Historiske og politiske biografier

On 14 October each year, a White Ensign is placed on the stern of an upturned warship by Royal Navy divers. This act commemorates the 835 men of HMS Royal Oak who died in 1939 when the battleship was sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow by the German U-boat U-47.The sinking of the veteran First World War Revenge-class Royal Oak shocked not only the Admiralty, but the whole nation. Though Scapa Flow was far from being impregnable as a base for the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, it was surrounded by a ring of islands separated by shallow channels subject to fast-racing tides. While it was recognized that it was not impervious to enemy submarines, measures had been put in place to minimize any such threat. Blockships had been sunk at potentially vulnerable points and anti-submarine booms deployed across the wider channels. The outbreak of war in September 1939 saw additional anti-submarine measures put in hand.Despite these increased precautions, German aerial reconnaissance had spotted weaknesses which were exploited on the night of 13/14 October 1939, by Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien in U-47. The German submarine was able to slip into Scapa Flow undetected and fire three torpedoes towards Royal Oak. Only one torpedo found its mark. A second salvo was fired and this time all three hit the battleship, igniting a magazine causing massive damage. Within thirteen minutes, HMS Royal Oak had turned over and sank.In Faces of HMS Royal Oak, Dilip Sarkar not only reveals the tragic and moving stories of many of those who died, but also some of the 399 who survived the sinking of the first Royal Navy battleship lost in the Second World War.Through their photographs, and in some cases words, the horrors of those fateful few minutes as Royal Oak rolled and slid into the cold, dark waters of Scapa Flow, are relived in startling clarity.

"Serpents of War is an abridged edition of a nearly 200,000-word World War I memoir by Pennsylvanian Major Harry Dravo Parkin: Memoirs of World War I, being an account of the experiences of an American Officer wounded and captured by the Germans. The original memoir resides in Gettysburg College's Musselman Library. Offering the perspective of a mid-level officer responsible for the lives and welfare of over a thousand men, Parkin conveys the stress of command at a time when one innocent blunder could cost an officer his combat assignment, brings the inferno of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive to life in terrifying, gory detail, and recounts an experience undergone by very few American soldiers in 1918-that of being taken prisoner (while wounded no less) by the Imperial German Army. This is a book by a brave soldier, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism on the battlefield, who was also a gifted writer. Parkin's narrative seldom strains for effect. Its prose is unassuming and workmanlike. Nevertheless, readers of Serpents of War will likely agree that Parkin possessed of a strong sense of setting, a knack for capturing the chaos and strange exhilaration of battle, and a sharp eye for the interpersonal, social dynamics of military life-the personality clashes and simmering feuds, as well as the moments of comradeship and accord. There is no other American World War I memoir quite like it"--

This new and comprehensive story of instrumental conservationist Pearl Chase's fascinating life is a tribute to her remarkable achievements. Spending over seventy years pioneering work in preservation, social services, and civic activism, Chase met and corresponded with the most significant influencers of the time. Serving on hundreds of committees and working with organizations, she received over eighty national, state and local awards including two honorary doctorates. Chase was known as Santa Barbara's woman of the twentieth century. Devoted to improving the world around her, Chase was an intrepid, forward thinking, practical-minded leader. Through his meticulous research and with respect for his distinguished American ancestor, British historian, Simon Kerry traces Chase's early life and collegiate years at UC Berkeley through to her return to Santa Barbara and indelible impact on both California and the nation. During a tumultuous period in American history in the early twentieth century, she paved a way for not only the environmentalist movement but also for women's influence in politics in the federal and local civic spheres. Her compassionate, charitable nature extended to many cultural groups and causes, evident in her vocal support of protecting the lands and customs of Native Americans in the southwest.

A book about the men and women who do not fit tidily into the sphere in which they find themselves; who dare to go against the norm, even if that imperils them physically, politically or intellectually.

The life of Christopher Robin Milne: how he escaped Winnie-the-Pooh and became his own person.

A definitive new volume of the retirement papers of Thomas Jefferson During the period covered by the 575 documents in this volume, Jefferson advises President James Monroe on what later becomes known as the "Monroe Doctrine." He also approves of the Greek independence movement in correspondence with the scholar and political leader Adamantios Coray. Jefferson says that the "most dangerous blot" on the U.S. Constitution is the provision under which a vote by the states in the House of Representatives decides elections not settled by the Electoral College. With his allies in Virginia's General Assembly, he succeeds in converting the University of Virginia's loans from the state Literary Fund into an outright grant and obtains an additional $50,000 for books and scientific instruments. He seeks advice on regulating and equipping the institution, helps to obtain its architectural capitals, and designs its gymnasia. Jefferson describes coffee as "the favorite beverage of the civilised world" and advises a namesake child to "Adore God. reverence and cherish your parents. love your neighbor as yourself; and your country more than life. be just. be true. murmur not at the ways of Providence, and the life into which you have entered will be the passage to one of eternal and ineffable bliss."

