Showing results for "Last Day" in History

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Justin Avoth and Laurence Dobiesz. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Christopher Rowe read by Justin Avoth. 'Consider just this, and give your minds to this alone: whether or not what I say is just' Plato's...

Along with the volcanic destruction of Pompeii and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Lisbon quake of 1755 is one of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded. After being jolted by a massive quake, Lisbon was then pounded by a succession of tidal waves and finally reduced to ash by a fire that raged for five straight days.

Last Days of Pompeii is a captivating novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, penned in 1834. Once a bestseller, this literary gem has faded into obscurity, yet it vividly depicts the catastrophic destruction of Pompeii following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Through its rich characters, the novel explores the contrasts between the opulent lifestyle of first-century Rome and the ancient cultures that preceded it, as well as the emerging societal trends. The protagonist, Glaucus, embodies the Greek spirit overshadowed by Roman dominance, while his rival, Arbaces, symbolizes the enduring ...

Journey back to the year 1900 through the eyes of a French naval officer stationed in China during the tumultuous Boxer Rebellion. This compelling narrative captures the stark realities of war, yet it goes beyond the chaos to unveil the rich and enigmatic civilization that the so-called barbarian forces encountered. With a blend of admiration and a hint of colonial perspective, the author offers a vivid account that invites readers to reflect on both the horrors and the beauty of a world in conflict. (Summary by Peter Tucker)

Joshua Rubenstein's riveting account takes us back to the second half of 1952, when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin's murderous regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected US president Dwight Eisenhower with armed force and was also broadening a vicious campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin's sudden collapse and death in March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in the 20th century.

Combining an insider's passion with down-to-earth humor, chef and food writer Patric Kuh traces the evolution of American high-style restaurants from the 1941 opening of Le Pavillon to the recent rise of less traditional restaurants, such as Le Cirque, Spago, and Danny Meyer's Union Square group. Kuh takes readers inside this high-stakes business, sharing little-known anecdotes, describing legendary cooks and bright new star chefs, and relating his own reminiscences.

This is Last Day Alive! the podcast that takes you back in time to relive the final moments of the famous and infamous.

This is a poignant and intimate account of General Ulysses S. Grant's last days, written by Adam Badeau. Badeau volunteered for military service in the United States in 1862, early in the Civil War. He was appointed military secretary to General Grant, with the rank, first of Lieutenant-Colonel and ultimately, colonel. He was with Grant throughout the Wilderness and Appomattox campaigns, and remained on his staff until his retirement from the army in 1869, with the full rank of captain and the brevet rank of Brigadier-General.

Two BBC Radio programmes exploring President John F. Kennedy's shocking assassination on 22 November 1963. In Something Is Terribly Wrong, first broadcast in 2003, Alan Thompson charts the confusion and disbelief after the assassination. He returns to key sites in Dallas, and talks to...

Two days before the collapse of Hosni Mubarak's regime in Egypt, one man gathered the courage to tell the president the truth: he would be killed in his palace if he did not step down. What came next revealed the bitter power struggles atop the most populous country in the Middle East at its most vulnerable moment in six decades. This is the inside story of the final days of Egypt's modern day pharaoh, who ruled with near autocratic powers for three decades before being forced to resign on February 11, 2011.

A dramatic countdown of the final months of World War II in Europe, The Last 100 Days brings to life the waning power and the ultimate submission of the Third Reich. To reconstruct the tumultuous hundred days between Yalta and the fall of Berlin, John Toland traveled more than 100,000 miles in twenty-one countries and interviewed more than six hundred people - from Hitler's personal chauffeur to Generals von Manteuffel, Wenck, and Heinrici.

Join us as we delve into the remarkable journey of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the final hundred days of the First World War. From August 8 to November 11, 1918, after enduring nearly four years of grueling trench warfare, the Allies launched a daring plan to break through the German Hindenburg Line. Experience the courage and determination of Canadian soldiers as they capture key locations like Amiens, Arras, and Cambrai, and relentlessly pursue the retreating German forces from Valenciennes to Mons—where the war first ignited on August 4, 1914. Narrated by Richard Laughton, ...

Join us for Part Two of our captivating four-part series that chronicles the remarkable actions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the final 100 days of the First World War. After nearly four years of grueling trench warfare, the Allied Forces sought to shatter the German Hindenburg Line and reclaim the battlefield. In this episode, we follow the valiant men and women of the CEF as they advance through Arras, continuing their journey from Amiens (Part I) and paving the way towards Cambrai (Part III) and the relentless pursuit of German forces from Valenciennes to Mons (Part IV), the ...

Join us for Part Four of the gripping saga of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the final 100 days of the First World War. After nearly four years of grueling trench warfare, the Allied Forces launched a bold plan to breach the German Hindenburg Line and drive the enemy from their strongholds. In this episode, we follow the CEFs relentless pursuit through Valenciennes to Mons in Belgium, a poignant location where the war first ignited on August 4, 1914, culminating in victory on November 11, 1918. (Summary by Richard Laughton.) Special thanks to our Proof-Listeners David Lawrence, Betty ...

The implosion of the Soviet Union was the culmination of a gripping game played out between two men who intensely disliked each other and had different concepts for the future. Mikhail Gorbachev, a sophisticated and urbane reformer, sought to modernize and preserve the USSR; Boris Yeltsin, a coarse and a hard drinking “bulldozer,” wished to destroy the union and create a capitalist Russia. The defeat of the August 1991 coup attempt, carried out by hardline communists, shook Gorbachev’s authority and was a triumph for Yeltsin.

Drawing comparisons to empires past, Johnson explores in vivid detail the likely consequences of US dependence on a permanent war economy, and what it will mean when the globe's sole "hyperpower" is no longer capable of paying for the vaulting ambitions of its leaders - and becomes the greatest hyper-debtor of all time. In his stunning conclusion, Johnson suggests that the crisis of a financial breakdown could ultimately prove to be the only path to a renewed nation.

The untold story of the Black patriots—from soldiers in combat to peace protesters—who ended the Vietnam War and defended the soul of American democracy, from a pre-eminent civil rights historian and the award-winning author of Half American As the civil rights movement blazed through...

How an ancient land became a great democracy. Longlisted for Best Non Fiction in the Indie Book Awards 2026 'Tony Abbott should be congratulated ... This history of Australia is vivid, readable, provocative' Geoffrey Blainey, historian 'I think it's very good' Tom Holland, historian Australia is...

There have been many books on Theodore Roosevelt, but there are none that solely focus on the last years of his life. Racked by rheumatism, a ticking embolism, pathogens in his blood, a bad leg, and a bullet in his chest from an assassination attempt, in the last two years of his life, he went from the great disappointment of being denied his own regiment in World War I, leading a suicide mission of Rough Riders against the Germans, to the devastating news that his son Quentin had been shot down and killed over France.

In the final days of World War II, with the ravenous Red Army marching across Czechoslovakia, a wily band of American soldiers did the unexpected: They teamed up with the Nazis and went behind enemy lines to save the world's rarest horses from imminent extinction at the hands of the Russians - including the exquisite white Lipizzaner, whose bloodlines date back to Genghis Khan.