Jules Stewart

Martial arts, both traditional and modern styles, enjoy widespread popularity, and many people practise them non-competitively whether for self-defence or physical development. Stars like Bruce Lee and films such as The Karate Kid have further contributed hugely to the perception of martial arts in Western popular culture. Aikido to Zen explores the development of martial arts across the world, from the Shaolin Monastery in China to the present day, and considers how they deploy intuition, rapid physical reaction and mental awareness. It also shines a light on the variety of communities who practise, including women, the young and people with disabilities. With viewpoints from practitioners across the world, this book offers a fresh look at martial arts’ significance culturally, physically and psychologically.

This is the tale of Western Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited city, a 3,000-year history of war and seafaring, culture and commerce, liberalism and resistance. Helen Crisp and Jules Stewart offer a vibrant account of Cádiz past and present, from its ancient founding myths to its reinvention as a trendy tourist destination. They illuminate Cádiz’s experiences under Roman and Moorish rule; explore its centuries of maritime warfare, from Francis Drake to the Battle of Trafalgar; and probe its role in Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ of empire, when it dominated trade with the New World. As Spain’s de facto capital during the Peninsular War, Cádiz also produced Europe’s first liberal constitution in 1812. And in 1936, it was the port of entry for Franco’s troops, mustered to overthrow the Republic. Cádiz has excited the passions of travellers for centuries. Lord Byron was enchanted by the ladies of the city, whom he described as ‘form’d for all the witching arts of love’. Benjamin Disraeli fell in love with Cádiz in 1830, seeing ‘Figaro in every street and Rosita in every balcony’. This beautifully illustrated book, the first to tell the full story of this intriguing and extraordinary city, brings its past to life.

This is the story of the zest for life that gripped New York in the post-war years of the 1920s. The decade ushered in an era of almost unprecedented prosperity and economic expansion that made New York the powerhouse of America and fuelled a wave of creativity in music, fashion, literature and architecture. Strike Up the Band explores how the city became a magnet for a host of outstanding personalities, from literary figures to sports stars, musicians, composers and journalists, and pays a visit to the places they frequented, such as the Cotton Club and Broadway theatres. From skyline to sidewalk, the city was redeveloped in the building boom of the 1920s, with Art Deco becoming the style that dominated the new era. This book is a spirited chronicle of an outstanding decade.

Policing the Big Apple is the story of America's largest and most celebrated law enforcement agency. The book covers the history of policing New York City from 1625 in then New Amsterdam, to the formation of the NYPD in 1845, through 1930s battles with the Mafia, to 1990s Zero Tolerance. Along the way, it examines episodes of political influence, corruption, and reform including Tammany Hall, the Mafia, New York City mayors and the police, and the enrolment in the force of women and people of colour. It tells the story both through its commissioners, and the visions they had for the force and the city, and at the level of cops on the beat. Historically insightful and accessibly written, this is an indispensable chronicle for anyone interested in policing and the history of New York.

Spain’s top city for tourism, Madrid attracts more than six million visitors a year. Helen Crisp and Jules Stewart relate the story of a city and its people through the centuries, while their carefully curated listings give a nod to well-known attractions and sights, as well as hidden gems. Spain’s art capital, with its ‘Golden Triangle’ of museums and myriad art galleries, Madrid is also a city of dazzling nightlife, with a profusion of cafés and bars. This is the story of a vibrant, energetic city, one that remains an enigma to many outsiders.

Often described as the greatest city in the world, New York is one of the iconic cities of the world. Yet much of its architecture and culture which so defines the city we know today only came into being in the 1930s, in what was perhaps the most significant decade in the city’s 400 year history. Jules Stewart shows how, after the roaring twenties, the catastrophic Wall Street Crash and ensuing Depression, New York rose from the ashes and underwent an architectural, economic, social and creative renaissance under the leadership of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. After seizing power, he declared war on the mafia mobs running vast swathes of the city, attacked political corruption and kick-started the economy through a variety of construction and infrastructure projects. At the same time, a cultural revolution was underway as the jazz age and the Harlem Renaissance took hold. From the Empire State Building to the Pastrami Sandwich and the Cotton Club, Gotham Rising tells the story of when the city we know today came of age.

