Tag archieven: Reaktion Books

Afrika, Afrikaanse geschiedenis, Ethiopië

Steven Kaplan – The Ethiopians

Steven Kaplan The Ethiopians review, recensie en informatie nieuw geschiedenisboek over Ethiopië in de reeks lost Civilizations. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt het boek over de geschiedenis van de Ethiopiers geschreven door Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Science, Steven Kaplan. Hier lees je informatie over de inhoud van het geschiedenisboek, de auteur en over de uitgave. De Nederlandse vertaling van het boek met als titel De Ethiopiërs verschijnt in oktober bij Uitgeverij Omniboek.

Steven Kaplan The Ethiopians review en recensie

  • “The Ethiopians provides a truly revelatory overview of Ethiopia until 1500 that spans epochs and disciplines. Steven Kaplan artfully synthesizes recent research about the Ethiopian past, simultaneously narrating both new historical perspectives and shaping a critical historiography.” (Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Harvard University)

Steven Kaplan The Ethiopians

The Ethiopians

  • Auteur: Steven Kaplan 
  • Soort boek: Ethiopische geschiedenis
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Reeks: Lost Civilizations
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 208 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 18,00
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van het boek over de geschiedenis van de Ethiopiërs van Steven Kaplan

A fresh perspective on Ethiopian history, architecture and culture from ancient times to 1500.

Ethiopia has captured the imagination of observers since ancient times. This book provides a fresh perspective on Ethiopian history up to 1500, beginning with the Aksumite civilization at the start of the Common Era. It revisits famous stories like the legend of the Queen of Sheba, examines the rise and fall of Aksum, explores the role of Muslims and Islam in Ethiopian society and highlights the architectural wonders of Lalibela’s rock-hewn churches.

Focusing on the Golden Age of the early Solomonic rulers, the book incorporates the most recent scholarship to present a clearer and more nuanced understanding of this rich history. Cogently written for a general readership, it is also a valuable resource for African Studies.

De Nederlandse vertaling van het boek met als titel De Ethiopiërs verschijnt in oktober bij Uitgeverij Omniboek.

Steven Kaplan is an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. For over 35 years he taught African Studies and Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books include Ethiopia: History, Culture and Challenges (co-editor, 2017).

Bijpassende boeken en informatie

Geschiedenisboeken, Letse schrijvers, Middeleeuwen, Paarden, Paardenboek

Anastasija Ropa – The Medieval Horse

Anastasija Ropa The Medieval Horse recensie, review en informatie geschiedenisboek over paarden in de middeleeuwen. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books het boek over het paard in de middeleeuwen van de uit Letland afkomstige schrijfster Anastasija Ropa. Hier lees je informatie over de inhoud van het boek, de auteur en over de uitgave. Een Nederlandse vertaling van het boek is niet verkrijgbaar.

Anastasija Ropa The Medieval Horse review en recensie

  • “Anastasija Ropa’s The Medieval Horse takes us on an an immensely pleasurable gallop through the equestrian Middle Ages, where horses of all kinds enlivened and defined the period. We encounter a wide cast of equine characters on Ropa’s richly described journey, from the more familiar environs of western Europe to those much further afield, including the Welsh ‘dung mare’ to horses that resided in the Mughal emperor’s lush stables, from the archery horses of Japanese yabusame, to those who trotted along the Khorasan-India Road in Iran. Ropa’s impressive command of multiple languages, as well as her extensive knowledge of medieval treatises, literary sources, religious traditions, and imagery allows her to deftly interrogate commonly received historiographies with the critical eyes of a historian and an equestrian. There is something for all scholars of equestrian history in this book, which is written in a light and engaging style, and brimming with lively stories of horses that makes it a delight to read. Ropa’s The Medieval Horse will no doubt take a well-earned place among the classic texts on the horses of the Middle Ages.” (Katherine Kanne, University College Dublin and University of Exeter)
  • “A fresh and wonderfully comprehensive study of medieval horses and their relationship with humans, from breeding and training to the elite warhorse and the humble Welsh ‘dung-mare, ‘ and to horses in literature, myth and superstition in Europe, the Arab lands, India and China. The book reflects both the most recent international research in this field and the author’s deep knowledge and understanding of horses.” (John Clark, curator emeritus, London Museum)

Anastasija Ropa The Medieval Horse

The Medieval Horse

  • Auteur: Anastasija Ropa (Letland)
  • Soort boek: middeleeuwse geschiedenis, paardenboek
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Reeks: Medieval Lives
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 216 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 16,95
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van het boek over het paard in de middeleeuwen van Anastasija Ropa

A vivid account of the deep connection between medieval people and horses.

