This is a history of the Khmers, the people who for thousands of years inhabited the wooded interior of Cambodia. One hundred and fifty years ago the representatives of imperial France were astonished to find half-buried within the jungle the still magnificent ruins of vast temples. Justly described as one of the wonders of the world, these were the remnants of the once great Angkor empire. Sin…
The mighty Mali Empire comes vividly to life in Carole P. Roman’s latest immersive historical picture book, If You Were Me and Lived in … the Ancient Mali Empire. The Mali Empire may seem an obscure subject when compared with some of the civilizations Roman has covered in her previous books. But using her practiced technique of casting the reader in the role of a child of the culture, Ro…
Oliver's well-researched biography of Mansa Musa reads like an exotic tale of gold, glory, and adventure. During his long reign as Mali's emperor, Mansa Musa led his empire into its Golden Age, presided over a spectacular, 60,000 person, 9,000 mile pilgrimage, founded a university in Timbuktu, and helped revolutionize architecture across the Sudan. Oliver does not allow Musa's story to get bogg…
The history of African Americans is a long and tragic chronicle of events. The people who dared to stand up and speak out against the systemic cruelty and oppression were often brutally killed for their efforts. This has created a rich tapestry of defiant and courageous leaders and followers who have gradually pressed for the evolution of thought within the United States of America. The Hait…
The book sheds light on the indigenous principles of social organisation - the centrality of women, male veiling and milk-kinship - bringing positive feminist perspectives on how the Sahrawi have innovatively reconfigured their tribal nomadic pastoral society into globalising citizen-nomads constructing their nascent nation-state. This is essential reading for those interested in anthropology, …
As the Spanish were preparing to leave colonized Western Sahara in 1975, Morocco invaded, sparking a war with the Western Saharan Polisario Front. About 70% of Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco, which stations up to 140,000 soldiers in the territory, primarily along a 1700 kilometre long sand berm that is protected by one of the world’s largest fields of landmines. In 1991, Morocco and t…
The war in Afghanistan has been the longest in US history, and in many ways, the most confounding. Few who fought in it think it has been worthwhile. These are difficult topics for any American or Afghan to consider, especially those who lost friends or family in it. This sobering history—written by the very people who have been fighting the war—is impossible to ignore. Contents: 1. Was…
Why is oil-rich Saudi Arabia involved in a costly and merciless war against neighbouring Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East? Why, with billions of dollars of British and American weapons, have the Saudis lost the upper hand to the Houthi rebels? In this first authoritative account of the present conflict, Ginny Hill delves into a country still dominated by the pernicious influence…
A comprehensive history and analysis of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, published in the run up to its 100th anniversary. First published by Longman Green, London, this book had a short life; the entire stock and the publisher's premises were destroyed by the german blitz in 1941. ?The Balfour Declaration of 1917 is a document that profoundly affected the Middle East. Palestine: The Reality is…
In the first full-scale history of the reign of Catherine to appear in almost a century Isabel de Madariaga uses a broad range of Western and Soviet scholarship to give an authoritative account of Catherine's own role in the forward march of Russia during the eighteenth century. From her accession to the throne in 1762 Catherine ruled Russia for thirty-four years, and her greatness, de Madar…