Kirjahaku

The most important study of Charlemagne in a generation, this biography by distinguished medievalist Alessandro Barbero illuminates both the man and the world in which he lived. Charles the Great--Charlemagne--reigned from a.d. 768 to a.d. 814. At the time if his death, his empire stretched across Europe to include Bavaria, Saxony, parts of Spain, and Italy. With a remarkable grasp of detail and a sweeping knowledge of Carolingian institutions and economy, Barbero not only brings Charlemagne to life with accounts of his physical appearance, tastes and habits, family life, and ideas and actions but also conveys what it meant to be king of the Franks and, later, emperor. He recounts how Charlemagne ruled his empire, kept justice, and waged wars. He vividly describes the nature of everyday life at that time, how the economy functioned, and how Christians perceived their religion. Barbero's absorbing analysis of how concepts of slavery and freedom were subtly altered as feudal relations began to grow underscores the dramatic changes that the emperor's wars brought to the political landscape. Engaging and informed by deep scholarship, this latest account provides a new and richer context for considering one of history's most fascinating personalities.

The most important study of Charlemagne in a generation, this biography by distinguished medievalist Alessandro Barbero illuminates both the man and the world in which he lived. Charles the Great—Charlemagne—reigned from a.d. 768 to a.d. 814. At the time if his death, his empire stretched across Europe to include Bavaria, Saxony, parts of Spain, and Italy. With a remarkable grasp of detail and a sweeping knowledge of Carolingian institutions and economy, Barbero not only brings Charlemagne to life with accounts of his physical appearance, tastes and habits, family life, and ideas and actions but also conveys what it meant to be king of the Franks and, later, emperor. He recounts how Charlemagne ruled his empire, kept justice, and waged wars. He vividly describes the nature of everyday life at that time, how the economy functioned, and how Christians perceived their religion. Barbero's absorbing analysis of how concepts of slavery and freedom were subtly altered as feudal relations began to grow underscores the dramatic changes that the emperor's wars brought to the political landscape. Engaging and informed by deep scholarship, this latest account provides a new and richer context for considering one of history's most fascinating personalities.

Set in Gorbachev's Russia, The Anonymous Novel is a complex and compelling story of many varied characters dealing with the problems of change, coming to terms with the past and fretting about the future. Barbero manages that typically Italian trick of combining both humour and profundity, and his exceptional storytelling skill are even more clearly displayed than in this, his finest novel. The murder of Pashayev, a leading Muslim cleric in Azerbaijan, triggers a series of events. This is not a murder mystery, as the reader knows who the culprit is from the very beginning, whilst the other characters, including the investigating judge, never do, but there is nevertheless a tension - suspense even - that holds the reader, who is in any case fascinated but the breadth of the intellectual argument, the wit and the observation of human nature. Vitali Vitaliev has described this book as "a literary miracle - unique, witty and gripping. It reads like Bulgakov's prose somewhat modernised or even a careful and sensitive translation of one of the great Russian classics. It is stunningly authentic, and I cannot believe that the author and translator are NOT Russian...A book to savour and consume slowly. .."

Athens, 411 BC. In the countryside, two veterans, Trasillo and Polemone, live in adjacent cottages. Years earlier they fought together in the infamous battle of Mantinea, where Athens was crushed by Sparta. The two survivors now live as humble farmers, constantly putting off the decision to find husbands for their two daughters, Glicera and Charis, who are beginning to get impatient. But for the two old men the only thing that matters is politics. Athens invented democracy, and they must defend it against the rich oligarchs who plot to reinstate their tyrannical rule...

A new biography of Dante from award-winning historian Alessandro Barbero and translator Allan Cameron.

A middle-aged judge driven by curiosity and the intellectual challenge of his work, a nervous and neurotic young historian willing to run all manner of risks to uncover the state crimes of the forties, a nerdy, well-educated and good-natured young journalist motivated principally by the desire to enjoy life and not to dwell on the miseries of the past, a KGB general once responsible for some of the purges and now an Islamist radical, an inept, capricious and delightfully self-aware Jewish actor, and an Islamic cleric loyal to the Soviet Union, whose murder has so many repercussions, all these carefully constructed characters could be found in any society but Alessandro Barbero has brought them to life in one of the most elusive, unstable and neglected historical realities: Gorbachev's Russia. And this proves to be fertile ground for Barbero, one that generates endless themes and the opportunity to express his love for Russian literature and culture. Barbero used his skills as a historian to study the reality of that society through its newspapers and journals, and his skills as a novelist to weave a complex plot - a tale of two cities: Moscow and Baku. And throughout, the narrative voice - perhaps the greatest protagonist of them all - represents not the author's views but those of the Russian public as they emerged from one dismal reality and hurtled unknowingly towards another.

18. juni 1815, datoen for historiens kanskje mest legendariske slag, møttes 200 000 mann på åkrene utenfor den lille landsbyen Waterloo i Belgia. Napoleons plan var å slå den britiske og prøyssiske hæren som var samlet der, før russerne og østerrikerne rakk å gripe inn. Da skumringen senket seg, lå 50 000 soldater døde på valplassen. Og Napoleon og restene av hans hær var på vill flukt mot Frankrikes grense. Tilbake sto seierherren, hertugen av Wellington, rystet av de grusomheter han hadde vært vitne til. I boken følger vi alle slagets faser, der striden bølger frem og tilbake. Vi blir kjent med generalene og en rekke andre aktører gjennom forfatterens bruk av brev og dagbøker. Barberos bok har fått strålende kritikker og blitt et standardverk om Waterloo.