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History & Society

History books allow you to travel back in time. They let you discover a whole different era than our own with different lifestyles, morale compases and crises. To understand history is to understand, who you are, and what you come from. It is the foundation of today’s society and culture. In Tales’ selection of history and society books you can investigate both religion, mythologies, and wars with competent authors and scholars giving their interpretation of how events happened as they did and how we ended up with today’s society. Are you ready to get wiser of both past and present?
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  • Save 20%
    - South Atlantic 1982
    by Douglas C. Dildy
    £11.99

    Following Argentina''s military operation to take possession of the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher''s government launched a major naval operation to return them to British rule. Defending the Royal Navy task force were two small squadrons totalling 20 Sea Harriers (SHARs). Initial clashes between SHARs and Argentine Mirages and Daggers on 1 May 1982 failed to eliminate the Sea Harrier defenders. FAA fighter-bomber pilots relied on daring and courageous ultra-low level attacks, frequently escaping the Sea Harrier''s limited capabilities, against Royal Navy warships and auxiliaries, causing considerable damage during Operation Corporate, the large-scale amphibious operation to repossess the islands.Publishing 35 years after the end of the conflict, this fully illustrated volume offers a balanced and objective examination of the SHAR and the Argentine Mirage and Dagger aircraft, highlighting the attributes of both and the skills and courage of the pilots flying them.

  • Save 14%
    - Who Is London For?
    by Anna Minton
    £9.49

    The inside story of London's housing crisis, by the award-winning author of Ground ControlLondon is facing the worst housing crisis in modern times, with knock-on effects for the rest of the UK. Despite the desperate shortage of housing, tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of affordable homes are being pulled down, replaced by luxury apartments aimed at foreign investors. In this ideological war, housing is no longer considered a public good. Instead, only market solutions are considered - and these respond to the needs of global capital, rather than the needs of ordinary people. In politically uncertain times, the housing crisis has become a key driver creating and fuelling the inequalities of a divided nation. Anna Minton cuts through the complexities, jargon and spin to give a clear-sighted account of how we got into this mess and how we can get out of it.

  • Save 17%
    by Jackson J. Campbell
    £24.99

  • Save 23%
     
    £16.99

    The ESV Large Print Compact Bible combines the benefits of a compact trim size with the easy readability of a larger 8-point type--set in a double-column text format.

  • Save 14%
    - Drugs in Nazi Germany
    by Norman Ohler
    £9.49

    The sensational international bestseller on the overwhelming role of drug-taking in the Third Reich'The most brilliant and fascinating book I have read in my entire life' Dan Snow'Extremely interesting ... a serious piece of scholarship, very well researched' Ian KershawThe Nazis presented themselves as warriors against moral degeneracy. Yet, as Norman Ohler's gripping bestseller reveals, the entire Third Reich was permeated with drugs: cocaine, heroin, morphine and, most of all, methamphetamines, or crystal meth, used by everyone from factory workers to housewives, and crucial to troops' resilience - even partly explaining German victory in 1940.The promiscuous use of drugs at the very highest levels also impaired and confused decision-making, with Hitler and his entourage taking refuge in potentially lethal cocktails of stimulants administered by the physician Dr Morell as the war turned against Germany. While drugs cannot on their own explain the events of the Second World War or its outcome, Ohler shows, they change our understanding of it. Blitzed forms a crucial missing piece of the story.

  • Save 14%
    by Matthew Todd
    £9.49

    'This is an essential read for every gay person on the planet' - Elton JohnWINNER BOYZ BEST LGBT BOOK 2017SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI BOOK PRIZE 2017Straight Jacket is a revolutionary clarion call for gay men, the wider LGBT community, their friends and family.

