{"product_id":"9781847926524","title":"A Kingdom and a Village","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn erudite and entertaining history of Moscow, a city whose rich past offers crucial insight into contemporary global politics\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A marvellous book'\u003c\/b\u003e HELEN RAPPAPORT, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Rebel Romanov\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Every page pulses with individual stories and historical insights'\u003c\/b\u003e MARK GALEOTTI, author of \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Russia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Morrison is the perfect biographer of Moscow' \u003c\/b\u003eSHAUN WALKER, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Illegals\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMoscow stands at the centre of a nation comprising eleven percent of the globe's landmass, eleven time zones and nearly one hundred and fifty million people, some thirteen million of whom live in the capital. \u003ci\u003eA Kingdom and a Village\u003c\/i\u003e vividly brings to life Russia's heart and soul, tracing its transformation from a 'big village' into a metropolis of vast geopolitical import.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is a stranger-than-fiction arc. The last century alone has featured invasions and battles, the destruction and reconstruction of sacred landmarks, and the collapse of the Soviet republic - not to mention the rise of an authoritarian leader who is a keen student of Russian history. Morrison reaches back to the city's founding as a fortress on a river nearly a millennium ago. In the following centuries, any number of external forces - from Tatar Mongols and Swedes to Napoleon and Hitler - set their sights on Moscow, bolstering its self-conception as a glittering prize and site of perpetual defence and resurrection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnderstanding Moscow not only unlocks the spellbinding mysteries of Russia's past, but also the grim logic of its present.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Kingdom and a Village\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e is an essential guide to a people and a nation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Magisterial … gripping' \u003c\/b\u003eBEN RHODES, author of \u003ci\u003eThe World As It Is\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A mesmerising tale of how Moscow came to be'\u003c\/b\u003e JILL DOUGHERTY, author of \u003ci\u003eMy Russia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Combines taut storytelling with penetrating analysis'\u003c\/b\u003e REBECCA REICH, University of Cambridge\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Bodley Head","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56988834201973,"sku":"9781847926524","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0289\/5334\/6096\/files\/9781847926524.jpg?v=1774282559","url":"https:\/\/goldenharebooks.com\/products\/9781847926524","provider":"Golden Hare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}