Erik Durschmied – författare

"Beware the Dragon" is all about "them and us" - a fast-moving tale of historic events, the reasons behind them, the decisive battles, and the bloodshed and horror they caused. Erik Durschmied's vivid survey of the fateful centuries presents a dramatic picture of how new political entities were born out of the ruins of bankrupt empires, and the borders of the world redrawn.On the morning of 9 April 1241, a rider horde came thundering from the East, and shattered the steely might of Europe's proud knights. In the early hours of 24 November 1950, another horde of Chinese soldiers smashed into the army of the United Nations in Korea. Between these two conflicts were seven centuries of near-uninterrupted bloodshed.Following World War II came the ill-fated Marshall Mission, a failed invasion of Taiwan, the rape of Tibet and the perilous Ussuri Gamble. And then, after Zhou Enlai's and Kissinger's ping-pong diplomacy, just when things seemed again to have been put right, two warplanes collided over the China Sea.Collisions between China and the rest of the world are among the most vexing challenges of history - a succession of massive, brutal confrontations, involving millions.The story is a saga of mayhem and confusion, blunders and mistakes that brought the belligerents no credit; in telling it the author paints a fascinating and coherent picture of China's rise from isolation to its emerging superpower position.The world has accepted the fact of uncertainly, fearing China's capabilities but not, apparently, its intentions. Yet modern China faces daunting challenges - mounting internal social protest, and foreign trade wars - that could derail its phenomenal rise and deliver a crippling shock to global economy. Trade wars can easily lead, and often have, to shooting wars. The writing is on the wall.

There is no shortage of stories when it comes to battles. Some were decided by genius, but many more by a quirk of fate, when that thin balance which separates success from disaster lay in a minor decision or a trivial incident that tipped the scales. The thrust of a spear, the blink of an eye, a single phrase or a misinterpreted command is all it takes. A moment of courage or cowardice, energy or weariness, resolution or indecision.Battles have shaped the course of history and decided the fate of mankind. From a brutal Attila the Hun who went down to defeat on the Catalaunian Fields, to an overbearing French artillery colonel at Dien Bien Phu; from the stout walls of Constantinople to a skimpy mealie-bag wall at Rorke's Drift; from the sun of Austerlitz to the snows of Stalingrad, it was always an incident that decided the outcome of battle.

What is a witch? A woman (usually), unimaginably old, with streaming grey hair, who rides the air on her broom and devours little children. We can take it for granted that this type of witch doesn’t exist, but villains there have been, and butchers too. Who were these monsters, those who accused, arrested, judged and condemned without showing consideration or pity? What were their motives? Did they act to uphold the received faith, or was it purely for self-preservation? Was it a cover for the execution of private vendettas and personal gains, or for the achievement of political aims and public recognition?In his fascinating book Eric Durschmied explores the history of witch delusion and the cruel butchers who hunted and executed so-called witches, exploring a period from the Middle Ages to modern times. With its strong narrative and vivid depiction of characters such as Joan of Arc, Martin Luther and Witchfinder-General Matthew Hopkins, Whores of the Devil, is a passionate investigation of some of the greatest cruelties in history.