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Politics, Publishing … and Fun

In July, we were delighted to welcome the new Stroud Member of Parliament, Neil Carmichael and Councillor Debbie Young to The History Press Head Office at Brimscombe Port.

As well as building awareness of the importance of The History Press as a local employer in Gloucestershire, it was a chance to reveal to Neil and Debbie the different elements and challenges that are involved in publishing in the 21st century – from supply of paper to digitisation, from printing to downloads.

Following a tour of the editorial department and a chance to see how a book is created, Neil was given a breakdown of how the company was formed and its future exciting growth plans. Already number one in the market for local history books, The History Press – including its other successful imprints Pitkin and Phillimore – is intent on increasing its market share even further in 2011 with the aim of becoming the leading global publisher of history and heritage titles.

There was also time to share some of books in the range. Neil Carmichael has a real passion for history and a particular interest in the Civil War and so was fascinated when Simon Hamlet from The History Press gave a review of The King’s Smuggler, about a female secret agent to Charles I during that historic period. At £2,500 a copy, the most expensive book ever produced by the Group was shown by Andrew Illes from Phillimore; the limited edition hand-painted history of a sheik’s UK shooting lodge is quite exquisite. Finally, Susan Swalwell from Pitkin Publishing presented Neil with a very topical new book, Britain’s Prime Ministers, which showcases all Prime Ministers from Walpole to Cameron and is now on sale at the Houses of Parliament.

As well as giving a chance to voice local concerns about the development of the Mill Basin and to raise some serious issues that affect publishers (for example VAT on books – the present government have no plans to introduce this in the foreseeable future), all agreed that the visit was very enjoyable.

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Blitz Diary: Life Under Fire in World War II

As the Second World War loomed, everyone expected it would bring a new kind of conflict to Britain. Raids by airships in the First World War and the attack on Guernica in the Spanish Civil War had given a terrifying taste of what was to come. So when war was declared in September 1939 massive air raids against civilians were anticipated. Cities and strategic ports were the first to be hit. London was a major target throughout the war. But it was not only the capital that suffered: on 8 November 1940, 30,000 incendiary bombs rained down on Coventry, laying waste to the city, including, famously, its cathedral. Port cities such as Plymouth, Bristol and Liverpool also suffered especially badly. In "Blitz Diary" historian Carol Harris has collected together a remarkable series of accounts from the war's darkest days, with heart-warming stories of survival, perseverance, solidarity and bravery, the preservation of which becomes increasingly important as the Blitz fades from living memory.

Feature in The Express: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/192940/The-Blitz-that-could-not-beat-britain

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Prehistoric Belief: Shamans, Trance and the Afterlife

Unlike modern people, those in prehistory were adept at entering trance; what we now call shamanism. This gave access to alternative realms where people met and befriended entities that they thought of as spirits. To the people of the past, the otherworld of trance, and the spirits that resided there, were as real to them as anything else they encountered. Until recently, this otherworldly realm was closed to archaeology; there was no way to reconstruct ancient thought. This changed with the advent of modernneurology. For the first time we can now enter the minds of those who lived thousands of years ago and begin to unravel their lives: the world as they would have believed it to be.

In this bold and groundbreaking book, Dr Williams tackles all the big subjects in archaeology: the spread of humans from Africa, the rise of social groups, the adoption of agriculture, the construction of monuments, the emergence of metal, and the fall of the Celtic tribes. Showing that belief was central to these epic changes, as well as influencing the most mundane, everyday task, a new understanding of our prehistoric past emerges. Whilst being extensively researched, a fast-paced and engaging narrative makes this a page-turning read. Evocative vignettes supplement the text and take readers back in time to experience for themselves the sights, smells, and sounds of the past. This is a new way to approach prehistory, putting people and the beliefs that they held centre stage. For without understanding people’s beliefs, we will never comprehend their world.

Mike Williams has an MA and PhD from the University of Reading and is a shamanic practitioner and teacher, having studied with indigenous shamanic teachers in Siberia and Lapland. He has written many academic and popular articles and is the author of: Follow the Shaman’s Call: An Ancient Path for Modern Lives, which was published by Llewellyn Worldwide in January 2010. He lives in a secluded valley in Wales with his wife and various animals.

Author's blog: http://www.prehistoricshamanism.com/

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Treblinka Survivor: The Life and Death of Hershl Sperling

More than 800,000 people entered Treblinka, and fewer than seventy came out. Hershl Sperling was one of them. He escaped. Why then, fifty years later, did he jump to his death from a bridge in Scotland? The answer lies in a long-forgotten, published account of the Treblinka death camp, written by Hershl Sperling himself in the months after liberation and discovered in his briefcase after his suicide. It is reproduced here for the first time.
In Treblinka Survivor, Mark S. Smith traces the life of a man who survived five concentration camps, and what he had to do to achieve this. Hershl’s story – which takes the reader through his childhood in a small Polish town to the bridge in faraway Scotland, is testament to the lasting torment of those very few who survived the Nazis’ most efficient and gruesome death factory. The author personally follows in his subject’s footsteps from Klobuck, to Treblinka, to Glasgow.

Feature in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302964/Last-victim-Treblinka-He-survived-SEVEN-Nazi-concentration-camps--nightmare-caught-him.html?ito=feeds-newsxml