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Historical & Political Biographies

If you are interested in following a politician's remarkable life and their quest for the top of politics or getting really close to well-known or ordinary people and their lives back in history, then you will be able to find it here. Tales.as has compiled a large selection of over 10,000 exciting books on historical and political biographies. Find inspiration on everything from our international, best and new as well as older political biographies to the best and most exciting historical biographies of famous people from World War II. We are convinced that there is certainly a book that you will like, and thus a high probability of finding your next reading experience about exciting life stories here.
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  • Save 15%
    by Caroline Topperman
    £10.99

  • Save 22%
    by Ian Campbell
    £15.49 - 20.49

  • by The Fed
    £12.49

    Sam's book is part of the My Voice Project, a collection of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. Sam Laskier experienced terrible ordeals at labour camps and then Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was brought to Windermere in England after WWII for rehabilitation, and later settled in Manchester. -- .

  • by The Fed
    £15.49

    Peter's book is part of the My Voice Project, a collection of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. Peter Kurer's family were helped by a Quaker couple to gain safe passage to England in 1938. Peter later married and had children, and had a successful career in dentistry. -- .

  • by The Fed
    £13.99

    Marianne's book is part of the My Voice Project, a collection of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. Marianne Phillips began life in Berlin in 1924, came to England on the Kindertransport, and went on to live in Maidenhead and Manchester, running a dressmaking business and volunteering for many Jewish causes. -- .

  • by The Fed
    £13.99

    Ike Alterman's book is part of the My Voice Project, a collection of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. Ike was born in Poland in 1928, survived forced labour camps including Auschwitz-Birkenau, and went on to live in Manchester and build a career in the jewellery business. -- .

  • by The Fed
    £13.99

    Anne's book is part of the My Voice Project, a collection of firsthand accounts of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. Anne Super was born in Warsaw and experienced a traumatic separation from her parents. She was later adopted by an uncle in South Africa, became an optician and moved to Manchester. -- .

  • by The Fed
    £13.99

    The My Voice Project is a unique initiative by The Fed, Manchester's leading social care charity serving the Jewish community. The My Voice Project empowers Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK to share their entire life stories including experiences before, during and after the war years. This project involves a bespoke methodological approach, producing books that preserve their unique voices. The My Voice Project ensures firsthand accounts are remembered and valued for future generations, highlighting the critical role of individual perspectives in ensuring a deeper historical understanding. Adash Bulwa was born in Poland in 1926. After the outbreak of war, he recalls the Germans entering his home city of Piotrków Trybunalsk and the establishment of the Jewish ghetto, which had terrible living conditions. Adash recounts his harrowing ordeals in the concentration camps of Belzec and Buchenwald. Most of his family were killed in Treblinka, and he worked and suffered in factories and labour camps, all while he was still a teenager. Following liberation, Adash returned briefly to Poland and then emigrated to England, eventually settling in Manchester. He made a living as a tailor, married his wife Zena, and they had two daughters. Post-war, Adash searched for his brother David, who had been smuggled out of Poland before the war, and they were reunited in the 1950s. Adash's book is part of the My Voice book collection.

  • Save 14%
    by John Humphreys
    £9.49 - 15.49

  • by Aleksandr M Nekrich
    £30.99

    First published in 1991, Forsake Fear is the history of historians in post-war Soviet society.

  • by W. F. Reddaway
    £96.99

    First published in 1939, Marshal Pilsudski presents a comprehensive biographical history of Józef Klemens Pi¿sudski (1867-1935). This book discusses various facets of his life and is an important historical reference work.

  • by Natalee Garrett
    £35.49 - 123.99

  • Save 25%
    by Shane Kenny
    £17.99

    From late 1994 to June 1997 Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left were a coalition government led by John Bruton, arguably the most left-wing government in the history of the state. Shane Kenny provides the reader with the ultimate fly-on-the-wall insider account of this crucial period in Irish politics: one which contained highly significant breakthroughs in the Northern Ireland peace process, the most high-profile murder in the history of the state (Veronica Guerin), the establishment of the 'payments to politicians' tribunal which finally exposed the sources of former Taoiseach Charles Haughey's wealth, and a divorce referendum which heralded a changing Ireland.This is also a story of tragedy, both political and human; of those who died and were injured needlessly by the resumption of IRA violence; of a government with good potential which fell; of timing which was wrong, and of an economic disaster that could have been averted, or at least substantially mitigated.

  • Save 22%
    by Ray Lane
    £13.99

    Ray Lane's career began when he was tasked with defusing IRA bombs on the border at the height of The Troubles. He transferred this expertise to Lebanon and later worked as a diplomat in Bosnia during the civil war, witnessing horrific acts committed by people against their own neighbors. The horrors of that war left a deep, permanent mark on him and he would later go on testify in war crimes trials about what he saw.Many years later, when the NATO forces in Afghanistan were facing a daily onslaught of Taliban bombs, it was Ray they sent for, as his experience from Ireland gave him an insight unlike anyone else's.In this gripping memoir, Ray speaks about his incredible career as a soldier and what it takes to be the person who, instead of running away, walks towards a 1,000kg bomb.