This book explores the role of horses across the medieval world, from the Kievan Rus’ and Scandinavia to Central Europe, Byzantium, the Arab world and Asia, including China and India. Covering the early medieval period to the late Middle Ages, it examines how horses shaped societies, warfare and culture and how their legacy persists in traditional equestrian sports today.

Drawing on little-known primary sources, artefacts, and the author’s hands-on experience with historical horsemanship, the book offers a vivid account of the deep connection between people and horses. Combining scholarly insight with practical knowledge, this is the most comprehensive study of medieval horses in Europe and Asia to date.

Anastasija Ropa lectures at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education, and has owned and trained horses for many years. Her books include Practical Horsemanship in Medieval Arthurian Romance (2019).

Bijpassende boeken

Biografie, Noord-Korea

Michael J. Seth – Forever President Kim Il Sung biografie

Michael J. Seth Forever President Kim Il Sung biografie recensie, review en informatie over de inhoud van het boek over de voormalige dictator en leider van Noord-Korea. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books de biografie van Kim Il Sung, geschreven door Michael J. Sent. Hier lees je informatie over de inhoud van het boek, de auteur en over de uitgave. Een Nederlands vertaling van de biografie is niet verkrijgbaar.

Michael J. Seth Forever President Kim Il Sung biografie recensie en review

  • “Much of Kim Il Sung’s life ‘remains a mystery’ says Seth. So does his death, aged 82, in 1994. For half a century the North Korean dictator confounded international opinion and the geopolitical odds to father a nation and found a dynasty. Having comfortably outlived mentors like Stalin, Mao, and Ho Chi Minh, officially he yet lives as the state’s ‘Forever President.’ Seth’s necessarily political biography is judicious, authoritative, and unexpectedly readable.” (John Keay)
  • “Seth traces the life of North Korea’s famous leader from the Japanese colonial period to his final days. This concise and highly readable volume avoids excessive moralizing while helping readers to understand how Kim Il Sung gained and retained power. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the Kim Dynasty and how North Korea became the totalitarian state that it is today.” (Gregg A Brazinsky, professor of history and international affairs, George Washington University)

Michael J. Seth Forever President Kim Il Sung biografie

Forever President

A Biography of Kim Il Sung

  • Auteur: Michael J. Seth (Verenigde Staten)
  • Soort boek: biografie
  • Taal; Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 288 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 20,00
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van de biografie van de Noord-Koreaanse dictator en leider Kim Il Sung

Pieces together the rise, achievements, and failures of North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung.

Kim Il Sung ruled his country, North Korea, for longer and shaped it more profoundly than almost any other modern leader. He created a unique and seemingly bizarre and menacing political and social system, establishing a dynasty that has maintained it for two more generations. Yet he remains a curiously inaccessible, little understood figure, partly due to the closed and secretive nature of the state he founded.

Michael J. Seth puts together what we know of Kim’s life from all available sources and places it in the context of Korean and modern world history to make both Kim and North Korea comprehensible.  He looks at the unusual circumstances that contributed to Kim’s rise to power and at the early experiences that help to explain the directions he took his country.  Seth examines his impressive early achievements and his later failures, which left North Korea the isolated, impoverished half of a divided nation.

Kim was a charismatic and resourceful leader determined to reunify and modernize his country. But he pursued these aims with ruthlessness, egotism and extreme narrow-mindedness. Ultimately, his political inflexibility led to disaster.

Michael J. Seth is born on 9 March 1948. He a historian at James Madison University and one of the foremost experts on the history of Korea. His many books include Korea: A Very Short Introduction (2020) and Korea at War (2023).

Bijpassende boeken

Geschiedenisboeken, Griekenland, Oudheid, Romeinen

Damien Stone – The Secret Sacret

Damien Stone The Secret Sacret review, recensie en informatie boek over mysteriecultus in het oude Griekenland en bij de Romeinen. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books het boek van Damien Stone, de Australische archeoloog en schrijver over de mysteriecultus in de Griekse en Romeinse Oudheid. Een Nederlandse vertaling van het geschiedenisboek is niet verkrijgbaar.