In 1915, at the height of World War I, the Central Powers sent a secret mission, led by Oskar Ritter von Niedermayer and Werner Otto von Hentig, to the court of the emir of Afghanistan, Habibullah Khan. Jointly operated by the governments of Germany and Turkey, the aim of the mission was to persuade the emir to declare full independence from the British Empire, enter the war on the side of the Central Powers and attack British India. Britain saw this mission as a serious and credible threat - so much so that they tried to intercept the travellers in Persia en route to Kabul and subsequently implemented their own intelligence mission to ensure that Afghanistan would retain its neutral position. Jules Stewart provides a gripping account of the expedition, highlighting a previously little-known aspect of World War I.

Britain's military involvement in Afghanistan is a contentious subject, yet it is often forgotten that the current conflict is in fact the fourth in a string of such wars dating back more than 170 years. Aiming to protect British India from the expanding Russian empire, the British fought a series of conflicts on Afghan territory between 1838 and 1919. The Anglo-Afghan wars of the 19th and early 20th centuries were ill-conceived and led to some of the worst military disasters ever sustained by British forces in this part of the world, with poor strategy in the First Afghan War resulting in the annihilation of 16,000 soldiers and civilians in a single week. In his new book, Jules Stewart explores the potential danger of replaying Britain's military catastrophes and considers what can be learnt from revisiting the story of these earlier Afghan wars.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the British and Russian Empires played the ‘Great Game,’ a rivalry for supremacy in Central Asia. To secure a ‘buffer zone’ in Afghanistan, between India and Russian territory, Britain launched the First Anglo-Afghan War in 1838. Initial success, including the imposition of a puppet regime supported by too few troops (a situation that has great resonance today), was followed by complete disaster in 1842, with 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 civilian camp followers killed by rebellious Afghans. Only one Briton is known to have escaped the massacre. This compelling story of imperial misadventure is told by Jules Stewart, a former Reuters journalist with considerable experience in the region and a specialist in North-West Frontier history, and has a foreword from General Sir David Richards, Chief of the General Staff and a former NATO commander in Afghanistan. It provides important parallels with our current commitments in this graveyard of ambitions, and illustrates how little has been learnt from the past.

For centuries, Pakistan's North West Frontier has been seen as a lawless wilderness, which more recently has given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and other fundamentalist Muslim leaders. This, the first significant book on the territory for 40 years, includes first hand accounts of life and soldiering on the Frontier since the Second World War. It also tells how the British and invaders before and after the Raj, attempted to deal with this unpredictable land of the Pathans. The Savage Border provides an in-depth, highly accessible account of life and conflict on the North-West Frontier, covering not only the century of British rule since 1849, but also events since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The author addresses key questions including 'What makes the Pathan so warlike and belligerent to outsiders, from Darius the Great in the 6th century BC to the US Marines in the 21st century AD?' and 'Can these tribesmen ever be brought into society's fold and persuaded to give up their terrorist comrades? The author is a specialist in North West Frontier affairs, who has travelled extensively in Pakistan.

For centuries, Pakistan's North West Frontier has been seen as a lawless wilderness, which more recently has given sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and other fundamentalist Muslim leaders. This, the first significant book on the territory for 40 years, includes first hand accounts of life and soldiering on the Frontier since the Second World War. It also tells how the British and invaders before and after the Raj, attempted to deal with this unpredictable land of the Pathans. "The Savage Border" provides an in-depth, highly accessible account of life and conflict on the North West Frontier, covering not only the century of British rule since 1849, but also events since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The author addresses key questions including 'What makes the Pathan so warlike and belligerent to outsiders, from Darius the Great in the 6th century BC to the US Marines in the 21st century AD?' and 'Can these tribesmen ever be brought into society's fold and persuaded to give up their terrorist comrades? The author is a specialist in North West Frontier affairs, who has travelled extensively in Pakistan.

Recruited from the Pathan tribes that live in the no-mans land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Khyber Rifles fought for the British Raj against their own kith and kin. Jules Stewart tells the story of Colonel Sir Robert Warburton, the man who raised the Khyber Rifles in 1878, and describes the Khyber Rifles in action.

In the 1860s, Captain Thomas Montgomerie trained natives to be surveyors, and had them explore the region covertly. These men, known as pundits, were disguised as lamas (holy men). This book talks about these servants of the Raj who managed to map the Himalayas and Tibet, helping the British to consolidate their rule in the Indian sub-continent.

Recruited from the Pathan tribes that live in the no-man's land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Khyber Rifles fought for the British Raj against their own kith and kin. Jules Stewart tells the story of Colonel Sir Robert Warburton, the man who raised the Khyber Rifles in 1878, and describes the Khyber Rifles in action.