerable to the impact of this assassination? In The Sleepwalkers Christopher Clark retells the story of the outbreak of the First World War and its causes. Above all, it shows how the failure to understand the seriousness of the chaotic, near genocidal fighting in the Balkans would drag Europe into catastrophe. Reviews: 'Formidable ... one of the most impressive and stimulating studies of the period ever published' Max Hastings,Sunday Times 'Easily the best book ever written on the subject ... A work of rare beauty that combines meticulous research with sensitive analysis and elegant prose. The enormous weight of its quality inspires amazement and awe ... Academics should take note: Good history can still be a good story' Washington Post 'A lovingly researched work of the highest scholarship. It is hard to believe we will ever see a better narrative of what was perhaps the biggest collective blunder in the history of international relations' Niall Ferguson '[Reading The Sleepwalkers], it is as if a light had been turned on a half-darkened stage of shadowy characters cursing among themselves without reason ... [Clark] demolishes the standard view ... The brilliance of Clark's far-reaching history is that we are able to discern how the past was genuinely prologue ... In conception, steely scholarship and piercing insights, his book is a masterpiece' Harold Evans, New York Times Book Review 'Impeccably researched, provocatively argued and elegantly written ... a model of scholarship' Sunday Times Books of the Year 'Superb ... effectively consigns the old historical consensus to the bin ... It's not often that one has the privilege of reading a book that reforges our understanding of one of the seminal events of world history' Mail Online 'A monumental new volume ... Revelatory, even revolutionary ... Clark has done a masterful job explaining the inexplicable' Boston Globe 'Superb ... One of the great mysteries of history is how Europe's great powers could have stumbled into World War I ... This is the single best book I have read on this important topic' Fareed Zakaria 'A meticulously researched, superbly organized, and handsomely written account Military History Clark is a masterly historian ... His account vividly reconstructs key decision points while deftly sketching the context driving them ... A magisterial work' Wall Street JournalAbout the author: Christopher Clark is Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St Catharine's College. He is the author of The Politics of Conversion, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Iron Kingdom. Widely praised around the world, Iron Kingdom became a major bestseller. He has been awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Handbook, written by 35 leading experts, provides an authoritative guide to the full range of archaeological activities past and present. It will give the reader a sense of the history of the subject and of the main theoretical debates, as well as a taste of the excitement generated by archaeological exploration.

In this original and timely assessment of cultural expressions of paranoia in contemporary Russia, Eliot Borenstein samples popular fiction, movies, television shows, public political pronouncements, internet discussions, blogs, and religious tracts to build a sense of the deep historical and cultural roots of konspirologiia that run through...

This book explores the relationship between Vikings, Rus' and nomadic (mostly Turkic) steppe dwellers during the course of the Viking Age (c. 750-1050) in a geographical area stretching from Eastern Scandinavia through the Kievan Rus', Byzantium, the Islamic world to the Western Eurasian steppes.

Examines the various aspects of Herakles' myth, representations in literature and art, monographs and articles, and presents an account of Herakles. This book highlights areas of consensus and dissent in the theories, and the discussion on Herakles. It is suitable for students of classics and related disciplines.

The purpose of this Handbook is to analyse and explore the evolution of management; the core functions and how they may have changed; its position in the culture of modern society; the institutions and ideologies that support it; and likely challenges and changes in the future.

Making Warriors in a Global Era provides ethnographic data, analyses, and discussions to infuse new debates among both military personnel and academics about the rise of special operations forces (SOF) and the ways they impact how armed conflicts are dealt with and how wars are fought.

A sober analysis of the risks and benefits of engaging with armed groups proscribed as terrorist and the sometimes contradictory impact of counterterrorist policies.

The book that is providing a storm of controversy, from ';Israel's bravest historian' (John Pilger)Renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe's groundbreaking book revisits the formation of the State of Israel. Between 1947 and 1949, over 400 Palestinian villages were deliberately destroyed, civilians were massacred and around a million men, women, and children were expelled from their homes at gunpoint. Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called "e;ethnic cleansing"e;. Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappe offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel's founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East.

The Complete MAUS is a captivating masterpiece by the renowned author, Art Spiegelman. Published in 2003 by Penguin Books Ltd, this book has left an indelible mark in the literary world. The genre of this book is a unique blend of biography, memoir, and graphic novel, presenting a deeply personal and riveting story. The Complete MAUS is not just a book but a journey that takes you through the heart-wrenching experiences of the author's father during the Holocaust. Art Spiegelman's storytelling is both powerful and poignant, making this book a must-read. Penguin Books Ltd, a leading publisher, has beautifully put together this book, further enhancing the reading experience. This English language edition is a testament to Art Spiegelman's literary genius and is sure to leave a lasting impact on every reader.

A History of Europe in the Modern World delves into how Europe's history has contributed to the development of the modern world and an increasingly global society. The twelfth edition of this classic text links specific nations, movements, and landmark events in European history to broader historical themes and problems that have shaped the contemporary era. Readers of this text will learn about Europe's past within the context of key historical trends, including the rise of industry and a global economy; the development of science, technology, and new forms of knowledge; social, cultural, and political movements; evolving views of human rights; and the complex relations between European nations and the wider world.

I Roy Jacobsens roman De uverdige følger vi en gjeng gutter og jenter fra en bygård på østkanten i Oslo under den tyske okkupasjonen. De lever i fattigdom, men bidrar på kreativt vis ved å svindle, stjæle som ravner, forfalske dokumenter og begå omfattende innbrudd. De kvier seg heller ikke for å utnytte fienden. Med denne barneflokken tegner den prisbelønte forfatteren et brutalt ærlig og varmt portrett av et miljø, en tid og en hverdag som til nå har vært nær sagt fraværende i krigshistorien. Dette er en Roy Jacobsen-roman av aller beste merke. De uverdige er både brutal og underholdende, en klok perle av en fortelling, skrevet av en forfatter på hjemmebane.

Man's Search For Meaning is a compelling and thought-provoking book by Viktor E Frankl. Published by Ebury Publishing in 2011, this book falls under a genre that blends psychology, philosophy, and autobiography. This masterpiece by Frankl encapsulates his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, and describes his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positive about, and then immersively imagining that outcome. The central theme of the book is that meaning can be found in life in every moment of living; life never ceases to have meaning, even in suffering and death. Ebury Publishing is proud to have this profound and influential book in their collection. Read this book to embark on a journey of self-discovery and enlightenment.