A fascinating exploration of the rich, varied cultural worlds shaped by three great European rivers: the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Po.Three of Europe’s greatest rivers share the same geological cradle: one fertile patch of Alpine ice in the jagged heights of central Switzerland. Coursing down through the peaks, the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Po gave birth to three different European cultures—German, French, and Italian—as they flowed across the continent.Fro...

John Wisden, at his peak known as 'The Little Wonder', was a key member of the England cricket team who in 1859 sailed across the Atlantic on the world's first overseas cricket tour. In 1864, after his retirement, Wisden published the first edition of the book that would make his name immortal. He printed 'full and accurate scores' along with indispensable facts about the Derby, the St Leger, the university rowing matches 'and other Interesting Information', including potted histories of t...

In the spring of 1613 Mr William Shakespeare, a gentleman farmer in Warwickshire, returns to London. It is a ceremonial visit; he has no further theatrical ambitions. But the city is still reeling from the terrorist panic of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and fate soon forces him to take up his pen again. It was never possible to write about Henry VII while his granddaughter Elizabeth was Queen, but now he must. It is a perilous enterprise: King James I's spies are everywhere.There is...

In recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: 'soft power'. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their 'sphere of influence' as brands in a global marketplace.In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power h...

Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport. Within just a few days of each other, Hedley Verity, Henry Cotton and Fred Perry all triumphed in their field. To a sporting audience still groaning through the quagmire left by the Great Depression, greedy for inspiring distractions, these heroic events made for a heady spectacle.England's Ashes Test victory at Lord's (later known as Verity's match) saw Australia seeking re...

In recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: 'soft power'. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their 'sphere of influence' as brands in a global marketplace.In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power h...

Richard III is a drama in five acts by William Shakespeare. The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England, and is believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is sometimes classified as a tragedy (as in the earliest quarto); but it more correctly belongs to the histories, as classified in the First Folio. It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part III and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II. After Hamlet, it...

A book for lovers of all things Italian -- an homage to the city of Trieste.This history-drenched city on the Adriatic has always tantalized Jan Morris with its moodiness and changeability. After visiting Trieste for more than half a century, she has come to see it as a touchstone for her interests and preoccupations: cities, seas, empires. It has even come to reflect her own life in its loves, disillusionments, and memories. Her meditation on Trieste is characteris...

As Edward IV lay on his deathbed, he had no knowledge of the dark conspiracy which was to surround his son, and his brother Richard after his death. This is the story of the two tumultuous years of his reign - told by the Man of Keen Sight, who befriended and then betrayed him, and by the Nun, who had known him in happier times.

Richard III is a historic play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England.

A UNIQUE EXPLORATION OF GERMAN CULTURE, FROM SAUSAGE ADVERTISEMENTS TO WAGNERSitting on a bench at a communal table in a restaurant in Regensburg, his plate loaded with disturbing amounts of bratwurst and sauerkraut made golden by candlelight shining through a massive glass of beer, Simon Winder was happily swinging his legs when a couple from Rottweil politely but awkwardly asked: "So: why are you here?"This book is an attempt to answer that questi...

When, in 1963, Anthony Burgess finally started work on the novel he had long planned to write, a challenge lay ahead of him. There was never any doubt in his mind that his fictional biography of Shakespeare should be written in a language that was, if not exactly that of the late sixteenth century, then an 'approximation to Elizabethan English'. Nothing Like the Sun opens with a young WS (as he is known throughout the novel) at home in Stratford-upon-Avon. WS is desperate to escape the con...