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Today the castle is only too often a romantic ruin; but in the Middle Ages it was an important military and administrative centre, essentially utilitarian in its design and in the purposes it served. Inevitably, the castle played a leading role in mediaeval history. Using the wealth of material available Philip Warner has focused his study on English sieges undertaken in the period from the Norman Conquest to the end of the War of the Roses, a field...

In April 1609, King Philip III of Spain signed an edict denouncing the Muslim inhabitants of Spain as heretics, traitors, and apostates. Later that year, the entire Muslim population of Spain was given three days to leave Spanish territory, on threat of death. In a brutal and traumatic exodus, entire families and communities were obliged to abandon homes and villages where they had lived for generations, leaving their property in the hands of their...

Acclaimed author of biographical and historical fiction Irving Stone turns his magnificent talent to telling America's most colorful and exciting story-the opening of the Far West.Men to Match My Mountains is a true historical masterpiece, an unforgettable pageant of giants-men like John Sutter, whose dream of paradise was shattered by the California Gold Rush; Brigham Young and the Mormons, who tamed the desert with Bible texts; and the silver kings...

A member of the unique generation of African writers and intellectuals who came of age in the last days of colonialism, the author has witnessed the promise of independence and lived through postcolonial failure. He deeply comprehends the pressing problems of Africa, and, as an irrepressible essayist and a staunch critic of the oppressive boot, he unhesitatingly speaks out. In this work, he offers a wide-ranging inquiry into Africa's culture, religion,...

Great sieges changed the course of medieval history, yet siege warfare, the dominant military activity of the period, is rarely given the attention it deserves. Geoffrey Hindley's highly readable new account of this vital but neglected aspect of medieval warfare looks at the subject from every angle. He traces the development of fortifications and siege equipment, explores the psychological dimension and considers the parts played by women and camp...

Vitality floods its pages. Philosophers and kings, warriors and merchants, poets and financiers come alive as the story ranges across time and the globe. From ancient Palestine through Europe and the Orient, to America and modern Israel, Max Dimont shows how the saga of the Jews is interwoven with the history of virtually every nation on earth. Brilliantly narrated in a thousand and one episodes, this newly revised and updated edition tells the story...

Between 1846 and 1873, California's Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide. Madley describes...

As part of the Oxford History of the United States series, this volume is a portrait of an era that saw dramatic transformations in American life. The author illuminates the period from the battle of New Orleans to the end of the Mexican-American War, an era when the United States expanded to the Pacific and won control over the richest part of the North American continent. This narrative portrays revolutionary improvements in transportation and communications...

This classic study of Irish culture, extensively illustrated with photographs, maps and drawings, and reissued with a new foreword and an updated bibliography, gives a detailed yet panoramic view of Ireland. It follows in the great tradition of French historiography, adding the testament of landscape, antiquities and folk custom to that of document-based history as a primary source of knowledge of our past. It is a justly acclaimed, stimulating work...

Between 1825 and 1831 close to 200 Britons and 1000 Aborigines died violently in Tasmania's Black War. It was by far the most intense frontier conflict in Australia's history, yet many Australians know little about it. The Black War takes a unique approach to this historic event, looking chiefly at the experiences and attitudes of those who took part in the conflict. By contrasting the perspectives of colonists and Aborigines, Nicholas Clements takes...