Samhälle & Politik

<b>The entire fascinating story of Japan told in one exciting manga-style volume!</b><br/><br/><i>A History of Japan in Manga</i> tells the action-packed saga of Japan from its misty origins up to the present day. Epic battles, noble Samurai and duplicitous leaders are all portrayed in modern manga fashion! The lively stories in this book include:<br/><br/><ul><li><b>The Dawn of Japan:</b> The Birth of Buddhism and the transition from hunters-gatherers to agricultural societies of ancient times</li><li><b>The Genpei Wars</b>: Davage battles between the Taira and Minamoto clans that led to the powerful warlord Minamoto no Yoritomo naming himself Japan's first Shogun</li><li><b>The Onin Wars</b>: A decade-long struggle for domination of Japan in which thousands of Samurai fought and tragically lost their lives</li><li><b>The 47 Ronin</b>: Loyal Samurai who vowed to avenge the death of their master, choosing honor over surrender and being forced to commit mass ritual suicide as a result</li><li><b>The Satsuma Rebellion</b>: A dramatic last stand by Samurai loyal to the Shogun who revolted against the new Meiji government and its plans to finally modernize Japan</li><li><b>And many more!</b></li></ul><br/>Dozens of indelible portraits, manga stories, maps and info-sidebars bring the full sweep of Japanese history to life in one easy-to-read book!

Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle. The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.

Sarah J. Maas&apos;s sexy, richly imagined Court of Thorns and Roses series continues with the journey of Feyre&apos;s fiery sister, Nesta. Nesta Archeron has always been prickly - proud, swift to anger and slow to forgive. And since the war - since being made High Fae against her will - she&apos;s struggled to forget the horrors she endured and find a place for herself within the strange and deadly Night Court. The person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred, winged warrior who is there at Nesta&apos;s every turn. But her temper isn&apos;t the only thing Cassian ignites. And when they are forced to train in battle together, sparks become flame. As the threat of war casts its shadow over them once again, Nesta and Cassian must fight monsters from within and without if they are to stand a chance of halting the enemies of their court. But the ultimate risk will be searching for acceptance - and healing - in each other&apos;s arms.

'Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin Robin Hobb returns to her best loved characters in a brand new series. Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown. <br/><br/>But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more... <br/><br/>On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing. <br/><br/>Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger? Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

<b>The epic conclusion to the Hussite Trilogy by the bestselling author of The Witcher finds Reynevan - infamous magician and disgraced scoundrel - on the run after being sentenced to death by the Catholic Church.</b><br/><br/>Reynevan is besieged on all sides and faces torture and execution if he makes any mistake in his quest to find his beloved, Jutta of Apolda. Aided by his companions - the ever-pragmatic Scharley and the mysterious being known as Samson Honeypot - his journey takes him all over the Bohemian realm.<br/><br/>And Reynevan will need every ounce of his wit, intelligence and cunning if he is to succeed in his search. The political and religious alliances of the Hussite Wars are ever shifting, and the battle for dominance threatens to devour anyone who gets in their way.<br/><br/>Faced too with dark magical forces summoned by the malevolent Birkart of Grellenort, aided by his terrifying band of Back Riders, Reynevan knows the odds of finding Jutta decrease with every obstacle he is forced to overcome along the way. But he has never let impossible odds stop him before - and he will be reunited with his love, whatever the cost.

A chaotically violent and hauntingly beautiful novel from one of the greatest American novelists, Pulitzer Prize-winning Cormac McCarthy.<br/><br/>CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF PICADOR BOOKS<br/><br/>The wrath of God lies sleeping. It was hid a million years before men were and only men have power to wake it. Hell aint half full.<br/><br/>Set in the anarchic world opened up by America's westward expansion, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy is an epic and potent account of the barbarous violence that man visits upon man. Through the hostile landscape of the Texas-Mexico border wanders the Kid, a fourteen year-old Tennessean who is quickly swept up in the relentless tide of blood. But the apparent chaos is not without its order: while Americans hunt Indians - collecting scalps as their bloody trophies - they too are stalked as prey.<br/><br/>Since its first publication in 1985, Blood Meridian has been read as both a brilliant subversion of the Western novel and a blazing example of that form. Powerful, mesmerizing and savagely beautiful, it is established as one of the most important works in American fiction of the last century.<br/><br/>Part of the Picador Collection, a new series showcasing the best of modern literature.

<b>'Entirely fresh, brilliantly insightful and utterly compelling ' </b>James Holland<br/><br/><b>Churchill. Hitler. Stalin. Mussolini. Roosevelt. Five of the most impactful leaders of WW2, each with their own individualistic and idiosyncratic approach to warfare. But if we want to understand their military strategy, we must first understand the strategist.</b><br/><br/>In THE STRATEGISTS, Professor Phillips Payson O'Brien shows how the views these five leaders forged in WW1 are crucial to understanding how they fought WW2. For example, Churchill's experiences of facing the German Army in France in 1916 made him unwilling to send masses of British soldiers back there in the 1940s, while Hitler's mistakes on the Eastern Front were influenced by his reluctance to accept that conditions had changed since his own time fighting.<br/><br/>The implications of the power of leaders remain with us to this day: to truly understand what is happening in Ukraine, for example, requires us to know what has influenced the leaders involved.<br/><br/>This is a history in which leaders - and their choices - matter. For better or worse.