The epic story of the rise and fall of the empire of cotton, its centrality to the world economy, and its making and remaking of global capitalism.
 
Cotton is so ubiquitous as to be almost invisible, yet understanding its history is key to understanding the origins of modern capitalism. Sven Beckert’s rich, fascinating book tells the story of how, in a remarkably brief period, European entrepreneurs and powerful statesmen recast the world’s most significant manufacturing industry,...

"Like the radioactivity of its world, Termush crackles with an invisible, deadly energy." —Ray Naylor, author of Mountain in the SeaWith an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer that makes an ardent case for its relevance to today’s world, this rediscovered classic of Scandinavian fiction is still shockingly relevant more than fifty years after it was first published. Sven Holm’s Termush is a searing and prophetic study of humanity forc...

Sven Hassel's iconic anti-war novel about the Russian Front.'An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe' NEW YORK TIMES'An incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice . . . Hassel is a first-rate storyteller' WASHINGTON POSTConvicted of deserting the German army, Sven Hassel is sent to a penal regiment on the Russian Front. He and his comrades are regarded a...

THE BLOODY ROAD TO DEATH depicts all the savagery of war punctuated with black humour, as Tiny, Porta and the rest of the men advance across Europe.The Russian Officer falls forward and I sink my teeth into his throat. Blood runs down over my face but I don't notice it. I am fighting for my life.The 27th Penal Regiment are veterans of the frontline.But when Hitler's war takes them through Greece, Yugoslavia and Albania, they are entirely un...

Are you depressed, but don't know why? Or is it inexplicable anxiety that grips your gut?Do you, over and over, sabotage yourself, your career, or your relationship?Is your relationship falling apart and you're not sure what to do?Do you have it all, but still feel unfulfilled or even miserable inside?Is your 20-year old son or daughter unmotivated, causing you to feel ever more frustrated?Does your mother or father continue, even well into your adul...

There were not so much people as animals. Sometimes small and frightened, huddling together in cattle cars, wounds gaping, tongues swelling even as they licked the moist frost from the walls...Grievously wounded - having survived the operating table and the perilous journey West on a freezing freight train - Sven Hassel and his comrades find themselves behind the lines in a Hamburg hospital.The Reich is a hotbed of lies, betrayal and propaganda. Disgusted by the Na...

The Russian uses his machine pistol like a scythe. Feldwebel remains standing for a fraction of a second. The rain of bullets pours into him, making him twitch violently. He falls to the floor. The Russian grins. There is no doubt that he is enjoying himself.Sven Hassel and his comrades are ordered to take O.G.P.U. Prison in any way they can, even if it means killing the Russians with their bare hands.Armed with flame-throwers and heavy artillery, the 27th Penal Re...

Sven Hassel's ultimate tank warfare novel.'This is a book of horrors, and should be left alone by those prone to nightmares. Sven Hassel's descriptions of the atrocities committed by both sides are the most horrible indictments of war I have ever read ... A great war novel!' Alan SilitoeStationed on the Russian Front and now equipped with armoured vehicles, Sven Hassel and his comrades from the 27th Penal Regiment fight on remorselessly...All of the...

Jake Walker, an ex-Marine, tries to fit in with the civilian world after returning stateside. He decides to move into an older home in a rural setting close to the Canadian border. He plans to relax, avoid crowds, and take some time to record a few experiences from his tour of duty while in Afghanistan. During high school, he'd learned the art of self-defense from his father's tutelage, and thus, he could handle any trouble that came his way in life. Now he needed to either use this craft ...

A sobering portrait of the absurdity of the Nazi regime and the atrocities committed by Hitler's secret police.'Frighteningly vivid, a most strongly felt piece of writing' IRISH TIMESAfter months of fighting a savage war on the Eastern Front, the 27th Penal Regiment - men considered little more than criminals - are joined by German reserves.A garrison has been attacked and occupied by Russian troops. The German soldiers have been slaughtered. Sven H...

How did South Africa obtain nuclear weapons? How did the apartheid government dismantle this intensely secret program?In 1989, South Africa made the momentous decision to abandon its nuclear weapons, making it the first and still the only country that has produced nuclear weapons and given them up. Over thirty years, the apartheid regime had created a remarkably sophisticated capability to build nuclear weapons—both the nuclear warhead and advanced military systems to deliver them. ...

'They beat me,' whispers the artillery officer, 'Smashed my teeth in, sent an electric current through me. They want me to confess to something I never did.'Sven Hassel and his comrades are fighting on the Finnish front, facing an arctic winter more ferocious than anything they've ever known.But if they survive, they face shipment to Torgau Prison - the centre of Hitler's penal system - where deserters, convicts and anyone showing anti-Nazi sentiments are imprisone...