"Quelle histoire! . . . This book is a feast of tidbits about French history . . . the presentation [is] jazzed up with sidebars and timelines." — The New York Times Book ReviewWith the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the next two centuries for France would be tumultuous. Critically acclaimed historian and political commentator Jonathan Fenby provides an expert and riveting journey through this period a...

'China's reemergence as a global economic powerhouse has compressed into a single generation an industrial and urban revolution on a scale the world has never seen. Its transformation looks to many foreigners, and to millions of newly prosperous Chinese, like a near-miraculous escape from the agonies of its recent history - late imperial, warlord-republican and Maoist. The great merit of Jonathan Fenby's vivid account of the years since 1850 is to underline how heavily that history still w...

Chiang Kai-shek was the man who lost China to the Communists. As leader of the nationalist movement, the Kuomintang, Chiang established himself as head of the government in Nanking in 1928. Yet although he laid claim to power throughout the 1930s and was the only Chinese figure of sufficient stature to attend a conference with Churchill and Roosevelt during the Second World War, his desire for unity was always thwarted by threats on two fronts. Between them, the Japanese and the Communists...

No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. As founder and first president of the Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle saw himself as “carrying France on [his] shoulders.”In his twenties, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler’s Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, p...

China's spectacular growth and expanding global role have led to visions of the 21st century being dominated by the last major state on earth ruled by a Communist Party. In this new edition of his widely acclaimed book, renowned China expert Jonathan Fenby shows why such assumptions are wrong. He presents an analysis of China under Xi Jinping which explores the highly significant political, economic, social and international challenges it faces, each involving structural difficulties that ...

The Times Book of the YearBBC History Magazine Book of the YearDaily Telegraph Book of the YearBOOK OF THE WEEK - The Times‘The strength of this book lies in the cold realities it delivers. “The thirteen months of 1947-48,” writes Fenby, “provide trenchant examples of how realpolitik can serve a wider purpose if those in power know how to use it.” Crucible captures perfectly the urgency of the time…Read this ...

"A welcome reassessment of one of the most important and controversial leaders of the 20th century." — Christian Science MonitorWith a narrative as briskly paced and vividly detailed as an international thriller, this indispensable biography of Chiang Kai-shek masterfully maps the tumultuous political career of Nationalist China's generalissimo as it reevaluates his brave but unfulfilled life.Chiang Kai-shek was one of the most inf...

They were the most powerful rulers on earth.The mighty Qin Shi Huangdu (r. 221-210 BC), who began the construction of the Great Wall.The long-lived Han emperor Wudi (r. 141-87 BC), who developed China as a centralized Confucian state.The soldier-scholar Yongle (r. 1402-24 AD), who raised the Ming dynasty to its military peak.The dowager empress Cixi (r. 1861-1908 AD), who rose from humble Manchu origins to rule over all China.In The Dragon Throne...

The history of the Second World War is usually told through its decisive battles and campaigns. But behind the front lines, behind even the command centres of Allied generals and military planners, a different level of strategic thinking was going on. Throughout the war the 'Big Three' -- Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin -- met in various permutations and locations to thrash out ways to defeat Nazi Germany -- and, just as importantly, to decide the way Europe would look after the war. This ...

The magnificent wonders of China, ancient and modern, revealed by an international team of leading scholars.China is the oldest continuous civilization on earth and holds a unique global place in the twenty-first century. The Great Wonders of China’s wide focus shows what makes China such a special country, with topics stretching from the natural wonders, including mountains and rivers, to the Silk Road; the technological innovations of printing and the co...

In 1914, Europe was not the only continent coming to terms with a new form of conflict. Through a mix of complex alliances and global ambition, the war had spread to northern China, where the German-held port of Tsingtao became a key battleground. To strike a blow at Kaiser Wilhelm's naval forces, Britain and its ally Japan lay siege to the port during October and November. In The Siege of Tsingtao, the first of the Penguin China Specials on the First World War, celebrated histori...

This insightful portrait of Winston Churchill delves beyond well-known political moments, incorporating perspectives from various individuals who encountered him throughout his life.From Bletchley Park codebreakers and Hollywood stars such as Charlie Chaplin, through writers as varied as H. G. Wells and P. G. Wodehouse, to the likes of Harold Wilson, Mahatma Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II, these lesser-known interactions reveal glimpses of the man behind the legend....