The year of Heinz Wolfgang Arndt's birth, 1915, was not a good time for a German boy to be born. His country was soon to be defeated in a great war, his school years were shadowed by the rise of Hitler.

" Traité de la Confiance en la Miséricorde de Dieu est une oeuvre écrite par Jean Joseph Languet de Cergy en 1718. La miséricorde est une forme de compassion pour le malheur d'autrui à laquelle s'ajoute la notion de générosité, de bonté gratuite. Elle fait partie des principaux devoirs du croyant, pour le judaïsme comme pour les autres religions monothéistes. Dans les religions abrahamiques, la miséricorde est une caractéristique de Dieu dont les hommes doivent s'inspirer. Ce livre a successivement appartenu au Révérend Père Rock-Marie Boussinet Ministre Général des Chartreux comme l'indique la dédicace écrite de sa main en tête du livre, puis au Révérend père Soulliard du couvent des Dominicains de Nancy comme l'indique son cachet porté sur la première page. Il date de 1825, le texte à été écrit en 1718 par l'archevêque de Sens, Monseigneur LANGUET, membre de l'académie française, comme il l'est dit plus loin dans la notice. Certains passages sont d'une beauté et d'une profondeur qui auraient fait l'enchantement de Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus."

" Rarahu (idylle polynésienne) est une oeuvre écrite par Pierre Loti.Note : Pierre Loti, dont une grande partie de l'oeuvre est d'inspiration autobiographique, s'est nourri de ses voyages pour écrire ses romans, par exemple à Tahiti pour Le Mariage de Loti (Rarahu) (1882). La reine Pomare lui donne le surnom de Loti, du nom d'une fleur tropicale. Tenu à une obligation de réserve du fait de sa qualité d'officier de marine, il n'en fait son nom de plume qu'à partir de 1876." Rarahu était une petite créature qui ne ressemblait à aucune autre, bien qu'elle fût un type accompli de cette race maorie qui peuple les archipels polynésiens et passe pour une des plus belles du monde ; race distincte et mystérieuse, dont la provenance est inconnue.""

"I shall never, sir, be worthier . . . than I am now. I shall never cure myself of an impetuosity which is all the more dangerous because I believe its motive is sacred."-Napoleon Bonaparte, A Life of Napoleon Bonaparte by Ida TarbellA Life of Napoleon Bonaparte; with a Sketch of Josephine, Empress of the French (1901) was the second of two biographies Ida Tarbell wrote about the French emperor. It details the life of one of history's greatest military and political leaders, from his earliest youth through his death in exile. Because the author spent several years studying in France, she had a very solid knowledge of French history, and this biography has been described as "definitive." It is also sufficiently fast-paced that the author herself called it "biography on a gallop."

" La douloureuse passion de notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ est une retranscription des visions de la religieuse Anne-Catherine Emmerich sur la passion du Christ. Clemens Brentano recueille ce que la religieuse lui raconte au sortir de ses visions, et il en rapporte le récit. L¿ensemble des visions représente plusieurs volumes ; nous proposons ici les visions de la dernière Cène du Christ, de sa passion et sa résurrection. Le traducteur en est l¿abbé de Cazalès.Anne-Catherine Emmerich a été béatifiée par l¿Église catholique et par Jean-Paul II, ce qui tente à donner une certaine confirmation aux visions. Certes, Brentano précise bien au début de l¿ouvrage qüelle n¿a en aucun cas la volonté d¿apporter des éléments qui seraient plus véridiques que les évangiles : les livres saints restent la seule source reconnue d¿inspiration pour la vie du Christ.Il n¿empêche que les visions sont d¿une précision terrible, et complètent avantageusement les Évangiles. Nous voyons tout : l¿institution de l¿Eucharistie, l¿affection du Christ à l¿égard de Judas, la présence de la Vierge Marie, la terrible agonie de Jésus au Jardin des Oliviers, les multiples mauvais traitements ignobles des ennemis du Christ, l¿attitude de Pilate, la crucifixion¿ et la Résurrection.Ce texte permet de comprendre beaucoup de choses, et de vivre la passion avec toutes ses conséquences."

