Tough Crimes is a collection of thoughtful and insightful stories by twenty of Canada’s most prominent criminal lawyers. In the book, they write about cases that had surprising turns, or that presented personal or ethical challenges. We’ve all heard the media’s take on notorious criminals, but when have we had a chance to hear directly from the lawyers who defended or prosecuted them? We’ve all lamented the fate of a person who we think was wrongfully accused, but who better to explain wha...

In "The Sieges of Vienna by the Turks," Karl August Schimmer meticulously chronicles the two sieges of the Habsburg capital by Ottoman forces in 1529 and 1683. The book employs a narrative style that merges rigorous historical analysis with vivid storytelling, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the political, military, and social dynamics at play during these pivotal moments in European history. Schimmer emphasizes the cultural exchanges that arose amidst conflict, off...

More Tough Crimes follows the exceptional success of Tough Crimes: True Cases by Top Canadian Criminal Lawyers (2014) and Shrunk: Crime and Disorders of the Mind (2016), the first two books in Durvile’s True Cases Series. What makes this series so unique and successful is the  window provided into the world of criminal justice. The sixteen stories in More Tough Crimes are written by Donald Bayne on the Senator Mike Duffy trial and the theme of a trial as media spectacle;  Brian Beresh on a...

This "monumental" portrait of the man, his music, and the world in which he lived is "a truly remarkable biography" ( The Christian Science Monitor).Jan Swafford's biographies of Charles Ives and Johannes Brahms have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, more than a decade in the making, peels away layers of legend to get to the living, breathi...

Maria’s Story is a true account of a Polish teen’s trials and tribulations as a slave girl of the Nazis in the Second World War. Driven out of Krakow during the invasion by the German Army, Maria and her sister Stefania flee for the safety of their country village only to be rounded up and sent to forced labor in Greater Germania. The loveliness of their new home in an alpine village in Austria belies the hardship and loneliness they endure among strangers in a strange land. It’s Maria’s fait...

The primary purpose of Austria-Hungary's navy until the beginning of the twentieth century was the defense of its coastline.As its merchant marine dramatically grew, admirals believed that the navy should take a more proactive policy of defense. The 1890s saw the beginning of a series of naval building programs that would create a well-balanced modern fleet, including a force of modern battleships.In this illustrated history, Ryan Noppen examines how these ...

After more than half-a-century of wars in Hungary, the conflict between the Habsburgs and the Sublime Porte explodes in 1593, after a series of border incidents. The confrontation was soon regarded as crucial by both sides, also involving the neighbouring states in a complex and ruthless game of diplomacy and betrayal. The organization and the equipment of the various armies of the protagonists of those campaigns are treated together, along with the military operations, and the warfare of ...

Au-delà des deux dates charnières de 1973 et 1979, il importe de considérer les évolutions qui ont touché l’Europe de l’ouest comme des mutations nécessaires dans un monde de moins en moins bipolaire. À travers ses épreuves et ses hésitations, la Communauté européenne construit malgré tout un parcours original dans le domaine énergétique. Consciente de ses faiblesses, elle n’a pas toutes les armes pour dépasser ses contradictions. Mais la période 1960/1980 lui permet au moins de poser les ...

When Austrian soldiers first set foot in Lombardy-Venetia in October, 1813, they were greeted everywhere as liberators and friends. In the spring of 1815, when Joachim Murat's efforts to establish a united Italy ended in miserable failure and when the Habsburgs announced the main features of the regime they intended to establish in their Italian provinces, the Venetians were still strongly pro-Austrian, but considerable anti-Habsburg feeling had developed among the Lombards.This ca...

This book analyses certain ideologies which governed the middle class’ hegemonic approach to leisure in Victorian Manchester. The study presents different forms of leisure, recreation and entertainment in the city. The author also examines the reasons for the support and financial involvement of Manchester bourgeoisie and its municipal authorities in their development. The analysis covers a wide range of cultural practices and activities, such as institutions and activities promoting intel...

This is a groundbreaking study of the prestigious Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics during the Third Reich. Making extensive use of archival material, including some discussed here for the first time, Fritz Trümpi offers new insight into the orchestras' place in the larger political constellation.Trümpi looks first at the decades preceding National Socialist rule, when the competing orchestras, whose rivalry mirrored a larger rivalry between Berlin and Vienna, were called on to repres...

Italian unification is one of the pivotal events in European history but the period leading up to Risorgimento has often been analysed in less detail. This book focuses on the history of the Italian states between 1815 and 1860 focusing on state institutions, international relations, economic and fiscal policies, living conditions and culture.