{"title":"Sean McMeekin","description":"\u003cp\u003eSean McMeekin delves into the pivotal moments that shaped modern history with a sharp focus on geopolitical intrigue and the forces behind global conflicts. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eHistory's Greatest Heist\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eStalin's War\u003c\/em\u003e, offer readers a nuanced exploration of the complex political manoeuvres and military events that have defined the 20th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a keen eye on history and politics, McMeekin’s narratives bring to life the turbulent eras of the Russian Revolution and the decline of empires, revealing the hidden agendas that influenced the world’s turning points. This collection is essential for those intrigued by the interplay of power, war, and diplomacy.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-ottoman-endgame","title":"The Ottoman Endgame","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStep into the turbulent and transformative final years of the Ottoman Empire with Sean McMeekin's \u003ci\u003eThe Ottoman Endgame\u003c\/i\u003e, an extraordinary single-volume history that chronicles the epic struggle of a vast empire facing the winds of change during the early 20th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis captivating narrative begins in September 1911 with Italy's audacious invasion of Ottoman Tripoli, setting off a series of conflicts marking the beginning of the end for the ancient empire. The book meticulously traverses through the Balkan Wars, World War I, the Arab Revolt, and the subsequent Allied Occupation, finishing with the establishment of Turkish independence in the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMcMeekin brilliantly interweaves military history with political and social aspects, offering fresh perspectives on the significant events and figures that shaped the modern Middle East. His compelling storytelling reexamines the commonly held beliefs about the Ottoman Empire's dissolution, providing readers a deeper understanding of how these events have impacted the geopolitical landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ottoman Endgame\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a history book but an engaging and thought-provoking analysis of a defining era. It challenges readers to rethink the last decade of the Ottoman Empire through a meticulously researched and vividly portrayed narrative. This definitive work is essential for anyone interested in understanding the complex forces that shaped the modern world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45658247397612,"sku":"9780718199715","price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8976c431b35f18c90c10310decd339a0.jpg?v=1794515639"},{"product_id":"stalins-war","title":"Stalin's War","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA ground-breaking history of the Second World War, told from the Soviet perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this remarkable, ground-breaking new book, Sean McMeekin marks a generational shift in our view of Stalin as an ally in the Second World War. Stalin's only difference from Hitler, he argues, was that he was a successful murderous predator. With Hitler dead and the Third Reich in ruins, Stalin created an immense new Communist empire. Among his holdings were Czechoslovakia and Poland, the fates of which had first set the West against the Nazis and, of course, China and North Korea, the ramifications of which we still live with today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUntil Barbarossa wrought a public relations miracle, turning him into a plucky ally of the West, Stalin had murdered millions, subverted every norm of international behaviour, invaded as many countries as Hitler had, and taken great swathes of territory he would continue to keep. In the larger sense, the global conflict grew out of not only German and Japanese aggression but Stalin's manoeuvrings, orchestrated to provoke wars of attrition between the capitalist powers in Europe and in Asia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAbove all, \u003cem\u003eStalin's War\u003c\/em\u003e uncovers the shocking details of how the US government (to the detriment of itself and its other allies) fuelled Stalin's war machine, blindly agreeing to every Soviet demand, right down to agents supplying details of the atomic bomb.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45695645188332,"sku":"9780141989297","price":50.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/0e8ddc40fb12d499a67e919f35b55edc.jpg?v=1794523239"},{"product_id":"the-russian-revolution-by-sean-mcmeekin-9781781259030","title":"The Russian Revolution","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the turn of the century, the Russian economy was growing by about 10% annually and its population had reached 150 million. By 1920, the country was in desperate financial straits and more than 20 million Russians had died. By 1950, a third of the globe had embraced communism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe triumph of Communism sets a profound puzzle. How did the Bolsheviks win power and then cling to it amid the chaos they had created? Traditional histories remain a captive to Marxist ideas about class struggle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnalysing never before used files from the Tsarist military archives, McMeekin argues that war is the answer. The revolutionaries were aided at nearly every step by Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, who sought to benefit—politically and economically—from the changes overtaking the country.