Historie og samfunn

The New Roman Empire is the first full, single-author history of Byzantium (the eastern Roman empire) to appear in a generation. It begins with the foundation of Constantinople in 324 AD and ends with the fall of the empire to the Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth century, presenting those twelve centuries in an accessible narrative of events, free of jargon. The book focuses on political and military history as well as all the major changes in religion, society, administration, demography, and economy.

'How could such a book speak so powerfully to our present moment? The short answer is that we, too, live in dark times' Washington PostHannah Arendt's chilling analysis of the conditions that led to the Nazi and Soviet totalitarian regimes is a warning from history about the fragility of freedom, exploring how propaganda, scapegoats, terror and political isolation all aided the slide towards total domination. 'A non-fiction bookend to Nineteen Eighty-Four' The New York Times'The political theorist who wrote about the Nazis and the 'banality of evil' has become a surprise bestseller' Guardian

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.

The 33 Strategies Of War is an enlightening book by the renowned author, Robert Greene. Published in 2007 by Profile Books Ltd, this book is a masterclass in understanding the art of strategic thinking. The book belongs to the genre of self-help and strategy, providing readers with an in-depth understanding of the psychological dynamics that can lead to victory in any area of life. Greene's writing style is engaging and insightful, making the book a must-read for anyone interested in strategy, psychology, or history. The 33 Strategies Of War is not just a book, but a comprehensive guide to understanding and applying the principles of warfare in everyday life. The author's expertise and the publisher's commitment to quality make this book a valuable addition to any reader's collection.

"A remarkable feat of fearless and responsible reporting . . . important, timely, and informative."John le Carre* AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR * THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *The first definitive history of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF's targeted killing programs.

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own.

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty's Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as "the prize of all the oceans," it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes - they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death-for whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann's recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O'Brian, his portrayal of the castaways' desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance, and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann's work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound. Most powerfully, he unearths the deeper meaning of the events, showing that it was not only the Wager's captain and crew who were on trial - it was the very idea of empire"--

Lyttestasjoner kamuflert som naust i havgapet, spiontokt langt inn på russisk jord, strengt bevoktede radaranlegg, fly og skip som samler informasjon i skjul. Alt dette har vært del av et hemmelig etterretningssamarbeid mellom USA og Norge som også omfatter avlytting på den russiske grensa og tapping av sivile satellitter.Spionasjen har fanget enkeltmennesker i et høyt spill mellom stormaktene, og både under og etter den kalde krigen har den gjort småsteder i Nord-Norge til mulige bombemål. Likevel har avtalen med USA aldri vært åpent behandlet i Stortinget.Ved hjelp av nye kilder, som samtaler med tidligere operatører og lekkede dokumenter, viser Spionkrigen hvordan norsk etterretning kan overvåke både fiendtlig aktivitet og vanlige nordmenn. Virksomheten drives av Norge, men er i stor grad finansiert av USA og tjener amerikanske interesser, trolig mer enn norske. Omfanget og metodikken er ikke kjent for offentligheten. Før nå.

THE AWARDWINNING, INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER'The Choice is a gift to humanity. One of those rare and eternal stories that you don't want to end and that leave you forever changed' DESMOND TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize LaureateIn 1944, sixteen-year-old Edith Eger was sent to Auschwitz.

Året var 1987.  I all fortrolighet leverte Håkon Norås et håndskrevet, innpakket manuskript til daværende rektor. Siden har pakken ligget gjemt i skolens safe, med påskriften «åpnes ikke før 1. januar 2023». Nå har det hemmelige manuset blitt bok, klart for skolens 200-årsjubileum, akkurat slik forfatteren ønsket.I Kongsgård-minner fra svunne år får leseren et unikt innblikk i livet på skolen, og ikke minst om menneskene som har befolket den. Her er en rekke originale, artige og tidvis spisse portretter. Og opp fra samlingen av Norås’ tekster stiger en større fortelling: om hvordan læreryrket, skikkene og tiden har endret seg.Dette er den tidligere lektorens gave til gamle og nye lærere og elever ved Kongsgård skole og uunnværlig lesning for alle som har et forhold til «Stavangers viktigste institusjon».]]>

Den 28. januar 1742 skyller en synkeferdig seilskute opp på kysten av Brasil. Om bord er tretti avmagrede menn, knapt i live, som har en ekstraordinær historie å fortelle. De er overlevende fra Wager, et britisk fartøy som hadde forlatt England i 1740 for å jakte på en spansk gallion full av skatter.Wager hadde forlist på en øde øy utenfor Patagonia etter å ha rundet Kapp Horn. Her utviklet det seg til rent anarki. Kapteinen ble utsatt for mytteri, og mytteristene satte til havs igjen. De blir hyllet som helter da de omsider kommer seg hjem. Seks måneder seinere dukker kapteinen og hans menn opp i England. De har en helt annen historie å fortelle.Dette er en storslått fortelling om ekstreme utfordringer, overlevelse og selve kampen om verdensherredømme.

Kan vi gjennom fotballen forstå det nye Europa og den kaotiske tida vi lever i? Og kan kjærligheten til fotballen overleve i en verden der milliardærer og stater vil utnytte menneskets jakt på mening og fellesskap? Disse spørsmålene har sendt Klassekampen-journalist Eirik Grasaas-Stavenes ut på en reise fra Storbritannia og Ukraina, til Tyskland, Frankrike og Italia.På reisen har han sett de største oppgjørene i Europa, verdens beste spillere, og møtt noen av sportens mest intense tilhengerne i noen av kontinentets mest spennende byer. Men med fotballen som linse trer også noe større fram: Menneskers lengsel etter fellesskap i møte med ulikhet og meningsløshet. Nasjonalisme og lokal lidenskap som både viktige og farlige verktøy. En internasjonal maktbalanse i bevegelse. Og en evig dragkamp mellom fellesskap og solidaritet på den ene siden, og overdreven individualisme, pengegalopp og blodig storpolitikk på den andre.Makta i drakta tegner et bilde av et kontinent i krig og krise, og et Europa som står overfor sine største utfordringer siden andre verdenskrig. Det er en personlig, uhøytidelig reisefortelling som henter sin energi fra tribunene for å fortelle en historie om et fellesskap det er verdt å kjempe for.