The Good Queen Charlotte is an important historical account of a little-researched period of the Georgian reign, exploring the life, work, and legacy of the queen consort of King George III. Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744-1818) was just 17 when she was betrothed to George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland. First published in 1899, this fascinating work by Percy H. Fitzgerald analyses the history of Queen Charlotte. Discover the highs and lows of the remarkable queen consort's reign and the complexities of her marriage as her husband was diagnosed with 'madness'. Read & Co. History is proudly republishing this biographical volume for a new generation to enjoy.

"Jim Ellis was one of the most influential and impactful civic leaders of Seattle's and Washington's recent history. Without ever seeking elected office, Ellis' vision and drive was the key force behind many major projects defining our city, county, and region from the 1960s through today. From cleaning up Lake Washington, establishing King County Metro, and implementing the broad array of community centered Forward Thrust improvement initiatives, to forward-thinking regional projects like the Mountains to Sound Greenway and the Washington State Convention Center, Ellis was astute at bringing together leaders across political divides to create consensus and change. A Will to Serve is a story about the balance and interconnectivity of personal life and civic life. It's about how the individual people--family, friends, neighbors, colleagues--their shared challenges, and how they worked together to effect change for regional progress. A Will to Serve is Ellis' first-person insight into a tumultuous and dynamic period of our regional history and a window into how patience, persistence, and vision can effect change. Ellis kept notes on his life and projects, wrote extensively about his experiences, and built a deep portfolio of public speeches. He drew from these to shape his detailed and engaging autobiography, a compelling telling of regional history. The Will to Serve, in Ellis' own words, is introduced and framed by former Secretary of the Interior, and Jim Ellis mentee, Sally Jewell. Several key accomplishments of his later life are presented by HistoryLink historian Jennifer Ott"--

In this collection, Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from Australia and Europe reflect on how their life histories have impacted their research in Indigenous Australian Studies. Drawing on Pierre Nora's concept of ego-histoire as an analytical tool, contributors lay open their paths, personal commitments and passion involved in their resea...

Henry Prinsep is known as Western Australia's first Chief Protector of Aborigines in the colonial government of Sir John Forrest, a period which saw the introduction of oppressive laws that dominated the lives of Aboriginal people for most of the 20th century.

"This new volume corrects the previous faults and presents the story of a pilot who was the right man at the right time." -- Air ClassicsThe first full reappraisal of one of Britain's great fighter aces, this book examines the truth behind Tuck's 1956 biography, Fly for Your Life. It looks at the evidence behind the myths, checks out some of the exaggerated stories and reveals the real Stanford Tuck. In January 1942 Bob Tuck was the top-scoring British fighter ace with an official score of 29 enemy aircraft destroyed. With film-star looks he was the glamorous role model for the RAF publicity machine and an eager press and public wanting wartime heroes. He had joined the RAF in 1935 and quickly showed his excellent flying skills. In 1940 his Spitfire squadron was fighting over Dunkirk where he proved himself an expert shot. During the Battle of Britain his legendary prowess grew and he was posted to command a leaderless and demoralized squadron, this time flying Hurricanes. He continued to prove he was an outstanding fighter ace, gaining the rare distinction of three DFCs and then the DSO for his leadership. He was shot down over France in January 1942. Imprisoned in Stalag Luft III. His room-mate was Roger Bushell, the mastermind of the Great Escape and Tuck worked with him on the committee and was to be his partner in the escape. In January 1944 however, around 20 POWs, including Tuck, were purged to a new camp. Still determined to escape, when his camp was moved out on the Long March westwards, Tuck and a Polish officer took a risky chance and made their way east to Russian forces and thence to England. This book reveals a more complex man than the one-dimensional hero of the previous biography. Post war, he became good friends with the Luftwaffe ace, Adolf Galland, and was a key advisor with him on the film, Battle of Britain, and, often with his other friend, Douglas Bader, made many media appearances. His health suffered in later years from the impact of his war service and his imprisonment and he died aged 70 in 1987.

