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Hopkirk, Peter
Peter Stuart Hopkirk (15 December 1930 – 22 August 2014) was a British journalist, author and historian who wrote six books about the British Empire, Russia and Central Asia. Biography Peter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank Stuart, an Anglican priest, and Mary Hopkirk (' Perkins). The family hailed originally from Roxburghshire in the borders of Scotland. He grew up at Danbury, Essex and was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford. From an early age he was interested in spy novels carrying around John Buchan's ''Greenmantle'' and Ruyard Kipling's ''Kim''. While at the Dragon School he played rugby and shot at Bisley. During his national service, he was commissioned in the Royal Hampshire Regiment in January 1950 and served as a subaltern in the King's African Rifles, in the same battalion as Lance-Corporal Idi Amin. Before becoming a full-time author, he was an ITN reporter and newscaster for two years, the New York City correspondent of Lord Beaverbro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Game (Hopkirk Book)
''The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia'' (US title ''The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia'' is a book by Peter Hopkirk on "the Great Game", a series of conflicts in the 1800s between the UK and Russian powers to control Central Asia. Description In this work, the author relates the story of a time best described by Captain Arthur Connolly, of the East India Company before he was beheaded in Bokhara for spying in 1842, as "The Great Game". The Great Game was played between the Russian Empire and British Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. At stake was the preservation of India, key to the wealth of the British Empire. When play began early in the 19th century, the frontiers of the two imperial powers lay two thousand miles apart, across vast deserts and almost impassable mountain ranges; by the end, only 20 miles separated the two rivals. Najibullah translation After the fall of Kabul to Afghan mujahideen forces in 1992, the last Soviet-backed pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century. His base of power was the largest circulation newspaper in the world, the ''Daily Express'', which appealed to the conservative working class with intensely patriotic news and editorials. During the Second World War, he played a major role in mobilising industrial resources as Winston Churchill's Minister of Aircraft Production. The young Max Aitken had a gift for making money and was a millionaire by the age of 30. His business ambitions quickly exceeded opportunities in Canada, and he moved to Britain. There he befriended Bonar Law, Andrew Bonar Law and with his support won a seat in the House of Commons at the December 1910 United Kingdom general election. A knighthood followed shortly after. During the First World War, he ran the Can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit library, it receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the United Kingdom. The library operates as a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The British Library is a major research library, with items in many languages and in many formats, both print and digital: books, manuscripts, journals, newspapers, magazines, sound and music recordings, videos, play-scripts, patents, databases, maps, stamps, prints, drawings. The Library's collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial holdings of manuscripts and items dating as far back as 2000 BC. The library maintains a programme for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society For Asian Affairs
The Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) is a learned society based in London (United Kingdom). Its objective is to advance public knowledge and understanding of Asia through its worldwide networks, its public events, its publications and its support to research. It is independent of governments and political bodies and does not take institutional positions on issues of policy at its meetings or in its publications. The Society was founded in 1901 as the Central Asian Society to "promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries". The geographical extent of the society's interest has since expanded to include the whole of Asia. Taylor & Francis publishes the society's journal, '' Asian Affairs'', which has been in print since 1914. History The society was founded in 1901 to promote greater knowledge and understanding of Central Asia and surrounding countries. But although Central Asia dominated the Society’s early interests, from the out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal
