Alexander Mallett's Books

Machiavelli

His Life and Times

By: Alexander Lee

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A wonderfully assured and utterly riveting biography that captures not only the much-maligned Machiavelli, but also the spirit of his time and place. A monumental achievement.' – Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors. ‘A notorious fiend’, ‘generally odious’, ‘he seems hideous, and so he is.’ Thanks to the invidious reputation of his most famous work, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli exerts a unique hold over the popular imagination. But was Machiavelli as sinister as he is often thought to be? Might he not have been an infinitely more sympathetic figure, prone to political missteps, professional failures and personal dramas? Alexander Lee reveals the man behind the myth, following him from cradle to grave, from his father’s penury and the abuse he suffered at a teacher’s hands, to his marriage and his many affairs (with both men and women), to his political triumphs and, ultimately, his fall from grace and exile. In doing so, Lee uncovers hitherto unobserved connections between Machiavelli’s life and thought. He also reveals the world through which Machiavelli moved: from the great halls of Renaissance Florence to the court of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI, from the dungeons of the Stinche prison to the Rucellai gardens, where he would begin work on some of his last great works. As much a portrait of an age as of a uniquely engaging man, Lee’s gripping and definitive biography takes the reader into Machiavelli’s world – and his work – more completely than ever before.

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Page Count

582

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

1447275012

ISBN 13

9781447275015

The Inventor of Stereo

The life and works of Alan Dower Blumlein

By: Robert Alexander

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The Inventor of Stereo

The life and works of Alan Dower Blumlein

By: Robert Alexander

This book is the definitive study of the life and works of one of Britain's most important inventors who, due to a cruel set of circumstances, has all but been overlooked by history. Alan Dower Blumlein led an extraordinary life in which his inventive output rate easily surpassed that of Edison, but whose early death during the darkest days of World War Two led to a shroud of secrecy which has covered his life and achievements ever since. His 1931 Patent for a Binaural Recording system was so revolutionary that most of his contemporaries regarded it at as more than 20 years ahead of its time. Even years after his death, the full magnitude of its detail had not been fully utilized. Among his 128 Patents are the principle electronic circuits critical to the development of the world's first electronic television system. During his short working life, Blumlein produced patent after patent breaking entirely new ground in electronic and audio engineering. During the Second World War, Alan Blumlein was deeply engaged in the very secret work of radar development and contributed enormously to the system eventually to become 'H2S'- blind bombing radar. Tragically, during an experimental H2S flight in June 1942, the Halifax bomber in which Blumlein and several colleagues were flying, crashed and all aboard were killed. He was just days short of his 39th birthday. For many years there have been rumours about a biography of Alan Blumlein, yet none has been forthcoming. This is the world's first study of a man whose achievements should rank among those of the greatest Britain has produced. This book provides detailed knowledge of every one of his patents and the process behind them, while giving an in depth study of the life and times of this quite extraordinary man.

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Page Count

490

Publisher

CRC Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1136120378

ISBN 13

9781136120374

The Ugly Renaissance

Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty

By: Alexander Lee

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The Ugly Renaissance

Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty

By: Alexander Lee

The Ugly Renaissance is a delightfully debauched tour of the sordid, gritty reality behind some of the most celebrated artworks and cultural innovations of all time. Tourists today flock to Italy by the millions to admire the stunning achievements of the Renaissance—paintings, statues, and buildings that are the legacy of one of the greatest periods of cultural rebirth and artistic beauty the world has ever seen. But beneath the elegant surface lurked a seamy, vicious world of power politics, perversity, and corruption. In this meticulously researched and lively portrait, Renaissance scholar Alexander Lee illuminates the dark and titillating contradictions that existed alongside the enlightened spirit of the time: the scheming bankers, greedy politicians, bloody rivalries, murderous artists, religious conflicts, rampant disease, and indulgent excess without which many of the most beautiful monuments of the Renaissance would never have come into being.

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Page Count

450

Publisher

Anchor

Published Date

ISBN 10

0345802926

ISBN 13

9780345802927

War Through Italian Eyes

Fighting for Mussolini, 1940-1943

By: Alexander Henry

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War Through Italian Eyes

Fighting for Mussolini, 1940-1943

By: Alexander Henry

There is a popular notion that the Italian armed forces of the Second World War were an inferior fighting force. Despite the vast numbers taken prisoner, detailed studies of the experiences of these soldiers remain relatively uncommon and the value of this group to furthering our understanding of the Italian experience of war under Fascism is also rarely acknowledged. The existence in the National Archives of hundreds of pages of transcripts of covert British surveillance of Italian POWs has made it possible to engage with their experiences and opinions in much greater depth. The euphemistically termed ‘Special Reports’ present historians with a unique insight into how all levels of Italian soldiery viewed Fascist Italy’s experience of war, 1940-1943. This book examines reactions to Italian political leadership, the progress of the war, as well as Italian soldiers’ ‘everyday’ views on sex, war, the enemy, death, food, their allies, bravery, race, and killing. These fascinating documents reveal the complexity of the outlook of these men, which persistent – and influential – national stereotypes and historiographical trends fail to acknowledge.

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Page Count

160

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000410099

ISBN 13

9781000410099

Legends of the Baggy Green

Dubious behaviour and achievements from cricket's chequered history

By: Alexander Buzo

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Legends of the Baggy Green

Dubious behaviour and achievements from cricket's chequered history

By: Alexander Buzo

Full of brigands and bogans, legends and sledgends, Legends of the Baggy Green is an acerbic commentary on the codes and manners of cricket behaviour. Part social history, part blooper tape, this book takes sports comedy back to where it all began. The sins of modern cricket-sledging, chucking, match-fixing, plus the heinous practice of putting the ball in the freezer to make it bounce higher - are all here, along with a rogues' gallery that includes everyone from 'Horseshoe' Herby Collins to Salim 'The Rat' Malik. From the watermelon presented to Syd Gregory to the brown paper bag full of cash that was given to the late Hansie Cronje, there is full disclosure in Legends of the Baggy Green, as well as comment on the commentators who have observed cricket's transit from Lord's to Hollywood, and from the Gabbatoir to the Elysian, desalinated fields of Sharjah. The outburst by 'Oo-ah' Glenn McGrath in the West Indies in 2003 put cricket behaviour on front pages all over the world. As is usual with McGrath, women sighed, men admired and boofheads fumed, but what was really going on? What the hell has happened to the game we loved and respected? There is ample scope for both humour and criticism here, and playwright, satirist and genuine cricket 'tragic' Alex Buzo has sharpened his pen to provide plenty of both.

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Page Count

232

Publisher

Allen & Unwin

Published Date

ISBN 10

1741764262

ISBN 13

9781741764260

Book's by Alexander Mallett

Machiavelli

Machiavelli

The Inventor of Stereo

The Inventor of Stereo

The Ugly Renaissance

The Ugly Renaissance

War Through Italian Eyes

War Through Italian Eyes

Legends of the Baggy Green

Legends of the Baggy Green

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