  • Save 17%
    by Khumisho Moguerane
    £14.99

    Morafe is a luminous exploration of two generations of the Molema family. Beginning in the 1880s and ending in the 1950s in Mafikeng, the capital town of the North West province, this is a landmark publication of South African history and biography.

  • Save 23%
    by Henrik Malm Lindberg
    £30.99

    This book is, in one way, a biography of Folke Rogard, focusing mostly on his rolesas FIDE President and organizer of modern chess. However, it only briefly discussesthe other facets of his life as a father, husband, lawyer, businessman, and in private.The portrayal of Rogard primarily centers on his organization of chess and his presidencyof FIDE, a position he held for more than two decades. Being in that genre, it aims to capture his personality what his driving forces were and the constraints that held him back.

  •  
    £27.49

    Parliament as an Export (1966) deals with the adoption of overseas countries and particularly the Commonwealth countries of the British Parliamentary system. These countries examined are the original British colonies, the Dominions, the Indian sub-continent and the newer colonial territories.

  • Save 20%
    by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
    £11.99

  • Save 23%
    by Steven Schwankert
    £16.99

    The Six is an extraordinary story of survival against all odds

  • Save 15%
    by Estelle Paranque
    £10.99 - 18.99

  • by Sue Simpson
    £37.49 - 137.49

  • - The Telling Life of Ellen O'Hara
    by Vona Groarke
    £12.49 - 20.99

    A lyrical portrait of a young Irish woman reinventing herself at the turn of the twentieth century in America Ellen O'Hara was a young immigrant from Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century who, with courage and resilience, made a life for herself in New York while financially supporting those at home. Hereafter is her story, told by Vona Groarke, her descendant, in a beautiful blend of poetry, prose, and history. In July 1882, Ellen O'Hara stepped off a ship from the West of Ireland to begin a new life in New York. What she encountered was a world of casual racial prejudice that characterized her as ignorant, dirty, and feckless, the butt of many jokes. From the slim range of jobs available to her she, like, many of her kind, found a position as a domestic servant, working long hours and living in to save on rent and keep. After an unfortunate marriage, Ellen determined to win financial security on her own, and eventually opened a boarding house where her two children were able to rejoin her. Vona Groarke builds this story from historical fact, drawing from various archives for evidence of Ellen. However, she also considers why lives such as Ellen's seem to leave such a light trace in such records and fills in the gaps with memory and empathetic projection. Ellen--scrappy, skeptical, and straight-talking--is the heroine of Hereafter, whose resilience animates the story and whose voice shines through with vivid clarity. Hereafter is both a compelling account of an incredible figure and a reflection on how one woman's story can speak for more than one life.

  • Save 14%
    by Tony Rushmer
    £9.49 - 15.49

  • by R.E. Daniel
    £8.99

    Through the Unknown chronicles a decade in the life of an ordinary American girl, transformed by extraordinary circumstances. From 1978 to 1988, while many navigated love, marriage, and motherhood, she dared to embrace the extraordinary: journeying to war-torn Iran to be with her husband.Venturing into a volatile world, she tested the bounds of love and resilience. But her father always said that she could go through Hell and come out smelling like a rose. Timing is everything. She was able to come back alive and share her unique adventures.

  • Save 13%
    by Richard Rashke
    £12.99

    For this edition, Rashke has added a preface and three short chapters that explore what has been released and learned about the Silkwood case since the book's original publication.Karen Silkwood, an employee of the Kerr-McGee plutonium processing plant, was killed in a car crash on her way to deliver important documents to a newspaper reporter in 1974. Silkwood was a union activist concerned about health and safety issues at the plant, and her death at age 28 was considered by many to be highly suspicious. Was it Kerr-McGee's revenge on a troublesome whistle-blower? Or was it part of a much larger conspiracy reaching from the Atomic Energy Commission to the FBI and the CIA? Richard Rashke leads us through the myriad of charges and countercharges, theories and facts, and reaches conclusions based solely on the evidence in hand. Originally published in 1981, his audiobook offers a vivid, edgy picture of the tensions that racked this country in the 1970s. Now updated, with never-before-revealed names and content, this new volume is an important historical document. Complex, fascinating characters populate this compelling insider's view of the nuclear industry. The issues it explores - whistle-blowers, worker safety, the environment, and nuclear vulnerability - have not lost relevance today, 26 years after Silkwood's white Honda Civic was found trapped in a concrete culvert near Oklahoma City. Rashke fully explores and explains what happened to the various actors in the drama, and discusses the long-term effects of the events around Silkwood's death.Karen Silkwood is recognized by many as the original "Whistler-Blower". Current events should impel every curious reader to pick up this investigation to better understand how power, politics, and greed still influence America's business interests.

