Since its coinage in mid-19th century Germany, Realpolitik has proven both elusive and protean. To some, it represents the best approach to meaningful change and political stability in a world buffeted by uncertainty and rapid transformation. To others, it encapsulates an attitude of cynicism and cold calculation, a transparent and self-justifying policy exercised by dominant nations over weaker. Remolded across generations and repurposed to its political and ideological moment,

Since its coinage in mid-19th century Germany, Realpolitik has proven both elusive and protean. To some, it represents the best approach to meaningful change and political stability in a world buffeted by uncertainty and rapid transformation. To others, it encapsulates an attitude of cynicism and cold calculation, a transparent and self-justifying policy exercised by dominant nations over weaker. Remolded across generations and repurposed to its political and ideological moment,

The best political biography of the year' Jonathan Sumption, Spectator'Wonderful . . . A Life so nearly complete it need never be written again' Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary SupplementBy the author of the Orwell Prize-winning Citizen ClemDamned in coruscating verse by Shelley and Byron, his coffin hissed at during his funeral, Lord Castlereagh has one of the blackest reputations in Britis...

The essential resource on military and political strategy and the making of the modern worldThe New Makers of Modern Strategy is the next generation of the definitive work on strategy and the key figures who have shaped the theory and practice of war and statecraft throughout the centuries. Featuring entirely new entries by a who’s who of world-class scholars, this new edition provides global, comparative perspectives on strategic thought from antiquity to...

**WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING****WINNER OF THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY***Book of the year: The Times, Sunday Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Evening Standard*'Outstanding . . . We still live in the society that was shaped by Clement Attlee' Robert Harris, Sunday Times'The best book in the ...

**WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING****WINNER OF THE ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY***Book of the year: The Times, Sunday Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Evening Standard*'Outstanding . . . We still live in the society that was shaped by Clement Attlee' Robert Harris, Sunday Times'The best book in the ...

How can our understanding of the past help to solve our present political or economic conditions and conflicts? Edited by Swedish author Kurt Almqvist and historian Mattias Hessérus, the essays in this volume range from discussions of the history of ideas and ideologies to evolutionary psychology, as writers configure new ways in which to apply history to todays concerns such as international relations, geopolitics, economics and the role of the individualas well as human nature at largeth...

A talented young dancer and his brilliant teacherIn this long-awaited memoir, dancer and choreographer John Clifford offers a highly personal look inside the day-to-day operations of the New York City Ballet and its creative mastermind, George Balanchine. Balanchine’s Apprentice is the story of Clifford—an exceptionally talented artist—and the guiding inspiration for his life’s work in dance.Growing up in Hollywood with parents in show business, Cl...

A distinguished theater critic brings twentieth-century playwright Arthur Miller’s dramatic story to life with bold and revealing new insights.John Lahr brings unique perspective to the life of Arthur Miller (1915–2005), the playwright who almost single-handedly propelled twentieth-century American theater to a new level of cultural sophistication.This book, organized around the fault lines of Miller’s life—his family, the Great Depression, the rise of fasc...

Brought to you by Penguin.*A BBC RADIO 4 Book of the Week*A radical new account of how the idea of the West has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives.We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread stretching from classical antiquity to the countries of the modern Western world. But what if this is wrong?Told through the lives of fourteen fascinating historical...

'The best book on Roman Britain I've read in ages' - TOM HOLLAND'A masterly evocation of the bloodiest year in British history' - ALICE ROBERTSAlmost 2000 years ago, Boudica led the greatest rebellion Britain has ever seen. Within the space of a single blood-soaked year, she united the tribes to deliver blow after devastating blow to the Roman regime, culminating in a brutal, decisive battle.Archaeo...

The story of how the British shaped sport, and sport shaped the British.Sport is an enduring element of British life and culture. Few other strands of Britain's history touch on so many significant aspects of past and present: national identity, class, gender, the relationship between country and town, the rise of commerce, the evolution of ethical debate. And that's apart from the on-field action - the triumphs and heartbreaks that have become part of the national...