This book defines Russophobia as the irrational fear of Russia, a key theme in the study of propaganda in the West as Russia has throughout history been assigned a diametrically opposite identity as the "Other." Propaganda is the science of convincing an audience without appealing to reason. The West and Russia have been juxtaposed as Western versus Eastern, European versus Asiatic, civilized versus barbaric, modern versus backward, liberal versus autocratic, and even good versus evil. During the Cold War, ideological dividing lines fell naturally by casting the debate as capitalism versus communism, democracy versus totalitarianism, and Christianity versus atheism. After the Cold War, anti-Russian propaganda aims to filter all political questions through the simplistic binary stereotype of democracy versus authoritarianism, which provides little if any heuristic value to understand the complexities of relations. A key feature of propaganda against the inferior "Other" is both contemptuous derision and panic-stricken fear of the threat to civilization. Russia has therefore throughout history been allowed to play one of two roles-either an apprentice of Western civilization by accepting the subordinate role as the student and political object, or a threat that must be contained or defeated. While propaganda has the positive effect of promoting unity and mobilizing resources toward rational and strategic objectives, it can also have the negative effect of creating irrational decision-making and obstructing a workable peace.

I denne boka gir forfatteren et portrett av norsk vedfyringstradisjon. Her er fakta om innkjøp av ved, stablemetoder, tørking og fyring. Den berører også skogskjøtsel, miljøaspekter, motorsaghistorie og ovner, samt møter med mennesker som har et særlig forhold til ved.

This book is the first single volume history of modern Spain to appear in over 30 years. It describes Spaina s emergence in the nineteenth century as the first modern post--imperial power and examines the vast social and economic changes which Spain witnessed during this period.

This critical anthology, an ideal resource for researchers, instructors, and students, outlines the cultural contexts in which people grappled with their mortality in Renaissance England. Illuminating death's intersections with gender, sex, and race, this book offers indispensable insights into living with death in early modern England.

This ground-breaking study reveals the thrill and moral power of the ancient Roman story-world and its ancestral tales of bloody heroism. These famous exempla disseminated widely not only core values such as courage and loyalty, but also key ethical debates and controversies which are still relevant for us today.

A masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world.

Spain's religious heritage is distinguished by the drive for conformity on the one hand and the endurance of a vibrant inclusive tradition on the other. This volume is a critical assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Spain's Catholic identity in the early modern period.

A brilliant exploration of freedom - what it is, how it's been misunderstood, and why it's our only chance for survival - by the acclaimed, bestselling author of On Tyranny. Timothy Snyder has been called 'the leading interpreter of our dark times'. As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political collapse and mass killing. As a public intellectual, he has turned that knowledge toward counsel and prediction, working against authoritarians. His book On Tyranny has inspired millions around the world to fight for freedom. Freedom is the great American commitment, but as Snyder argues, we have lost sight of what it means - and this is leading us into crisis. Too many of us look at freedom as the absence of state power: We think we're free if we can do and say as we please, and protect ourselves from government overreach. But true freedom isn't so much freedom from, as freedom to - the freedom to thrive, to take risks for futures we choose by working together. Freedom is the value that makes all other values possible. Drawing on the work of philosophers and political dissidents, conversations with contemporary thinkers, and his own experiences, Snyder identifies the practices and attitudes - the habits of mind - that will allow us to design a government in which we and future generations can flourish. We come to appreciate the importance of traditions but also the role of institutions. Intimate yet ambitious, this book helps forge a new consensus rooted in a politics of abundance, generosity, and grace. On Freedom helps us see exactly what we're fighting for. It is a thrilling intellectual journey and a tour de force of political philosophy.

Jomsviking-serien har mange bind foran seg. Dette er den tredje boken i rekken. Året er 1007. Torstein Knarresmed sitter som herse i Vingulmork, det rike kystområdet øst i Viken. Han er blitt en av de mektigste mennene i Skandinavia, og oppveksten som trell er et fjernt minne. Hans elskede Sigrid har født to sønner, et gudehov er reist i skogbrynet ved hersegården. Livet er godt. Men det går mot ufred. Både den ærgjerrige Eirik Jarl i Trøndelag og danekongen Svein Tjugeskjegg har lagt blikket på de engelske rikene. Landområder som en gang lå under danelov, skal gjenerobres, og den forhatte kong Ethelred skal styrtes av tronen. Danehæren bringer leseren inn i den voldsomme og konfliktfylte tiden da de skandinaviske kongene og jarlene samlet seg i allianser for å erobre de engelske rikene. Samtidig var det en brytningstid. Kristendommen er for alvor på vei, og med den vil det norrøne samfunnet bli forandret for alltid. Torstein Knarresmed, jomsviking og herse over Vingulmork, skal snart befinne seg midt i en konflikt mellom konger og stormenn, og mellom gammel og ny tid.

This book discusses the merits of the theory of agonistic memory in relation to the memory of war. After explaining the theory in detail it provides two case studies, one on war museums in contemporary Europe and one on mass graves exhumations, which both focus on analyzing to what extent these memory sites produce different regimes of memory.