  • Save 24%
    by Julian Evans
    £18.99

    From love and marriage to the front line of Russia's invasion, a profoundly personal story of the city of Odesa and the emotional impacts of Putin's ten-year war.

  • Save 13%
    by Unblind Tibbin M.A
    £12.99

    The Afrikan Ancestral Manuscript revitalises the honour and amplifies the influence of our great global Afrikan ancestors in our lives. It ensures their legacies are not forgotten, urging us to 'Know Ourselves' and to honour our ancestors as we do our elders in Afrikan culture.It's vital to remember that our ancestors are the elders of our elders, and that the Creator/Creatress is the ancestor of all ancestors. Spanning from January to December, this book allows us to explore, in chronological order, ancestors born on specific days or months, helping us to recall and uplift their missions throughout the year. We are our ancestors, and this tool aids in remembering the path forward. Additionally, it can be used as a divining method to seek guidance from an enlightened ancestor on a specific day.This manuscript makes it clear that we must narrate our ancestors' experiences in the first person, tapping into their wisdom to enlighten our daily practices.

  • Save 14%
    by Adam Shatz
    £9.49 - 18.99

    Frantz Fanon was born in Martinique, a French colony, in 1925. As a young man, he volunteered to fight in de Gaulle's army for the liberation of France, and trained to become a doctor and psychiatrist. His experiences as a black man under French colonial rule had a profound effect on him. In 1952, he wrote Black Skin, White Masks, a vital analysis of the effects of racism on the human psyche.He was later re-assigned to a hospital in French Algeria. It was here that he became involved in the rebellion of the National Liberation Front (FLN), who fought to break free from colonial power. Fanon's work for the FLN as a propagandist and psychiatrist became highly contentious. His final work, The Wretched of the Earth, was published in 1961 just before he died at the age of 36. It has proved to be one of the most controversial yet influential books of our time.The Rebel's Clinic is a searing biography of the short and harrowing life of Frantz Fanon, and a brilliant, nuanced exploration of his ideas, whose legacy is still so powerful. In an age when debates about race and the effects of colonialism are ever more urgent, The Rebel's Clinic is a profoundly relevant book.

Historical biographies

At tales.as you will find exciting historical biographies about, among other things, great historical personalities, which provide a completely unique insight into their then or past lives. The reader gets even closer to the main character than ever before, by gaining greater knowledge of the person's past challenges and what has often been the basis for the drastic actions and decisions that have been made. Getting closer to Captain Sir Tom Moore, for example, in "Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day", born at the tail end of the Spanish flu epidemic, Tom Moore was raised in the Yorkshire Dales by a loving family that had not escaped tragedy. Whether fighting for his life in Burma or helming a firm back home, racing motorbikes or raising a family, he always sought to do his very best. However, our selection is far larger than celebrities and their success stories, as the range also largely caters to those readers who instead want to gain an insight into more ordinary people and their upsetting stories, which can cover the challenges that many others in these times have also faced. Captivating examples of these historical biographies can be anything from "Happiest Man on Earth" by Eddie Jaku, which is a heartbreaking and inspiring story about an Auschwitz survivor who shares what he learned about gratitude, tolerance and kindness. Or the story of Anne Frank in the biography "Diary of a Young Girl", where Anne kept a diary in which she confided her innermost thoughts and feelings, movingly revealing how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with the daily threat of discovery and death , these petty misunderstandings and the unbearable strain of living like prisoners.These historical biographies are just to name a few of many, but there are far more great biographies to be found above. Find the best historical biographies at tales.as, and be inspired, identify yourself or follow the ups and downs of an admired individual from their past dramatic lives.


Political biographies

If historical biographies are not to be your next book on the bookshelf, then our political biographies may instead fill the void and become your next amazing reading experience. The best political biographies can be found in our beautiful selection, and if it is especially books about politics that interest you, then you have not gone completely wrong. We offer, among other things, the latest political biographies from 2018, 2019 onwards as well as older exciting books. A popular bid for your next political biography may be the tale of Barack Obama about his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency — a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Our selection consists of a wide range of different political biographies, where there are also other older political biographies about everything from past politicians to life stories about current leaders or other people with a political influence who have chosen to share their captivating stories. Therefore, if you have a special interest in politics and love to get an even deeper insight into episodes, events or just a greater knowledge of a specific individual and of course their ups and downs, which have marked their eye-catching life story, then tales.as offers a lot of inspiration to pick up.

Political and especially historical biographies contain a lot of different and fantastic stories, hence the large selection of books that can be interesting for anyone to read. We have therefore put together a large selection of these biographies, so there are several alternatives to choose from that will hopefully capture your interest and cover your needs.

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