"Isaac Deutscher's celebrated biographies of Stalin and Trotsky had always been conceived as a part of a larger project eventually culminating in a study of Lenin's life and politics. The three works would have constituted, he hoped, "a triptych of some artistic unity." But it was not to be; by the time of his sudden death in 1967, Deutscher had only managed to complete the first chapter, this book, which covers Lenin's family background, birth and early years in the backwater town of Simbirsk up to the execution of his brother, Alexander Ulyanov, a traumatic but formative event. Based on a lifetime of background research, including access to the closed section of Trotsky's archives, Lenin's Childhood gave, at the time of its posthumous publication, a novel interpretation of the earliest influences in Lenin's personality and thinking. Most of all, it offers a glimpse into a work unfinished, a work which would have striven save Lenin from fanatical anti-revolutionary condemnation, and, perhaps more importantly, from uncritical communist beatification"--

A laugh-out-loud memoir by Parachute Regiment and 22 SAS veteran John Wick - the man who helped break the story of the 2009 MPs' Expenses Scandal. Have you ever wondered how to conduct a ransom negotiation? Would you know what to do if you accidentally found yourself in a room full of Columbian drug barons? How would you feel if you were hurtling towards the ground beneath a partially-inflated parachute? Would you panic if you were threatened with imprisonment by the Speaker of the House of Commons? These are only a few of the dilemmas faced by John during 60 years of adventures, in both Army and civilian life, which at times left him perilously close to having a rendezvous with the Grim Reaper. This is a book about family, friendship, travel and, above all, John's enduring resilience in the face of adversity. It ends in 2009 with the MPs' Expenses Scandal, which rocked the nation and destroyed the careers of many Members of Parliament. Who can forget the revelations of wrongdoing that filled the pages of The Daily Telegraph newspaper that Spring? Without John Wick's courage and determination to do the right thing, at a risk to his own safety, the truth might have remained hidden from public scrutiny forever.

" Bernard, supérieur de l'abbaye de Clairvaux, né en 1090 à Fontaine-lès-Dijon et mort le 20 août 1153. Directeur de conscience et important promoteur de l'ordre cistercien, il recherche l'amour du Christ par la mortification la plus dure. Il fait preuve, toute sa vie, d'une activité inlassable pour instruire ses moines, pour émouvoir et entraîner les foules, pour élaborer un dogme militant que son ordre et toute l'Église catholique mettront en ¿uvre.C'est aussi un conservateur, qui fustige les mutations de son époque, marquée par une profonde transformation de l'économie, de la société et du pouvoir politique.Mort en 1153, il est canonisé dès 1174 et devient ainsi saint Bernard de Clairvaux. Il est déclaré Docteur de l'Église catholique en 1830 par le pape Pie VIII. Avec son Éloge de la Nouvelle Chevalerie il dresse ici le portrait des Templiers et leur mission, une chevalerie destinée à défendre les lieux saints et la justice."

A definitive biography of the French aristocrat who became one of democracy's greatest championsIn 1831, at the age of twenty-five, Alexis de Tocqueville made his fateful journey to America, where he observed the thrilling reality of a functioning democracy. From that moment onward, the French aristocrat would dedicate his life as a writer and politician to ending despotism in his country and bringing it into a new age. In this authoritative and groundbreaking biography, leading Tocqueville expert Olivier Zunz tells the story of a radical thinker who, uniquely charged by the events of his time, both in America and France, used the world as a laboratory for his political ideas.Placing Tocqueville's dedication to achieving a new kind of democracy at the center of his life and work, Zunz traces Tocqueville's evolution into a passionate student and practitioner of liberal politics across a trove of correspondence with intellectuals, politicians, constituents, family members, and friends. While taking seriously Tocqueville's attempts to apply the lessons of Democracy in America to French politics, Zunz shows that the United States, and not only France, remained central to Tocqueville's thought and actions throughout his life. In his final years, with France gripped by an authoritarian regime and America divided by slavery, Tocqueville feared that the democratic experiment might be failing. Yet his passion for democracy never weakened.Giving equal attention to the French and American sources of Tocqueville's unique blend of political philosophy and political action, The Man Who Understood Democracy offers the richest, most nuanced portrait yet of a man who, born between the worlds of aristocracy and democracy, fought tirelessly for the only system that he believed could provide both liberty and equality.

Many students of Civil War history recall Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson as the enigmatic and talented Confederate general from Lexington, Virginia, but few notice that the polarizing military leader was born and raised in the hills of present-day West Virginia.First published in 1924, The Family and Early Life of Stonewall Jackson is the most popular biography of Jackson to ever come out of West Virginia. Scholars and casual readers alike are still drawn to the book for its insight into a relatively unexamined stage of Jackson's life.State historian Roy Bird Cook crafts a narrative that heavily focuses on Jackson's Mountain State roots. In doing so, he argues that much of Stonewall Jackson's character -including his gentlemanly mannerisms, his devout Christian faith, and independent, no-nonsense attitude- was forged by his upbringing in Lewis County, West Virginia.This edition present the original 1924 version of the text in its entirety, along with an introductory essay by historian S. C. Straley.