  • Save 15%
    - My Life as a Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot
    by Gordon Olive
    £10.99

    Pitched into the maelstrom of air fighting in the summer of 1940, twenty-four-year-old Gordon Olive barely lived to tell this extraordinary tale of courage and endurance. As Britain fought alone for its survival, 'the Few' of RAF Fighter Command took to the air grievously outnumbered, many reaching breaking point, exhausted physically and mentally by unreleting, intense combat. Gordon Olive flew the iconic Spitfire for over 125 missions above London and the south-east in the white heat of the aerial battle for supremacy of the skies. One of the most heavily engaged pilots of the Battle, he shot down ten enemy aircraft. This is his story of what it was like to dogfight with Messerschmitts at speeds of 400 mph, experiencing G forces close to blackout, at one moment to be drenched in sweat with exertion, the next to be freezing at 25,000 feet, to smell the cordite of your own fighter's machine guns and feel cannon shells explode against the back of your armoured seat. Illustrated in colour with forty unique paintings of the aerial battle of summer 1940 by the author.

  • Save 14%
    - A Story of Race and Inheritance
    by Barack Obama
    £9.49

    Barack Obama's memoir, written long before his political career began, is a remarkable story of one man's search for his identity.

  • Save 23%
    by Vaughan Grylls
    £15.49

    Fascinating vintage photos of Hong Kong have been matched with the same viewpoint today to show the amazing growth and development of this unique city.

  • Save 20%
    - An Epic History of East and West
    by Michael Scott
    £11.99

    Challenges our traditionally western-focused perception of the past, connecting Greco-Roman civilisation to the great rulers and empires that swept across Central Asia to India and China. This book illustrates how the great powers and characters of antiquity shared ambitions and crises, ways of thinking and forms of governing.

  • Save 15%
    - The Story of Women in the 20th Century Told Through the Clothes They Wore
    by Lynn Knight
    £10.99

    Tracing the story of women at home and in work, from the jet buttons of Victorian mourning, to the short skirts of the 1960s, taking in suffragettes, bachelor girls, little dressmakers, Biba and the hankering for vintage, this book lifts the lid on women's lives and their clothes.

  • Save 10%
    by Madeline Miller
    £8.99 - 15.49

    WINNER OF THE ORANGE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONTHE INTERNATIONAL SENSATIONA SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'Captivating' DONNA TARTT'I loved it' J K ROWLING'Ravishingly vivid' EMMA DONOGHUEGreece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess.But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. 'A book I could not put down' ANN PATCHETT'An exciting, sexy, violent Superman version of The Iliad' GUARDIAN'Sexy, dangerous, mystical' BETTANY HUGHES.

  • - Spaces, Infrastructures and Media of Resistance
     
    £91.49

    Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies, this topical collection is the first to focus on protest camps as unique organisational forms that transcend particular social movements' contexts. The book offers a critical understanding of current protest events and will help better understanding of new global forms of democracy in action.

  • Save 15%
    - Leadership Secrets from the Special Forces
    by Matthew Ollerton, Anthony Middleton, Jason Fox & et al.
    £10.99

    Life and leadership lessons from the Special Forces, accompanying the Channel 4 series SAS: Who Dares Wins.

  • Save 10%
    by Jaime Thurston
    £8.99

    Kindness - the little thing that matters most aims to motivate and inspire by showing readers what a difference even a small act of kindness can make.It uses the voices of those who have been helped by the author's charity - 52 Lives - to ground the ideas in real life action. The book is themed around 52 simple actions you can do to spread kindness. Interspersed throughout are nuggets of science explaining the positive effect kindness has on the brain and on the heart. This book is a call to action for people to live a more connected, fulfilling life. With inspirational quotes and personal stories this book will give you all the motivation you need to start spreading a little kindness - it's free afterall! Learn to live a life of kindness by following Jaime's infectious positivity in this charming gift book.Here are some examples:- Be a Seat Vigilante- Be Kind to Unkind People- Go High-Give Away a Minute- Embrace Curiosity

  • - Greek Theatre and Imperial Image
    by Robert (Townley Grammar School Hancock-Jones
    £14.99

