'No two nations have ever existed on the face of the earth which could do each other so much good or so much harm'
President Buchanan, State of the Nation Address, 1859
A World on Fire tells, with extraordinary sweep, one of the least known great stories of British and American history.
As America descended into Civil War, British loyalties were torn between support for the North, which was against slavery, and defending the South, which portrayed itself as bravely fighting for its independence. Rallying to their respective causes, thousands of Britons went to America as soldiers - fighting for both Union and Confederacy - racing ships through the Northern blockades, and as observers, nurses, adventurers, guerillas and spies.
At the heart of this international conflict lay a complicated and at times tortuous relationship between four individuals: Lord Lyons, the painfully shy British Ambassador in Washington; William Seward, the blustering US Secretary of State; Charles Francis Adams, the dry but fiercely patriotic U.S. ambassador in London; and the restless and abrasive Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell. Despite their efforts, and sometimes as a result of them, America and Britain came within a whisker of declaring war on each other twice in four years.
The diplomatic story is only one element in this gloriously multifaceted book. Using a wealth of previously unpublished letters and journals, Amanda Foreman gives fresh accounts of Civil War battles by seeing them through the eyes of British journalists and myriad soldiers on both sides, from flamboyant cavalry commanders to forcibly conscripted private soldiers. She also shows how the War took place in England, from the Confederacy's secret ship-building programme in Liverpool to the desperate efforts of its propagandists and emissaries - male and female - to influence British public opinion. She even shows how one of the most famous set-piece naval encounters of the War was fought, remarkably, in the English Channel.
Foreman tells this epic yet intimate story of enormous personalities, tense diplomacy and torn loyalties as history in the round, captivating her readers with the experience of total immersion in this titanic conflict.
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Amanda Foreman is the author of the international bestseller Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (1999) which has been translated into thirteen languages and won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. The book inspired a documentary, a radio play starring Dame Judi Dench, and a film, The Duchess, released in 2008, starring Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. She is currently a research fellow at Queen Mary, University of London. She is married with five children.
Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.
Vendeur : Oak Books, Ouyen, VIC, Australie
Paperback. In A World on Fire Amanda Foreman brings her unique style of epic biography to the American Civil War. During the titanic struggle between North and South, both sides demanded Britain?Äôs support. British volunteers fought on both sides; British guns and bullets littered the battlefields. The South depended on British-built cruisers to make up its navy, and British blockade runners to supply its armies. This book portrays the extraordinary web of relationships between the two countries through the lives of over a hundred participants ?Äì soldiers, mercenaries, politicians, spies, journalists, diplomats, doctors and nurses who, at home or abroad, recorded their experience of the war. It traces the often desperate efforts of men and women to survive, to preserve the ideals and ways of living they believed were right, and even, sometimes, to find love in the worst of circumstances. A World On Fire is history told in the round, combining the human intensity of battle with the manoeuvrings of fraught diplomacy. We see the letters of soldiers fighting thousands of miles from their homeland; the passionate dispatches from diplomats and journalists; and the diaries of the brave women who laboured in some cases to save a single life, and in others to protect an entire way of life. This is a new and dramatic account of the first modern war and of Britain?Äôs part in it, for good or ill. These are USED books. Please only purchase if you are happy with that. Images & Editions We use stock images and database descriptions based on the ISBN. The image shown may NOT be the actual book cover you will receive. Covers, editions, printings, and publishers may differ. If you need a specific cover, edition, or printing, please contact us before purchasing. What "Used" Means Because these books are pre-owned: Colouring books may be coloured in Textbooks may have answers filled in, highlighting, notes, or underlining Workbooks may have writing inside Access codes, download codes, CDs, DVDs, or online content are usually missing or already used Books that originally came with toys, inserts, maps, cards, or bonus items will usually NOT include them Pages may be folded, marked, or show normal signs of use If you are buying a book for anything other than reading (e.g. colouring, study use, collecting, gifts, specific covers, bonus items, or digital access), used books may not be suitable. Condition All books are listed as Used - Good Books are clean and readable but not new Some books may have: Writing, highlighting, or markings Folded pages or minor wear A small warehouse or inventory sticker on the spine Original retailer stickers (we do not remove them) Our Process We purchase books by the pallet and scan thousands at a time. For this reason, we cannot photograph or individually inspect every book. Acknowledgement By purchasing, you acknowledge that: You understand the book is used You accept the condition and limitations described above Stock images and descriptions may not exactly match the item received Thank you for supporting Oak Books and helping give books a second life. N° de réf. du vendeur AR80_BU3
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Vendeur : unifachbuch e.K., Köln, NRW, Allemagne
Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neu Schnelle Lieferung, Kartonverpackung. Abzugsfähige Rechnung. Bei Mehrfachbestellung werden die Versandkosten anteilig erstattet. -Amanda Foreman, geboren 1968 in London, ist Historikerin und lebt in Oxford und New York. Sie schreibt unter anderem für die Zeitungen »Independent«, »The Times«, »Sunday Telegraph« und »Express«. »Georgiana« ist ihre erste, hochgelobte und mit dem renommierten englischen Whitbread-Preis für Biographie ausgezeichnete Buchveröffentlichung. 1040 pp. Englisch. N° de réf. du vendeur INF1000040849
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