Most Popular Books by RICHARD HOLMES

As one of the most admired political leaders of the twentieth century, Winston Churchill holds iconic status in popular memory. But in this incisive new biography, acclaimed military historian Richard Holmes offers a remarkable reappraisal of Churchill by examining the influences that shaped his character. Drawing upon never-before-seen materials such as letters between the young Churchill and his parents, Holmes paints the most complete portrait to date of the man who stood up to Hitler and led his people to victory against all odds. Detailing the decisive events of Churchill''s life -- from his childhood to his experiences in the Boer War through his rapid rise in politics -- Holmes demonstrates the central role Churchill''s character played in the key decisions of his public life. With an already inflated sense of self, Churchill had several lucky escapes in combat -- in the Boer War and in the trenches of WWI -- convincing him that he was saved for a reason and was destined for greatness. In the Footsteps of Churchill uncovers a surprisingly different Churchill -- both admirable and difficult -- through the lens of his character.

The book is a pictorial history of Rhode Island''s thirty-one lighthouses and two lightships stations. There are over 200 photographs in the book, including rare views of Gould Island Lighthouse, Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Point Judith Lighthouse. There are plans for Nayatt Point Lighthouse and Brenton Reef Lightship LV-102/WAL 525.

**Kirkus Best Books of the Year (2013)** **Time Magazine 10 Top Nonfiction Books of 2013** **The New Republic Best Books of 2013** In this heart-lifting chronicle, Richard Holmes, author of the best-selling The Age of Wonder, follows the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, the daring and enigmatic men and women who risked their lives to take to the air (or fall into the sky). Why they did it, what their contemporaries thought of them, and how their flights revealed the secrets of our planet is a compelling adventure that only Holmes could tell. His accounts of the early Anglo-French balloon rivalries, the crazy firework flights of the beautiful Sophie Blanchard, the long-distance voyages of the American entrepreneur John Wise and French photographer Felix Nadar are dramatic and exhilarating. Holmes documents as well the balloons used to observe the horrors of modern battle during the Civil War (including a flight taken by George Armstrong Custer); the legendary tale of at least sixty-seven manned balloons that escaped from Paris (the first successful civilian airlift in history) during the Prussian siege of 1870-71; the high-altitude exploits of James Glaisher (who rose) seven miles above the earth without oxygen, helping to establish the new science of meteorology); and how Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Jules Verne felt the imaginative impact of flight and allowed it to soar in their work. A seamless fusion of history, art, science, biography, and the metaphysics of flights, Falling Upwards explores the interplay between technology and imagination. And through the strange allure of these great balloonists, it offers a masterly portrait of human endeavor, recklessness, and vision. (With 24 pages of color illustrations, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.)

Napoleon was the colossus of his age. He rose to become one of Revolutionary France''s most successful generals, before being crowned Emperor in December 1804. Over the next eight years he fought a series of campaigns, defeating all his continental rivals, though his inability to take command of the sea prevented him from beating Britain. This authoritative book tells the story of the Napoleonic Wars, bringing them to life as never before with eight items of rare facsimile memorabilia, which have been specially researched from museum collections around the world.

This wide-ranging and exhaustively researched book is an attempt to grasp the very nature of war. It takes us through the soldier''s experience in its entirety - from the humiliation of basic training and the intense comradeship of army life, to the terror, isolation and exhaustion of battle.

A classic reissue of Richard Holmes’s brilliant book on Samuel Johnson’s friendship with the poet Richard Savage, which won the James Tait Black Prize for Biography.

Winner of the 1989 Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year, this is the first volume of Holmes’s seminal two-part examination of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of Britain’s greatest poets.

This defining period in world history is explored and explained as never before. World War II is captured in hundreds of compelling images, presenting the people, places, and politics involved in the epic conflict. Inside this complete visual guide is chronological coverage of the lead up to war, major military battles around the globe, and the aftermath that still influences and impacts our world today. You''ll meet the key players in thought-provoking profiles and discover their experiences firsthand, from national leaders sounding the orders to combatants on the frontline and civilians left behind. Standout moments, including Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the D-Day landings, are revealed in rarely seen color photographs and unforgettable eyewitness accounts. Explosive photography, international maps, accessible text, and supporting timelines combine to show the most destructive event ever known in unprecedented depth and detail. Although the complexities of World War II can be hard to fathom, this standout reference is organized in a logical order and the supporting captions are concise and clear throughout to aid understanding. World War II provides an unparalleled account of this devastating conflict so we never forget and continue to learn from the past. This title differs from DK''s previous World War II title, in that it is a spread-by-spread account á la History (with "previous" and "following" tabs placing each spread in chronological context) of the war, rather than a narrative that needs to be read from start to finish.

The World at War is the definitive television work on the Second World War. It set out to tell the story of the war through the testimony of key participants - from civilians to ordinary soldiers, from statesmen to generals. First broadcast in 1973, the result was a unique and irreplaceable record since many of the eyewitnesses captured on film did not have long to live.The programme''s producers committed hundreds of interview-hours to tape in its creation, but only a fraction of that material made it to the final cut. For more than 30 years the interviews have never been allowed to be published - until now.Highly respected historian and bestselling author Richard Holmes has skilfully woven this valuable original material into a compelling narrative, creating a truly phenomenal oral history of the Second World War.

This biography charts the birth of modern science in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through the lives of several notable scientists. The author focuses on botanist, Joseph Banks, astronomers William and Caroline Herschel and chemist Humphry Davy. He reveals how great ideas and experiments are born, how intense relationships are broken by research and how religious faith and scientific truth collide.