New Zealand Cup and Show Week New Zealand Cup and Show Week is a summer tradition in Canterbury.
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| Kissinger's shadow: The long reach of America's most controversial statesman by Greg GrandinAward-winning historian Greg Grandin provides a compelling, thought-provoking exploration of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's influence on American foreign policy during the presidency of Richard Nixon -- and beyond. He looks at Kissinger's psychology, analyses his political philosophy, and recounts details of his Vietnamese War strategy and other instances of his work in international relations. Grandin convincingly argues that Kissinger played a major role in conservative diplomatic policy formation, which continues to influence the divisive politics of many countries around the world. |
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| Once in a great city: A Detroit story by David MaranissTaking a focused look at Detroit, Michigan from fall, 1962 to spring, 1964, journalist David Maraniss explores the early socio-economic indicators of the great Motor City's decline. In the early '60s the auto manufacturers were on top of their game, the music industry was providing a morale boost to citizens, especially African Americans, and Detroit was even making a bid to host the 1968 Summer Olympics. However, scholars at Wayne State University already foresaw trouble. In Once in a Great City, Maraniss offers a vivid, riveting snapshot of scintillating urban life on the verge of urban decay. For an engaging longer view, try Scott Martelle's Detroit. |
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A colorful history of popular delusions
by Robert E. Bartholomew
This eclectic history of unusual crowd behavior describes a rich assortment of mass phenomena ranging from the amusing and quirky to the shocking and deplorable. What do fads, crazes, manias, urban legends, moral panics, riots, stampedes, and other mass expressions of emotion have in common? The authors show how common extraordinary group reactions to fear or excitement are. And they offer insights into how these sometimes dangerous mob responses can be avoided including the peculiarities of the European Middle Ages, when superstition was commonplace: like the meowing nuns of France, 'tarantism' (a dancing mania) in Italy, or the malicious anti-Semitic poison-well scares. But similar phenomena show up in our own era. Examples include the social-networking hysteria of 2012, which resulted in uncontrollable twitching by teenage girls in Leroy, NY; the 'phantom bus terrorist' of 2004 in Vancouver, Canada; and the itching outbreak of 2000 in South Africa.
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Nixon's gamble: How a president's own secret government destroyed his administration
by Ray Locker
After taking the Oath of Office, Richard Nixon announced that 'government will listen... Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in' and signed National Security Decision Memorandum 2. Using years of research and newly released NSC and administration documents, Ray Locker upends conventional wisdom about the Nixon presidency and shows how the creation of this secret, unprecedented, extra-constitutional government undermined U.S. policy and values; and sowed the seeds of his own destruction bycreating a climate of secrecy, paranoia, and reprisal that still affects Washington today
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Fritz and Tommy: Across the barbed wire
by Peter Doyle
For the first time, and drawing widely on archive material in the form of original letters and diaries, Peter Doyle and Robin Schafer bring together the two sides, 'Fritz' and 'Tommy', to examine cultural and military nuances that have until now been left untouched: their approaches to war, their lives at the front, their greatest fears and their hopes for the future. The soldiers on both sides went to war with high ideals; they experienced horror and misery, but also comradeship/Kameradschaft. And with increasing alienation from the people at home, they drew closer together, 'the Hun' transformed into 'good old Jerry' by the war's end. This unique collaboration is a refreshing yet touching examination of how little truly divided the men on either side of no-man'sland during the
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The dead Duke, his secret wife, and the missing corpse: An extraordinary Edwardian case of deception and intrigue
by Piu Marie Eatwell
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse, a delightfully offbeat history of a bizarre Edwardian legal case that became tabloid fodder and kept the British public spellbound for a decade... Eatwell's marvelous book reads like a Wilkie Collins gothic novel, but at times truth is stranger than fiction.Brilliantly recreates one of the most notorious and bizarre mysteries of the Edwardian age, in which the extraordinarily wealthy 5th Duke of Portland, having a mania for power and privacy, faked his death under an assumed name, in a riveting account of lies, deceit and hypocrisy.