Damien Stone The Secret Sacret review en recensie

  • “A fresh, wide-ranging, and accessible account of one of the most fascinating and under-studied aspects of Greco-Roman religion, drawing on both literary and material evidence. Richly illustrated and thoroughly up to date, this engaging study offers readers a compelling glimpse beyond the well-known aspects of official Greek and Roman religion, revealing a more personal dimension of how the ancient Greeks and Romans encountered the supernatural.” (Julia Kindt, Professor of Ancient History, The University of Sydney)
  • “In this clearly written, well-illustrated and engaging book, Damien Stone pulls together hints in ancient texts, imagery, and archaeological remains to give insight into one of the more intriguing aspects of life in the Greco-Roman past, the “mystery cults” whose practices and teaching were known only to the initiates.” (Margaret C. Miller, Emerita Professor of Classical Archaeology, The University of Sydney)

Damien Stone The Secret Sacret

The Secret Sacret

Mystery Cults in Ancient Greece and Rome

  • Auteur: Damien Stone (Australië)
  • Soort boek: mysteriecultus in de Griekse en Romeinse oudheid
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 216 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 18,00
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van het boek van Damien Stone  over Griekse en Romeinse mysteriecultus

A lively account of the concealed faiths of the ancient world.

The Secret Sacredexplores the hidden religious practices of the classical world. These cults, shrouded in secrecy, promised initiates a transformative afterlife. While many rituals remain mysterious, artworks and historical texts provide glimpses of their underlying beliefs.

The book examines Greco-Roman religious traditions and their divergence into mystery cults, including Bacchic ceremonies depicted in frescoes, Orphic gold tablets guiding souls in the underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries celebrating Demeter and Persephone’s cycle of rebirth. Eastern deities like Mithras, Isis and Cybele also feature in the cults discussed. The possible influence of mystery religions on early Christianity is also explored, drawing parallels with modern-day beliefs. Featuring the most recent archaeological discoveries and stunning museum artefacts, this is a lively account of the concealed faiths of the ancient world.

Damien Stone is an archaeologist who lives in Sydney, Australia. His books include The Hittites (Reaktion Books, 2023).

Bijpassende boeken

Biografie, Filosofie, Filosoof, Frankrijk

Emmanuelle Fantin & Bran Nicol – Jean Baudrillard biografie

Emmanuelle Fantin & Bran Nicol Jean Baudrillard biografie recensie en review van het boek over de Franse filosoof en socioloog. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books in de reeks Critical Lives de biografie van Jean Baudrillard, de socioloog en filosoof uit Frankrijk. Er is geen Nederlandse vertaling van het boek verkrijgbaar.

Emmanuelle Fantin & Bran Nicol Jean Baudrillard biografie recensie en review

Als er in de media een boekbespreking, recensie of review verschijnt van de biografie van Jean Baudrillard, geschreven door Emmanuelle Fantin en Bran Nicol, dan besteden we er op deze pagina aandacht aan.

Emmanuelle Fantin & Bran Nicol Jean Baudrillard biografie

Jean Baudrillard

  • Auteurs: Emmanuelle Fantin, Bran Nicol
  • Soort boek: biografie van de Franse filosoof
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 184 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: paperback / ebook
  • Prijs: £ 12,99
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van de biografie van Jean Baudrillard de Franse filosoof, socioloog

Provides new insights into the influential, yet enigmatic intellectual Jean Baudrillard.

Jean Baudrillard, once hailed as a ‘historian of the future’, remains a vital figure for understanding modern life. Famous for ideas like ‘simulation’ and the ‘hyperreal’, linked to postmodernism and The Matrix, Baudrillard was both celebrated and controversial, known for bold pronouncements about events like the Gulf War and 9/11. Yet the man himself was enigmatic, leading a public life while remaining personally elusive.

This first biography in English explores Baudrillard’s life and work, tracing his journey from the early years and French intellectual prominence to his global influence as a thinker, photographer and public intellectual. Using newly uncovered material, it provides fresh insights into his major works and ideas, offering readers a clear guide to his singular, uncompromising philosophy.