The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal is an award conferred by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. History The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal was established in 1947 in honour of Brigadier-General Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes and is awarded to "distinguished travellers and writers deemed to have increased man’s knowledge of and stimulated interest in Asia."Susan Farrington and Hugh Leach, "The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal and Other Society Awards", in ''Strolling About on the Roof of the World'' (Routledge, 2002, ISBN 9780203222935) Recipients * 2019 Francesc Vendrell CMG (1940–2022) * 2016 John Curtis and Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis * 2015 Christoph Baumer * 2013 Nancy Hatch Dupree * 2012 Geoffrey Langlands * 2011 Avi Schlaim * 2009 John Keay * 2007 Fred Halliday * 2006 Shirin Akiner * 2005 William Dalrymple * 2004 Charles Allen * 2002 Maurice Zinkin and Taya Zinkin * 2001 Mark Tully * 1999 Peter Hopkirk * 1994 Akbar Ahmed * 1992 Albert Hourani * 1990 Denis Wrig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the Palestinian diaspora, diaspora. It is currently represented by the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab world, Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of Israel. Mediated talks between the Israeli government and the PLO in 1993 (the Oslo I Accord) resulted in the PLO recognizing Legitimacy of the State of Israel, Israel's legitimacy and accepting United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which mandated Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories, while Israel recognized the PLO as a legitimate authority representing the Palestinian people. Despite the Israel–Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet in 1900 by Sir Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet, Sir Arthur Pearson. Its sister paper, the ''Sunday Express'', was launched in 1918. In June 2022, it had an average daily circulation of 201,608. Under the ownership of Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, the ''Express'' rose to become the newspaper with the largest circulation in the world, going from 2 million in the 1930s to 4 million in the 1940s. It was acquired by Richard Desmond's company Northern & Shell in 2000. Hugh Whittow was the editor from February 2011 until he retired in March 2018. In February 2018 Trinity Mirror acquired the ''Daily Express'', and other publishing assets of Northern & Shell, in a deal worth £126.7 million. To coincide with the purchase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bay Of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs () is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones, located on the southern coast of Cuba. By 1910 it was included in Santa Clara Province, and then to Las Villas Province by 1961, but in 1976, it was reassigned to Matanzas Province, when the original six provinces of Cuba were re-organized into 14 new Provinces of Cuba. The bay is historically important for the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. The area is a site known for its diving, with an abundance of marine fauna, e.g. 30 species of sponges belonging to 19 families and 21 genera,Caballero et al., 2009, p.95 to be found in the bay. Etymology In Cuban Spanish, ''cochinos'' may also mean the queen triggerfish ('' Balistes vetula''), which inhabit coral reefs in Bahía de Cochinos, in addition to the literal meaning, pigs ('' Sus scrofa''). Geography This bay is approximately south of Jagüey Grande, west of the city of Cienfuegos, and southeast from the capital city Havana. On the western side of the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Approaches
''Eastern Approaches'' (1949) is a memoir of the early career of Fitzroy Maclean. It is divided into three parts: his life as a junior diplomat in Moscow and his travels in the Soviet Union, especially the forbidden zones of Central Asia; his exploits in the British Army and SAS in the North Africa theatre of war; and his time with Josip Broz Tito and the Partisans in Yugoslavia. Maclean was considered to be one of the inspirations for James Bond, and this book contains many of the elements: remote travel, the sybaritic delights of diplomatic life, violence and adventure. The American edition was titled ''Escape To Adventure'', and was published a year later. All place names in this article use the spelling in the book. Golden Road: the Soviet Union Fresh out of Cambridge, Maclean joined the Foreign Office and spent a couple of years at the Paris embassy. He loved the pleasures of life in the French capital, but eventually longed for adventure. Against the advice of his fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have conventionally been considered as a natural barrier between Europe and Asia, bisecting the Eurasian landmass. Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain, is situated in the Western Caucasus area of Russia. On the southern side, the Lesser Caucasus includes the Javakheti Plateau and the Armenian highlands. The Caucasus is divided into the North Caucasus and South Caucasus, although the Western Caucasus also exists as a distinct geographic space within the North Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north is mostly shared by Russia and Georgia as well as the northernmost parts of Azerbaijan. The Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south is mostly located on the territory of sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West African
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom Overseas Territory).Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" (Introduction). International Monetary Fund, 2001. The population of West Africa is estimated at around million people as of , and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 were female and 192,309,000 male.United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, custom data acquired via website/ref> The region is demographically and economically one of the fastest growing on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
