Search results for ""author alex"
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Lost Treasure Ships of the Oregon Coast
Explore the early history of Oregon by delving into the journals of explorers Alexander Mackenzie, David Thompson, and Lewis & Clark. Read about journeys into Oregon and first encounters with Native Americans on the coast. Hear legends of white-winged ships that first came to these shores and eyewitness accounts of survivors from shipwrecks who intermarried with local tribes. Return to the days of treasure ships and their mysteries along the Oregon coast.
£13.99
Orion Publishing Co The Story of Trees: And How They Changed the Way We Live
"Wonderful stories and in-depth information you will normally never find in books about trees." - Piet Oudolf, Landscape Designer and creator of the planting design for New York's High Line"Entwining fascinating facts about 100 trees with inspiring stories of their importance to ancient civilizations, trade, religious and pagan beliefs, wellbeing and medicinal uses over the ages, this delightful and well-researched book provokes curiosity on every page." - Dr. Alexandra Wagstaffe, Eden Project LearningThe Story of Trees takes the reader on a visual journey from some of the earliest known tree species on our planet to the latest fruit cultivars.The chosen trees have all had a profound effect on the planet and humankind. Starting with the Ginkgo Biloba, fossils of which date back 270 million years, we learn about how trees came to be integral to the development of our species, and how specific trees have become important religious, political, and cultural symbols.With beautiful illustrations by Thibaud Herem and fascinating botanical facts and figures, this book will appeal to tree lovers from all over the world."Within these pages, we hope to inform and inspire those who already have a love of trees, as well as those who otherwise may have taken them for granted. The Story of Treesis our story, but also that of our ancestors. It is about our relationship with some of the world's most important trees, both on a local scale and globally. With so many trees to choose from, we have endeavored to feature those that have been, and in most cases continue to be, of cultural and practical value to humankind." - From the Introduction of The Story of Trees
£22.50
University of Nebraska Press American Silence
In American Silence, a complement to his previous study Trickster in the Land of Dreams, Zeese Papanikolas investigates a number of significant American cultural artifacts and the lives of their makers. For Papanikolas, both the private failures and public successes of Clarence King, Henry Adams, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, and Hank Williams resonate with silences. These silences—absences and omissions—put them in opposition to the American mythology of success and express the essential solitude Alexis de Tocqueville found at the heart of the American soul. The painters George Caleb Bingham and Jackson Pollock and the New Orleans photographer E. J. Bellocq extend the theme of erotic loss and the redemptive possibilities of art beyond it into the realm of the visual. On a deeper level, the lives and works of these writers, thinkers, artists, and public figures connect them to more disturbing questions of American crimes of race and despoliation. Their silences and reticences contain a lingering pathos rooted in a consciousness of utopian possibility just missed and to an unspoiled nature almost within living memory.
£23.39
Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG Ancient Mathematics: History of Mathematics in Ancient Greece and Hellenism
The volume contains a comprehensive and problem-oriented presentation of ancient Greek mathematics from Thales to Proklos Diadochos. Exemplarily, a cross-section of Greek mathematics is offered, whereby also such works of scientists are appreciated in detail, of which no German translation is available. Numerous illustrations and the inclusion of the cultural, political and literary environment provide a great spectrum of the history of mathematical science and a real treasure trove for those seeking biographical and contemporary background knowledge or suggestions for lessons or lectures. The presentation is up-to-date and realizes tendencies of recent historiography. In the new edition, the central chapters on Plato, Aristotle and Alexandria have been updated. The explanations of Greek calculus, mathematical geography and mathematics of the early Middle Ages have been expanded and show new points of view. A completely new addition is a unique illustrated account of Roman mathematics. Also newly included are several color illustrations that successfully illustrate the book's subject matter. With more than 280 images, this volume represents a richly illustrated history book on ancient mathematics.
