{"title":"Philip Short","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Short\u003c\/strong\u003e offers compelling biographies that delve into the lives of some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ most influential and controversial figures. His works provide a detailed exploration of their personal histories, political dynamics, and the broader historical contexts in which they operated.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect meticulously researched narratives that balance insight and clarity, bringing to life complex characters such as Mao, Pol Pot, and Putin. These books appeal to those interested in understanding power, ideology, and the shaping of modern history through intimate and authoritative storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"putin","title":"Putin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe monumental biography of the most influential leader on the world stage in the last twenty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVladimir Putin is a pariah to the West.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe has the power to reduce the West to nuclear ashes. He invades his neighbours, meddles in western elections, and orders assassinations. Yet many Russians continue to support him. Under Putin's leadership, Russia has once again become a force to be reckoned with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePhilip Short's magisterial biography, \u003cem\u003ePutin\u003c\/em\u003e, explores in unprecedented depth the personality of Russia's leader and demolishes many of our preconceptions about Putin's Russia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo explain is not to justify. Putin's regime is dark. But, on closer examination, much of what we think we know about him turns out to rest on half-truths. This book is as close as we will come to understanding Russia's ruler.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45658033094892,"sku":"9781784700935","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781784700935.jpg?v=1724848245"},{"product_id":"mao-by-philip-short-9781350376724","title":"Mao","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the great figures of the twentieth century, Chairman Mao looms irrepressibly over the economic rise of China. Mao Zedong was the leader of a revolution, a communist who lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, an aggressive and distrustful leader, and a man responsible for more civilian deaths than perhaps any other historical figure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow, four decades after Mao's death, acclaimed biographer Philip Short presents a fully updated and revised edition of his ground-breaking and masterly biography. Vivid, uncompromising and unflinching, Short presents in one volume the man behind the propaganda—his family, his beliefs, and his horrors. In doing so, he shows us both the human being Mao was, and the monster he became.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMao\u003c\/em\u003e offers readers a deep dive into the complexities of a historical icon whose impact on China and the world is still felt today. Philip Short's expert portrayal and profound insights make this biography an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the legacy of one of history's most influential leaders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46844587147500,"sku":"9781350376724","price":43.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/21679523482668.jpg?v=1758846501"},{"product_id":"pol-pot-by-philip-short-9780719565694","title":"Pol Pot","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe definitive portrait of Pol Pot, the enigmatic man behind the most terrifying regime of modern times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePol Pot\u003c\/em\u003e was an idealistic, reclusive figure with great charisma and personal charm. He initiated a revolution whose radical egalitarianism exceeded any other in history. But in the process, Cambodia descended into madness, and his name became a byword for oppression. In the three-and-a-half years of his rule, more than a million people, a fifth of Cambodia's population, were executed or died from hunger and disease.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA supposedly gentle, carefree land of slumbering temples and smiling peasants became a concentration camp of the mind, a slave state in which absolute obedience was enforced on the 'killing fields'. Why did it happen? How did an idealistic dream of justice and prosperity mutate into one of humanity's worst nightmares?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePhilip Short, the biographer of Mao, has spent four years travelling the length of Cambodia, interviewing surviving leaders of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge movement and sifting through previously closed archives. Here, the former Khmer Rouge Head of State, Pol's brother-in-law, and scores of lesser figures speak for the first time at length about their beliefs and motives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46845538861292,"sku":"9780719565694","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4786183482444.jpg?v=1758884811"},{"product_id":"putin-by-philip-short-9781847923387","title":"Putin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe monumental biography of the most influential leader on the world stage in the last twenty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMagisterial\u003c\/em\u003e - Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOutstanding\u003c\/em\u003e - Ian Kershaw\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eVladimir Putin is a pariah to the West.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlone among world leaders, he has the power to reduce the United States and Europe to ashes in a nuclear firestorm and has threatened to do so. He invades his neighbours, most recently Ukraine, meddles in western elections and orders assassinations inside and outside Russia. The regime he heads is autocratic and corrupt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYet many Russians continue to support him. Despite western sanctions, the majority have been living better than at any time in the past. By fair means or foul, under Putin's leadership, Russia has once again become a force to be reckoned with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePhilip Short's \u003cem\u003emagisterial biography\u003c\/em\u003e explores in unprecedented depth the personality of its enigmatic and ruthless leader and demolishes many of our preconceptions about Putin's Russia. Since becoming President in 2000, his obsession has been to restore Russia's status as a great power, unbound by western rules. What forces and experiences shaped him? What led him to challenge the American-led world order that has kept the peace since the end of the Cold War?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo explain is not to justify. Putin's regime is dark. He pursues his goals relentlessly by whatever means he thinks fit. But on closer examination, much of what we think we know about him turns out to rest on half-truths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis book is as close as we will come to understanding Russia's ruler. It also makes us revise long-held assumptions about the course of global politics since the end of the Cold War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47487470502124,"sku":"9781847923387","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/cdd96df89d2e41c8c42de94a01b26e7f.jpg?v=1775788421"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/philip-short.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}