Jean Baudrillard werd op 27 juli 1929 in Reims, Frankrijk geboren. Hij studeerde Duits aan de Sorbonne en gaf op verschillende middelbare scholen in Frankrijk les in deze taal. In 1965 startte hij met de studie sociologie. In 1968 stopte met lesgeven en zette zich aan het schrijven van een doctorale studie over de sociologie van het dagelijkse leven. Tijdens de studentenopstand in mei 1968 was hij een van de leidende figuren op de achtergrond. in 1970 publiceerde hij het spraakmakende boek La Societé de consommation (De consumptiemaatschappij) waarna nog enige tientallen publicaties zouden volgen. Op 6 maart 2007 overlijdt hij in Parijs aan de golgen van kanker. Hij werd 77 jaar oud.

Emmanuelle Fantin is Associate Professor in Communication and Media Studies at Sorbonne Université. Her books include Le livre dont Jean Baudrillard est le héros (with Camille Zéhenne, 2023).

Bran Nicol is Professor of English Literature at the University of Surrey. His books include The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodern Fiction (2009).

Bijpassende boeken en informatie

Biografie, Duitse schrijver

Ritchie Robertson – E.T.A. Hoffmann biografie

Ritchie Robertson E.T.A. Hoffmann biografie recensie, review en informatie boek over de Duitse schrijver, componist en dirigent. Op 1 september 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books in  de reeks Critical Lives de biografie van E.T.A. Hofmann, de schrijver en componist uit Duitsland. De biografie is geschreven door Ritchie Robertson. Er is geen Nederlandse vertaling verkrijgbaar.

Ritchie Robertson E.T.A. Hoffmann biografie recensie en review

Als er in de media een boekbespreking, recensie of review verschijnt van de biografie van E.T.A. Hoffman, geschreven door Ritchie Robertson, dan besteden we er op deze pagina aandacht aan.

Ritchie Robertson E.T.A. Hoffmann biografie

E.T.A. Hoffmann

  • Auteur: Ritchie Robertson (Engeland)
  • Soort boek: biografie van E.T.A. Hoffmann
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Reeks: Critical Lives
  • Verschijnt: 1 september 2025
  • Omvang: 160 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: paperback / ebook
  • Prijs: £ 12,99
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van de biografie van E.T.A. Hoffmann de Duise schrijver en componist

A revealing portrait of Romantic writer, composer and public figure E.T.A. Hoffmann.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822) is celebrated for his supernatural fiction such as ‘The Sandman’ as well as his musical achievements, notably the opera Undine. This book offers a concise yet comprehensive introduction to Hoffmann as a Romantic writer, composer and public figure. It follows his life as a lawyer, theatre director and senior judge in Berlin, where he clashed with authorities over their persecution of student radicals. Drawing on Hoffmann’s personal writings and contemporary recollections, it also highlights how historical events like Napoleon’s invasion disrupted his career. By combining his literary and musical contributions, the book presents Hoffmann as a multifaceted artist whose inventiveness, both comic and spine-chilling, remain influential today.

Ritchie Robertson was born in 1952. He is a Fellow of the Queen’s College, Oxford, and Emeritus Schwarz-Taylor Professor of German at the University of Oxford. His books include Friedrich Nietzsche (Reaktion Books, 2022) and German Political Tragedy: The Machiavellian Plot and the Necessary Crime (2024).

Bijpassende boeken en informatie

Biografie, Nieuw-Zeeland, Nieuw-Zeelandse schrijfster

Gerri Kimber – Katherine Mansfield biografie

Gerri Kimber Katherine Mansfield biografie review, recensie en informatie van het boek over de Nieuw-Zeelandse schrijfster. Op 1 november 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books de biografie van Katherine Mansfield. Het boek is geschreven door Gerri Kimber. Een Nederlandse vertaling van de biografie is niet verkrijgbaar.

Gerri Kimber Katherine Mansfield biografie review en recensie

Als er in de media een boekbespreking, recensie of review verschijnt van Katherine Mansfield, A Hidden Life, geschreven door Gerri Kimber, dan besteden we er op deze pagina aandacht aan.