£46.89
Canelo The Professionals
To swing the tide of the war, he must take to the air once again.It was 1916. The First World War had still two years to run. Martin Falconer, at eighteen an experienced pilot with service in France to his credit, was kicking his heels in England, awaiting another posting to the Front.Throughout the spring he watched the progress of the war, especially the war in the air, acknowledging to himself the German’s superiority. Their machines were better, and they had produced the war’s best-known hero of the air, the Red Baron. British machines were poor, morale was low, and the odds were stacked against them.Finally, at the beginning of April, Martin was sent again to France – but this was the month that became known as Bloody April, when a pilot’s life-expectancy was two weeks, and Martin found himself in a unit demoralised and ill-managed.John Harris’s sombre picture of Britain at war is as compelling as only the truth can be, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Alexander Fullerton and David Black.
£8.99
Amazon Publishing Break the Glass
Overnight, in a small town, careers, friendships, reputations, and futures are all on the line in a razor-sharp novel about scandals, secrets, and hard-earned dreams coming true. A small-town campus is rocked by scandal. Suddenly, four women find themselves in the crosshairs of an investigation that threatens to upend their lives. Lauren is the wife of a charismatic, now disgraced, university athletic director. To keep their marriage from crumbling, she’s cleaned up his messes before. This one she never saw coming. Nora is the director’s interim replacement. The groundbreaking career she’s worked for is on the rise. As wife of the English department’s dean, so is the scrutiny and the pressure. Anne is Nora’s wide-eyed intern, thrust unprepared into the chaos of a headline-making story. And there’s Alexis, an English professor in panic mode. Her own secret has always been safe. Until now. As the media descends, colleagues and friends begin to question everything they thought they knew about each other. Every one of them is getting caught off guard. And it feels like the whole world is watching.
£9.15
Pen & Sword Books Ltd More Lives Than a Ship's Cat: The Most Highly Decorated Midshipman in the Second World War
By any standards Mick Stoke's experiences in the Royal Navy during the Second World War were remarkable. Aged nineteen, he was 'Mentioned in Despatches' and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his courage during incessant bombing during the Siege of Tobruk. He survived multiple torpedo attacks, firstly serving on the cruiser Glasgow, which was hit twice; on the battleship Queen Elizabeth at sea and blown up by human torpedoes at Alexandria; and on HMS Hardy, struck in January 1944, while escorting Russian Arctic Convoy JW56B. In 1942, he was serving on HMS Carlisle during the fiercely fought Malta convoys and took part in the Battle of Sirte. Later that year he was awarded the MBE 'for outstanding bravery, resource and devotion to duty during very heavy bombing' at the port of Bone during Operation TORCH. He went on to serve at D-Day and later in the Pacific on HMS Rajah. It is a privilege to read Mick Stoke's graphic and modest account of his naval service in the Second World War. Readers will appreciate and understand how he became 'The Most Highly Decorated Midshipman in the Royal Navy'.
£22.50
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Greece Against Rome: The Fall of the Hellenistic Kingdoms 250 31 BC
Towards the middle of the third century BC, the Hellenistic kingdoms (the fragments of Alexander the Great's short-lived empire) were near their peak. In terms of population, economy and military power each individual kingdom was vastly superior to Rome, not to mention in fields such as medicine, architecture, science, philosophy and literature. Philip Matyszak relates how, over the next two-and-a half centuries, Rome conquered and took over these kingdoms while adopting so much of Hellenistic culture that the resultant hybrid is known as Graeco-Roman' Refreshingly, the story is largely told from the viewpoint of the Hellenistic kingdoms. At the outset, the Romans are little more than another small state in the barbarian west, and less of a consideration than the Scythians or Jews. Much of the narrative therefore focuses on the game of thrones' between the Hellenistic powers, a tale of assassinations, double crosses, dynastic incest and warfare. As the Roman threat grows, however, it belatedly becomes the primary concern of the kingdoms as the legions destroy them one by one.
£14.99
Troubador Publishing The Tip of the Iceberg: What lies beneath?
