English Theater History

Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

George S. Patton was a general who achieved greatness in his field by contradicting his own nature. A cavalryman steeped in romantic military tradition, he nevertheless pulled a reluctant American military into the most advanced realms of highly mobile armored warfare. An autocratic snob, Patton created unparalleled rapport and loyalty with the lowliest private in his command.

In the treacherous waters of the Taiwan Strait, the fate of freedom and trade hangs in the balance. As the world watches with bated breath, one question looms large: can China successfully invade Taiwan? The answer lies in the uncharted waters of military history, where the tides of war have shaped the destiny of nations. From D-Day to today's digital deterrence, amphibious assault is usually bloody. Why China CANNOT Invade Taiwan. examines this vital military tactic through history, exploring its evolution alongside the unique challenges posed by Taiwan's strategic location in the Pacific ...

A “meticulously researched” (The New York Times Book Review) examination of energy transitions over time and an exploration of the current challenges presented by global warming, a surging world population, and renewable energy—from Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author...

Here is a diverse and fascinating story of the Theatre, from the first tragedies and comedies of Ancient Greece to the high-tech mega-musicals of the late 20th century. It is an absorbing listen, encompassing ancient tales, medieval theatre, Commedia dell'Arte, the great dramas of the Elizabethan age, and more.

Since it first opened on Broadway in September 1964, Fiddler on the Roof has constantly been onstage somewhere, including five Broadway revivals, four productions on London's West End, and thousands of schools, army bases, and countries from Argentina to Japan. Barbara Isenberg interviewed the men and women behind the original production, the film, and significant revivals.

Grindhouse Cinema History: A Complete Guide to the Rise, Fall, and Legacy of Exploitation Films takes you deep into the world of sleazy theaters, outrageous double features, and the shocking movies that changed cinema forever. From the early exploitation films of the 1930s, through the neon-soaked heyday of Times Square in the 1970s, to the grindhouse revival led by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, this book explores every corner of grindhouse culture. Discover how grindhouse theaters became the home for taboo-breaking films filled with sex, gore, and rebellion. Explore the rise of ...

From Stephen E. Ambrose, bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the inspiring story of the ordinary men of the U.S. army in northwest Europe from the day after D-Day until the end of the bitterest days of World War II. In this riveting account, historian Stephen E. Ambrose continues...

Here, in his own words, is the true story of America's wildest flying hero, of his extraordinary heroism, and of his greatest battle of all-the fight to survive. The World War II air war in the Pacific needed tough men like Colonel Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. The legendary Marine Corps officer and his bunch of misfits, outcasts, and daredevils gave a new definition to "hell-raising" - on the ground and in the skies.

The true story of the deadliest submarine in World War II and the courageous captain who survived torture and imprisonment at the hands of the enemy. There was one submarine that outfought all other boats in the Silent Service in World War II: the USS Tang. Captain Richard Hetherington O’Kane...

In the tradition of John Hersey’s Hiroshima, a terse and piercing look at a critical episode in the Ukraine War, from the award-winning author of They Will Have to Die Now. In March of 2022, three weeks after invading Ukraine, Russian forces bombed the shelter housed in the Donetsk Regional...

A VANISHED BOMBER. A LEGENDARY SURVIVOR. A SEARCH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE. Before history remembered Louis Zamperini as an icon of endurance, there was a day when he disappeared into the vast blue of the Pacific—swallowed without warning, without witnesses, and without mercy. Lost Beyond the Horizon pulls back the curtain on the forgotten air–sea hunt that followed, exposing the terror, courage, and staggering uncertainty that defined one of World War II’s most desperate rescue missions. This is the chapter history overlooked: a moment when technology failed, the ocean ...

In the glorious chronicles of the US Marine Corps, no name is more revered than that of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller. The only fighting man to receive the Navy Cross five separate times - a military honor second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor - he was the epitome of a professional warrior.

In Tinder Box, Tony Hatch, former CBS reporter and Emmy Award winner, tells the Iroquois story as it has never been told before. In a rush to open the theater on time, corners were cut, and the Iroquois lacked the most basic fire-fighting equipment: sprinklers, fire alarm boxes, backstage telephone, exit signs, and functioning asbestos curtain. Some exits, for aesthetic reasons, were hidden behind heavy draperies, doors opened inward, and exterior fire escapes were unfinished.

Bread and Puppet Theater: A Complete Guide to the History, Art, and Legacy of America’s Radical Puppet Troupe explores one of the most important and enduring voices in political performance art. Founded by Peter Schumann in 1963, Bread and Puppet combined giant puppets, ritual, music, and fresh-baked bread to create a theater of resistance. This book traces the troupe’s journey from its origins in New York City’s countercultural ferment to its long-standing home in Vermont, where it hosted the legendary Domestic Resurrection Circus and inspired audiences from around the world. ...

A revelatory, magisterial biography of Sam Shepard—the dark, rugged genius of modern American theater and film, “the poet laureate of America’s emotional badlands” (Jack Kroll). Sam Shepard was a true American original. A theater and film icon who lived life on a mythic scale, Shepard...

Picking up where his previous memoir leaves off, Sledge, a young marine in the First Division, traces his company's movements and charts his own difficult passage to peace following his horrific experiences in the Pacific. He reflects on his duty in the ancient city of Peiping (now Beijing) and recounts the difficulty of returning to his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, and resuming civilian life haunted by the shadows of close combat.

An epic, riveting history based on new interviews and research that elucidates the approval, construction, and fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the Japanese port city of Hiroshima was struck by the world’s first atomic bomb. Built in the US...

Award-winning author Stephen Greenblatt is one of the most influential literary thinkers in the world. An acclaimed interpreter of Shakespeare's works, his ideas have changed the way countless people approach the classics. Now Greenblatt's uniquely brilliant voice delivers a magnificent biography of the Bard himself.

In recent decades its history has been fabricated from modern myth, romantic fiction, and pure fantasy. Now, for the first time, historical researcher and author Michael Paul Mihaljevich has pieced together the real story of the Bird Cage.