June 7th: new history books

The Stalin Epigram, Robert Littell (Duckworth Overlook)
This fictionalised account is based on the true story of one of Russia’s most prominent 20th century poets, Osip Mandelstam, who was arrested when his poem the Stalin Epigram, an indictment of Stalin and his collectivisation programmes written in 1934, was discovered by the secret police.

God’s Philosophers, James Hannam (Icon Books)
This account of medieval scientific discovery presents the Middle Ages as an era of rapid technological change during which the mechanical clock, compass, printing press and gunpowder were invented, for example, and debunks the popular belief that the Church restricted scientific enquiry and development.

The History of the Medieval World, Susan Wise Bauer (Norton)
A history of the world, from the Americas to Japan, in the years between the fourth and twelfth centuries, when rulers worldwide increasingly turned to religion to justify their power and political and military actions.

The Excellent Mrs Fry, Anne Isba (Continuum)
This biography of the Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) focuses on her lifelong work to improve the welfare of female prisoners and convicts bound for Australia in Britain and continental Europe.

You may purchase any of the above books by clicking on the following links:
The Stalin Epigram
God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
Excellent Mrs Fry: The Unlikely Heroine