The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people 'the art of being fearless.' It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it's also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill's prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports -some released only recently - Larson provides a new lens on London's darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents' wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela's illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill's 'Secret Circle,' to whom he turns in the hard

Mary Stuart's life was filled with unprecedented drama and controversy. Becoming Queen of Scots at the age of nine months and Queen of France at the age of sixteen, she ascended the throne, which was her birthright, at eighteen. As the head of one of the most troubled countries in Europe, torn apart by religious conflict and power struggles, Mary led armies to victory and defeat; she survived the murder of her second husband and married what was called his murderer. At twenty-five, she was held captive by another queen - Elizabeth Tudor, who signed Mary's death sentence after nineteen years of imprisonment. Renowned historian and biographer John Guy examines the maze of conspiracies that the Scottish lords wove to seize power and the efforts of Elizabeth's ministers to exclude Mary from the rightful heirs to the English throne. It offers completely new interpretations of a famous story that has inspired writers, poets, composers, artists and filmmakers for centuries. The book formed th

The book by Suzanne Shattenberg, a professor of modern history and culture at the University of Bremen, is a political biography of Leonid Brezhnev, who held senior management positions in the USSR for 18 years (from 1964 to 1982). The author recreates Brezhnev's life from the moment of birth in the village of Kamenskoe in December 1906. The readers are offered the image of a politician who, in his work at the highest party and state posts, was genuinely driven by the interests of preserving peace and raising the standard of living of the Soviet people. His personal political experience played a significant role in this. Brezhnev appears not as a hero of jokes, not as a poster character in history, but as a living person. The book is based on publications and documents from the archives of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, as well as many Western European countries.

Rasputin - a simple monk from Siberia or the devil? The scandal surrounding him and the Tsar's family only further undermined the final years of Imperial Russia.

Boris Viktorovich Savinkov is a famous writer and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, the prototype of numerous literary and cinematic characters. Savinkov took part in many terrorist acts, headed the legendary military underground organization Alef, played an important role in a number of notorious political assassinations. In 1906 he was sentenced to death, but managed to escape to Europe. Having settled in Paris, Savinkov writes Memoirs of a Terrorist, a gripping story about his life that reads like a captivating adventure novel, with the only difference that it reveals the true world of the conspirators of the early twentieth century.

Among the stars on Hollywood Boulevard are those that have been awarded to filmmakers of Russian origin in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the cinema. Russian emigration had a significant impact on many spheres of world culture of the 20t

When Dean Nicholson left his life in Scotland to cycle around the world, he wanted to learn as much as he could about our troubled planet. Then, on a remote road in the Bosnian mountains, Dean came across an abandoned kitten. He couldn't leave the bedraggled creature, so he put her on his bike, smuggled her over the border to Montenegro, and nursed her back to health with the help of local vets. Dean hadn't bargained for this unlikely companion for his travels - or the lessons he would learn from her along the way

Sidonie C. was born in 1900 and became particularly well-known for being sent to Dr. Freud as a young woman in order to treat her homosexuality. She became a famous case documented by Freud. With vivid language, Ines Rieder and Diana Voigt tell the eventful story of a strong-willed and fascinating woman from an upper-class family whose life was profoundly shattered by the expulsion and extermination of the Jewish population. The biography is based on numerous interviews and many years of research and was supplemented by extensive photographic material and detailed background information.

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in hi

Richard P. Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. In this lively work that 'can shatter the stereotype of the stuffy scientist' (Detroit Free Press), Feynman recounts his experiences trading ideas on atomic physic