    This textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specification for AS and A-Level Classical Civilisation (first teaching September 2017). It covers Components 21 and 22 from the 'Culture and the Arts' Component Group:Greek Theatre by James Renshaw and Laura SwiftImperial Image by Robert Hancock-JonesWhy was tragedy and comedy so central to Athenian life? How did drama challenge Athenians to reflect on their way of living? How did the emperor Augustus present himself as the restorer of Rome's greatness? To what extent did he provide an example to later political figures as a promoter of his regime? This book guides AS and A-Level students to a greater understanding of these issues. The Greek Theatre chapter explores the festival context in which tragedies and comedies were performed, and then analyses three plays: Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Bacchae by Euripides and Frogs by Aristophanes. The Imperial Image chapter analyses the self-presentation of Rome's most dynamic emperor, who claimed to have found Rome 'a city of bricks, but left it a city of marble'. The ideal preparation for the final examinations, all content is presented by experts and experienced teachers in a clear and accessible narrative. Ancient literary and visual sources are described and analysed, with supporting images. Helpful student features include study questions, quotations from contemporary scholars, further reading, and boxes focusing in on key people, events and terms. Practice questions and exam guidance prepare students for assessment.A Companion Website is available at www.bloomsbury.com/class-civ-as-a-level.

  • Save 21%
    by Andrew Marr
    £13.49

    A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr confronts head-on the victory of shopping over politics. It tells the story of how the great political visions of New Jerusalem or a second Elizabethan Age, rival idealisms, came to be defeated by a culture of consumerism, celebrity and self-gratification. In each decade, political leaders think they know what they are doing, but find themselves confounded. Every time, the British people turn out to be stroppier and harder to herd than predicted. Throughout, Britain is a country on the edge - first of invasion, then of bankruptcy, then on the vulnerable front line of the Cold War and later in the forefront of the great opening up of capital and migration now reshaping the world. This history follows all the political and economic stories, but deals too with comedy, cars, the war against homosexuals, Sixties anarchists, oil-men and punks, Margaret Thatcher's wonderful good luck, political lies and the true heroes of British theatre.This edition also includes an extra chapter charting the course from Blair to Brexit.

  • Save 27%
    - A History
    by Martin W. Bowman
    £21.99

    The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is probably one of the most photographed jet aircraft of all time. Over 200 colour and historic black and white images are included here.

  • by Andrew Murray
    £5.99

  • Save 29%
    - The Historic Presidency in Photographs
    by Pete Souza
    £28.49

  • Save 18%
    by Audre Lorde
    £11.49

  • Save 20%
    by Nicki von der Heyde
    £11.99

  • - How the Soviet Union Secretly Mapped the World
    by John (BTexact Technologies Davies
    £28.49

  • Save 11%
    by Noel BothaM
    £7.99

    The death of Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, sent shockwaves around the world. A nation was left in mourning, but soon feelings of suspicion surfaced: was her death all that the Establishment might wish us to believe? This book aims to reveal what the people of Britain have always believed - that Diana's death was murder.

  • Save 24%
    by Daniel Dornseif
    £41.99

  • - The World's Foremost Problem
    by Henry Ford
    £18.99

  • - Jewish Activities in the United States
    by Henry Ford
    £18.99

  • - Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy, with Diaspora Peoples
    by Kevin B (Formerly Professor at California State University University of California Juniata College Also Former Diplomat for the Croatian Government) MacDonald
    £25.99

  • - Toward an Evolutionary Theory of Anti-Semitism
    by Kevin MacDonald
    £15.49