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| Paradise of the Pacific: Approaching Hawaii by Susanna MooreAuthor Susanna Moore, who has written both novels and memoirs set in Hawaii, offers a complete history of the islands. Few off-islanders know about the first settlers from Polynesia or the rigid and violent hierarchy that ruled at the time Captain James Cook arrived in 1778, but Moore's book paints a vividly detailed and thoroughly researched portrait of Hawaii from the sixth century to the present. Drawing on original sources, including islanders' journals and reports from sailors, explorers, missionaries, and others, Moore provides a "direct and authentic glimpse" (Booklist) into the reality behind the paradise marketed to tourists. |
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On Stalin's team: The years of living dangerously in Soviet politics
by Sheila Fitzpatrick
Stalin was the unchallenged dictator of the Soviet Union for so long that most historians have dismissed the officials surrounding him as mere yes-men and political window dressing. On Stalin's Team overturns this view, revealing that behind Stalin werea group of loyal men who formed a remarkably effective team with him from the late 1920s until his death in 1953. Drawing on extensive original research, Sheila Fitzpatrick provides the first in-depth account of this inner circle and their families, vividly describing how these dedicated comrades-in-arms not only worked closely with Stalin, whom they both feared and admired, but also constituted his social circle.
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History for Armchair Travellers |
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"Who was she, this ordinary woman who rose to such extraordinary fame?" ~ from Dianne R. Hales' Mona Lisa
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| Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England: How our ancestors lived two centuries ago by Roy Adkins and Lesley AdkinsSee the real England of Jane Austen's era in this eye-opening, sometimes gritty account that draws on unpublished primary sources as well as published works. Ordinary people (not just the gentry and aristocracy portrayed by Austen and other writers) fill the pages of "Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England", which reveals the era's poor conditions of health and sanitation, crowded housing, and dangerous labor practices, as well as intriguing details of the legal system and social customs. Archaeologists Roy and Lesley Adkins portray the upper classes, too, and often quote Austen herself in this whirlwind tour, which will captivate anyone interested in Regency England. |
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| Mona Lisa: A life discovered by Dianne R. HalesJournalist Dianne Hales confesses that she was fascinated by Leonardo da Vinci's great portrait, but she never thought about its subject as a real person until she visited Florence. When she learned that Mona Lisa was a historical Florentine woman -- named Monna Lisa in Italian -- she decided to learn as much as she could about the woman da Vinci portrayed. In this engaging book, Hales relates the history of Florence from its founding to the rise of the Medici family and recounts what she discovers about Mona Lisa herself. Both personal quest and historical research, Hales' account engages readers in her enthusiasm for the painting, the city, and Italy. |
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Brunel's kingdom: In the footsteps of Britain's greatest engineer
by John Christopher
Brunel changed the world as we know it. He was responsible for building the Great Western Railway main line, introducing regular steamship travel across the Atlantic, building the first tunnel under a major river, and constructing docks, harbours and bridges that enabled Britain to expand and grow as the powerhouse of the world. Without his foresight and imagination, it is possible that nineteenth-century Britain might have been very different. There have been many books written about the man himself, but this book concentrates upon the structures, buildings and legacy of Brunel, introducing the reader to this great engineer and embarking upon a tour around Britain that reveals the many locations with a Brunel connection.
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| Alone on the ice: The greatest survival story in the history of exploration by David RobertsImagine being 100 miles from your base camp in Antarctica with no food and neither human nor canine companions (because they've already died). Oh, and hidden crevasses are waiting to swallow you up as you traverse the icy landscape. Find out how Australian geologist Douglas Mawson managed this Herculean trek in Alone on the Ice, a well-researched, evocative look, complete with photographs, at the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1913. Mawson's amazing -- though little-known -- adventure (during which he even had to crawl) is a thrilling tale. Readers who enjoy the history of Antarctic exploration, especially the survival stories, should definitely pick up this compelling book by mountaineer David Roberts. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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