Bamber Gascoigne – författare

Although China's great empire lasted for longer than any other, no country has suffered so great an imbalance between the fame of its art and obscurity of its history. The names of the great dynasties are familiar, yet who can actually locate a T'ang horse or a Ming vase in its social or cultural context? By focusing on the key colourful characters of the eight major dynasties, Bamber Gascoigne brings to life 3500 years of Chinese civilization. His bird's-eye view starts on the borders of myth. It moves swiftly on to the greatest achievements of language and thought, the cultural treasures and imperial palaces, wars won and lands lost to the Mongols, finally to arrive at the 1912 Revolution, which contained within it the seeds of Communism that ensured the overthrow of the last emperor. Via this portrait of an empire and its peoples he has opened the door to a world for too long inaccessible to the West.

Who was the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated? The demolition of the old London Bridge put an end to what famous tradition? Which philosopher caught a fatal chill returning from a predawn lesson given to Queen Christina of Sweden? What was the real name of Buffalo Bill? Which mutiny, leading to a war of independence, was provoked by the use of animal fat? What was smuggled from Alexandria to Venice in, it is said, a barrel of pork? What did Pope Innocent III outlaw, as a weapon of mass destruction? Who, on the first day of 1660, had the remains of a turkey for breakfast and began a new project? Prepare to have your general knowledge tested by the best quizmaster in the business. Here are 2000 of the world's strangest and most stimulating questions, laid out in a series of thematic quizzes that cover art , literature, politics, sport, geography and history and span all the countries of the world. Bamber Gascoigne's fascination with knowledge is highly contagious and his answers give you the context you need to find out even more. And as to the answers to the questions above -- well, you'll have to read the book...

In this book, derived from his 1994 Sandars lectures, Bamber Gascoigne concentrates on those areas in the history of colour printing that have yet to receive critical attention. This broad historical survey covers the intaglio colour printing of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the inventive attempts of nineteenth-century British publishers to achieve cheap, effective colour printing, and the pioneering work of the firm Thomas Nelson and Sons. A catalogue of more than 1,000 British and foreign views published by the firm in their own distinctive technique, the Nelson print, is also provided. Gascoigne links these developments to the wider scientific, cultural, and social currents during the period. This lavishly illustrated book presents with clarity and wit an extensive overview of the emergence of colour printing. It will be of interest to all students of publishing and printing history and bibliography, as well as art historians.

The story of Christianity is one of colossal undertakings and spectacular successes as well as ferocious intolerance, greed and bloodshed. Bamber Gascoigne traces a clear path through a complicated history, exploring the motives, the passions, the fears and the achievements of the Christians. His approach is objective and he writes in a conversational style, focusing on moments of significant detail and a vast and varied cast of characters.

'Entertainingly written history . . . ravishingly beautiful photographs.'The Times Bamber Gascoigne's classic book tells of the most fascinating period of Indian history, the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the country was ruled by the extraordinarily talented dynasty of emperors known to European travellers as 'the Great Moghuls', for their almost limitless power and incomparable wealth. Here is a unique picture of the way of life of India's most flamboyant rulers, their sublime palaces, their passions in art, science and religion, and their sophisticated system of administration that stabilized the greater part of India and was later adopted by the British. Acclaimed by travellers and scholars alike, and beautifully illustrated in colour with sixteen pages of photographs, this is a book for anyone with an interest in India's glorious past and an engaging survey of a splendid culture and its singular achievements.