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo make sense of Russia's careening path, the essential question is not Lenin's \"who, whom?\", but who benefits?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Russian Revolution\u003c\/em\u003e by Sean McMeekin offers a fresh perspective on these pivotal events, revealing the complex interplay of international forces that shaped the course of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46555762491628,"sku":"9781781259030","price":34.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3deeda9e739dce7d6001afc14ed9a61b.jpg?v=1794549324"},{"product_id":"historys-greatest-heist-by-sean-mcmeekin-9780300135589","title":"History's Greatest Heist","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow Lenin’s regime turned Russia’s priceless cultural patrimony into armoured cars, trains, planes, and machine guns\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHistorians have never resolved a central mystery of the Russian Revolution: how did the Bolsheviks, despite facing a world of enemies and leaving nothing but economic ruin in their path, manage to stay in power through five long years of civil war? In this penetrating book, Sean McMeekin draws on previously undiscovered materials from the Soviet Ministry of Finance and other European and American archives to expose some of the darkest secrets of Russia’s early days of communism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBuilding on one archival revelation after another, the author reveals how the Bolsheviks financed their aggression through astonishingly extensive thievery. Their looting included everything from the cash savings of private citizens to gold, silver, diamonds, jewellery, icons, antiques, and artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy tracking illicit Soviet financial transactions across Europe, McMeekin shows how Lenin’s regime accomplished history’s greatest heist between 1917 and 1922 and turned centuries of accumulated wealth into the sinews of class war. McMeekin also names names, introducing for the first time the compliant bankers, lawyers, and middlemen who, for a price, helped the Bolsheviks launder their loot, impoverish Russia, and impose their brutal will on millions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHistory's Greatest Heist\u003c\/i\u003e provides a deeply insightful examination into the financial underpinnings of a revolutionary regime, exploring how economic strategies contributed to maintaining power in a tumultuous period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46796320112876,"sku":"9780300135589","price":248.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/23353633482294.jpg?v=1757090790"},{"product_id":"to-overthrow-the-world-by-sean-mcmeekin-9781911723530","title":"To Overthrow the World","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIt is well worth reading.\u003c\/em\u003e — Wall Street Journal\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA sweeping, unsparing history of the oppression meted out to billions of people by Communist regimes.\u003c\/em\u003e — TLS\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThree decades since the Soviet Union’s collapse prompted Francis Fukuyama to proclaim the 'End of History', things look different. Russia may no longer be Communist, but Stalin is more admired there than at any time since his death in 1953. The United States has bled power and prestige in uncanny parallel with China’s rise in economic strength and global influence—not least in the US itself. Liberal democratic capitalism seems moribund, while Chinese Communism assimilates the world. How and why did this happen?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn his sweeping history, Sean McMeekin investigates the evolution of Communism from the seductive ideal of a classless society into the ruling doctrine of tyrannical regimes. From Marx’s writings to the global resurgence of Communism in the twenty-first century, McMeekin argues that, despite the endurance of this political system, it remains deeply unpopular. Where it has arisen, it has always arisen by force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBlending narrative with cutting-edge scholarship, \u003cem\u003eTo Overthrow the World\u003c\/em\u003e revolutionises our understanding of Communism—an idea that seemingly cannot die.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eA history of an ideology and its tyrannical adherents who stubbornly refuse to go away.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWhile Soviet Communism collapsed three decades ago, the Chinese model has been thriving and spreading its influence globally.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSean McMeekin is the author of eight award-winning books including \u003cem\u003eStalin's War: A New History of World War\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67712386564332,"sku":"9781911723530","price":69.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781911723530-to-overthrow-the-world-1.jpg?v=1791855499"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/sean-mcmeekin.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}