    This book builds upon my previous work, A People That Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy (MacDonald 1994/2002; hereafter PTSDA). While PTSDA focused on developing a theory of Judaism within an evolutionary framework, the present volume focuses on the phenomenon of anti-Semitism. Judaism and anti-Semitism fairly cry out for an evolutionary interpretation. Anti-Semitism has been a very robust tendency over a very long period of human history and in a wide range of societies with different forms of government, different economic systems, and different dominant religious ideologies. Many anti-Semitic episodes, such as the Iberian inquisitions and the Nazi holocaust, have been characterized by extraordinary intra-societal violence. Moreover, anti-Semitism has sometimes been characterized by a very overt, self-conscious racialism...a phenomenon that immediately suggests the relevance of evolutionary theory.The basic thesis of this book can be summarized by the proposition that Judaism must be conceptualized as a group strategy characterized by cultural and genetic segregation from gentile societies combined with resource competition and conflicts of interest with segments of gentile societies. This cultural and genetic separatism combined with resource competition and other conflicts of interest tend to result in division and hatred within the society.Nevertheless, as Leslie White (1966, 3) wrote many years ago in his discussion of the Boasian school of anthropology as a politically inspired cult, "One who follows procedures such as these incurs the risk of being accused of indulging in non-scholarly, personal attacks upon whom he discusses. Such a charge is, in fact, expectable and completely in keeping with the thesis of this essay. We wish to state that no personal attacks are intended."No personal or ethnic attacks are intended here, either. Nevertheless, the charge that this is an anti-Semitic book is, to use White's phrase, expectable and completely in keeping with the thesis of this essay. A major theme of this volume, found especially in Chapters 6 and 7, is that intellectual defenses of Judaism and of Jewish theories of anti-Semitism have throughout its history played a critical role in maintaining Judaism as a group evolutionary strategy. Parts of the book read as a sort of extended discourse on the role of Jewish self-interest, deception, and self-deception in the areas of Jewish historiography, Jewish personal identity, and Jewish conceptualizations of their ingroup and its relations with outgroups. This is therefore first and foremost a book that confidently predicts its own irrelevance to those about whom it is written.MacDonald, K. B. (1994/2002).A People that Shall Dwell Alone: Judaism as a Group Evolutionary Strategy. Westport, CT: Praeger. Paperback edition published in 2002 by iUniverse (Lincoln, NE) (www.iuniverse.com). White, L. (1966). The social organization of ethnological theory. Rice University Studies: Monographs in Cultural Anthropology

  • - An Evolutionary Analysis of Jewish Involvement in Twentieth-century Intellectual and Political Movements
    by Kevin MacDonald
    £19.99

History
The concept history covers a large range of topics all with its different focus. On top of Tales’ history books list, you find history books giving their in-depth view of some of World History’s most tragic events in modern time - World War 1 and World War 2. The two world wars affected most of the world and so many people lost their lives to them - both soldiers and civilians. The wars changed the world forever, and to understand how and why you need to dive into one of our many brilliant history books about the historic wars, giving you all the analysis and nuances you need - because we all know history books best, when they are thorough and give us new perspectives on historical events. 
If you instead are interested in politics during different historical periods, our selection of history books also contains that. The political system of a nation is a defining factor for how the citizens are treated and what conditions of life they have. The political factors can also lead to crises and wars, and in that way politics can make its mark on a whole historical era, but it can also lead to better times, giving the citizens better conditions and possibilities of social mobility. If you are interested, you will find all the history books in english right here. 
If you want to travel back to the fascinating Antiquity you should try reading the classics The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer. However they can be hard to understand in their original form. That is why we recommend you to dive into Stephen Fry’s fascinating interpretations of the antic classics. The works of the Antic Greeks, especially Homer, have that special kind of universality that all the classics refer to, even though the lyrics are about ancient mythological heroes such as Achilleus and Heracles (better known as Hercules) and their challenging adventures. The historical tales leave the reader with universal morales of life. In Stephen Fry’s version called Heroes the tales are giving a modern language and new relevans - especially for young people. 
It is also important to teach your kids about our common history and that is why you also find history books for kids in Tales’ wide selection. 

Society
A society is formed by a community of individuals and has gone through many changes throughout history. The history of our society has gone through many different stages, and in order to contain this diversity Tales’ collection has a rich amount of societal books from different time periods. You can find society books concerning and analyzing all from the traditional society, the modern society, and the post-modern society to the humanistic society. 

Educational textbooks
If you study history or social science Tales’ collection of History and Society is the perfect place to find your next educational textbook. History is one of the most important humanistic disciplines educating the future historians and museum inspectors. Without historians there will be nobody to investigate the historical data and texts and no one to evaluate them critically, and most importantly there would be no one to arrange history and the historical sources. Without them we would in fact lack a lot of vital information about who we are and what we come from, and we would not have the same ability to learn from history, which would be a great loss. That is why you need to start your journey as a history student in Tales’ selection of history books. 
Social science is also a cornerstone in understanding who we are and why we act as we act. As a social science student you should dive into our selection of societal books in order to get inspired for your next case study. 

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