Gerri Kimber Katherine Mansfield Biografie

Katherine Mansfield

A Hidden Life

  • Auteur: Gerri Kimber
  • Soort boek: biografie van Katherine Mansfield
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 november 2025
  • Omvang: 336 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 20,00
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van de biografie van Katherine Mansfield de Nieuw-Zeelandse schrijfster

The life and work of Katherine Mansfield, one of literary modernism’s most significant writers.

This biography explores the life and work of Katherine Mansfield, one of literary modernism’s most significant writers. On the fringes of Bloomsbury, and friends with D. H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, T. S. Eliot and many others, Mansfield was at the heart of literary London at its most experimental. By the time of her death in 1923, aged just 34, she had broken boundaries and created new ways of writing that led her literary sparring partner Virginia Woolf to later admit that Mansfield’s ‘was the only writing I was ever jealous of’. Based on compelling new research, Gerri Kimber challenges previous conceptions surrounding the author’s life, uncovers friendships and relationships formerly barely acknowledged and offers innovative readings of Mansfield’s most celebrated stories.

Gerri Kimber is Visiting Professor in the Department of English at the University of Northampton. She was president of the Katherine Mansfield Society for ten years (2010–20) and has published extensively on Mansfield’s life and work.

Bijpassende boeken en informatie

Afghanistan, Geschiedenisboeken

Warwick Ball – Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan

Warwick Ball Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan recensie, review en informatie geschiedenis boek van de vroegste tijden tot de Mongoolse verovering. Op 1 augustus 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books het boek van Warwick Ball over de geschiedenis van Afghanistan. Hier lees je informatie over de inhoud van het boek, de auteur en over de uitgave. Een Nederlandse vertaling van het boek is niet verkrijgbaar.

Warwick Ball Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan recensie en review

Als er in de media een boekbespreking, review of recensie verschijnt van Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan, geschreven door de Britse archeoloog en schrijver Warwick Ball, dan besteden we er op deze pagina aandacht.

Warwick Ball Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan

Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan

From the Earliest Times to the Mongol Conquest

  • Auteur: Warwick Ball (Engeland)
  • Soort boek: geschiedenis van Afghanistan
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 augustus 2025
  • Omvang: 304 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek
  • Prijs: £ 29,00
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van het boek over oude beschavingen van Afghanistan

A beautifully illustrated exploration of Afghanistan’s ancient cities, temples and monuments.

Afghanistan, at the meeting place of the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Central Asia, holds a key place in the spread of ancient civilizations. Its remarkable cultural heritage includes the Bronze Age Helmand civilization, the Greek kingdom of Bactria, the Kushan Empire and the Ghaznavid Empire – yet much of its history remains unknown to a general audience. This beautifully illustrated book unveils Afghanistan’s ancient cities, temples, stupas, monasteries and other monuments set against breathtaking landscapes, presenting them to a wider audience. Incorporating the latest research and discoveries, it is a captivating journey through Afghanistan’s rich antiquities, brought to life with the author’s vivid, full-colour photographs.

Warwick Ball is an archaeologist and author who spent over twenty years carrying out excavations, architectural studies and monumental restoration throughout the Middle East. He is the author of many books on the history and archaeology of the region including The Archaeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan (revised edn, 2019).

Bijpassende boeken

Biografie, Geschiedenisboeken, Japan, Japanse geschiedenis

Frederik Cryns – In the Service of the Shogun

Frederik Cryns In the Service of the Shogun review, recensie en informatie boek en biografie met ware verhaal van William Adams. Op 1 augustus 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books het boek van de Vlaamse historicus, Japankenner hoogleraar Japanse geschiedenis aan het International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto. Er is geen Nederlandse vertaling van het boek verkrijgbaar van het boek.

Frederik Cryns In the Service of the Shogun review en recensie

  • “In the Service of the Shogun . . . is an exhaustively researched work based on a wide collection of primary sources, including letters written by Adams, as well as official journals, diaries and documents – among them Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. Students of Japanese history and culture owe Mr. Cryns a debt of gratitude for this impressive achievement.” (Wall Street Journal)
  • “In the Service of the Shogun, a biography by Frederik Cryns subtitled as The Real Story of William Adams. Most readers know Adams as the inspiration for James Clavell’s novel Shogun. Adams’s experiences are such that one wonders why Clavell even bothered fictionalizing them: Five ships set off from Holland in 1598, but after 19 months at sea, only one ship remained and only nine men survived to set foot on Japanese soil. Arrested as pirates and sentenced to death, Adams somehow rose to be a trusted advisor of military leader Tokugawa Ieyasu.” (Japan Times)

Frederik Cryns In the Service of the Shogun

In the Service of the Shogun

The Real Story of William Adams

  • Auteur: Frederik Cryns (België)
  • Soort boek: Japanse geschiedenis
  • Taal: Engesl
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Verschijnt: 1 augustus 2025
  • Omvang: 232 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: paperback / ebook
  • Prijs: £ 10,99
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst van het boek over William Adams, een Engelsman in dienst van de Shogun

The extraordinary story of William Adams, the real-life inspiration for the TV series Shōgun.

In 1600 English helmsman William Adams washed ashore in Japan and was interrogated by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan’s most powerful warlord and soon-to-be shogun. Far from executing Adams as a pirate, Ieyasu made him one of his most trusted advisers. This biography traces Adams’s rise from humble pilot to a position of immense influence in Japan’s foreign relations. It unravels the subsequent diplomatic manoeuvres of the Western powers in the shogun’s empire, and Adams’s eventual downfall.

This is the first full biography of Adams based on original Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese sources, and includes much previously unknown information. Frederik Cryns tells the authentic story of Adams’s chequered life in its historical context, taking us on a compelling journey into Adams’s complex inner feelings and cosmopolitan heart.

Frederik Cryns was born in Antwerp, Belgium. He is Professor of Japanese History at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of several bestselling books in Japanese on the early interaction of the Western world with Japan. In addition to his academic work, Frederik appears regularly on Japanese television history programmes and supervised the historical aspects of the television series Shōgun (2024).

Bijpassende boeken

Biografie, Filosofie, Filosoof, Romeinen

William O. Stephens – Marcus Aurelius

William O. Stephens Marcus Aurelius review, recensie en informatie over de inhoud van het boek over de Romeinse koning en filosoof. Op 1 oktober 2025 verschijnt bij Reaktion Books het nieuwe boek over Marcus Aurelius. Het boek is geschreven door de Amerikaanse filosoof William O. Stephens. Er is geen Nederlandse vertaling van het boek verkrijgbaar.

William O. Stephens Marcus Aurelius review en recensie

  • “This is a rich and well-balanced account of the life and times of one of the most fascinating figures of ancient Rome. Stephens presents Marcus Aurelius in all his human imperfection as he navigates the challenges of war, plague, insurrection, bereavement, and social unrest. A fascinating read for anyone interested in Roman history or Stoic philosophy.” (John Sellars, Reader in the History of Philosophy, Royal Holloway, University of London)

William O. Stephens Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius

Philosopher-King

  • Auteur: William O. Stephens (Verenigde Staten)
  • Soort boek: biografie, filosofieboek
  • Taal: Engels
  • Uitgever: Reaktion Books
  • Reeks: Great Lives of the Ancient World
  • Verschijnt: 1 oktober 2025
  • Omvang: 232 pagina’s
  • Uitgave: gebonden boek / ebook
  • Prijs: £ 15,95
  • Boek bestellen bij: Amazon / Bol / Libris

Flaptekst boek over de Romeinse filosoof-koning Marcus Aurelius

The gripping life, times, thought and legacy of Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius.

This book guides us through the fascinating life and writings of Marcus Aurelius, the only Roman emperor celebrated for centuries for his decency and earnest Stoic philosophy. Philosopher William O. Stephens explores Marcus’ reluctant rise to power, his marriage and his efforts to mould his son into a successor. He examines Marcus’ Stoic tenets as he describes the struggles of dealing with a fifteen-year pandemic, the betrayal of a trusted general, social upheaval centred on a new ‘superstition’ – Christianity – and how Marcus’ determination to stabilize the empire’s borders met with strife, broken treaties and protracted wars. This gripping narrative of Marcus’ life, times and thought, as well as his complex legacy, will appeal to all those interested in Roman history as well as to aspiring Stoics.

William O. Stephens is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Creighton University. His books include Epictetus’s Encheiridion: A New Translation and Guide to Stoic Ethics (with Scott Aikin, 2023) and Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed (2012).

Bijpassende boeken