The book contains six stories and a novella. The short stories vary from the falling in love by a miner thwarted by a terrible accident, to the criminal behaviour of a long distance lorry driver and how he seeks redemption. The novella, The Tip of the Iceberg, is about corruption and how it insinuates itself into the lives of families, friends and lovers. Set in contemporary London we follow a group of people brought together at a mediation to resolve a financial dispute. Ella, a well meaning and naive mediator, is sexually attracted to Jim who sees himself as the wronged party in the dispute. During the mediation, the defendant, Alexander, reveals a past link with Jim which leads to a shocking outcome. Ignoring the warning from her senior colleague Chas, Ella becomes increasingly drawn into the life of Jim and his family, their political and financial activities. When his father, an MP, disappears, missing a crucial planning meeting, Ella and Chas support Jim in his efforts to find him. Despite her gradual realization that Jim’s business activities are suspect, Ella becomes more involved and finds her own values challenged. His fiancée, Julia, is deeply hurt by his defection to Ella and works towards her revenge as she seeks to destroy her career as a mediator. The event which affected Jim and Alexander years ago continues to influence their lives as each of them struggle with new and painful relationships. An opportunity arises for Ella to help Jim, if she can face the challenge.
£9.99
Harvard University Press Kinship Diplomacy in the Ancient World
Heroic figures such as Heracles, Perseus, and Jason were seen by the Greeks not as mythical figures but as real people who in a bygone age traveled the world, settled new lands, and left descendants who, generation after generation, could trace their ancestry back to the "time of heroes." From the Homeric age to Byzantium, peoples and nations sharing the same fictive ancestry appealed to their kinship when forging military alliances, settling disputes, or negotiating trade connections. In this intriguing study of the political uses of perceived kinship, Christopher Jones gives us an unparalleled view of mythic belief in action.Throughout the centuries of Greek preeminence, the Roman Republic and Empire, and into the early Christian era, examples of kinship diplomacy abound. Ancient historians report, for instance, that when the forces of Alexander the Great reached what is now southern Pakistan they encountered a people called the Siboi, whom they judged to be descendants of Heracles. Since Alexander was himself a descendant of the same hero, the invading Macedonians and the Siboi were clearly kinsmen and so parted in peace. Examining the very origins of ancient diplomacy, and kinship as one of its basic constituents, Kinship Diplomacy addresses fundamental questions about communal and national identity and sheds new light on the force of Greek mythic traditions.
£63.86
Bookstorm A History of Telecommunications
‘Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.’It’s been almost 150 years since Alexander Graham Bell said these immortal words on the first ever phone call, to his assistant in the next room. Between 10 March 1876 and now, the world has changed beyond recognition. And telecommunications, which has played a fundamental role in this change, has itself evolved into an industry that was the sole preserve of science fiction.When the world’s first modern mobile telephone network was launched in 1979, there were just over 300 million telephones. Today, there are more than eight billion, most of which are mobile. Most people in most countries can now contact each other in a matter of seconds. Soon we’ll all be connected, to each other, and to complex computer networks that provide us with instant information, but also observe and record our actions. No other phenomenon touches so many of us, so directly, each and every day of our lives.This book describes how this transformation came about. It considers the technologies that underpin telecommunications – microcircuits, fibre-optics and satellites – and touches on financial aspects of the industry: privatisations, mergers and takeovers that have helped shape the $2-trillion telecom market. But for the most part, it’s a story about us and our need to communicate.
£63.00
Scarecrow Press Touchstones: Reflections on the Best in Children's Literature
Critical essays on children's novels by Louisia May Alcott, Lloyd Alexander Frances Hodgson Burnett, Lewis Carroll, Carlo Collodi, Eleanor Estes, Louis Fitzhugh, Esther Forbes, Kenneth Grahame, Irene Hunt, Rudyard Kipling, Madeline L'Engle, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, A.A. Milne, L.M. Montgomery, E. Nesbit, Mary Norton, Robert C. O'Brien, Phillipa Pearce, Arthur Ransome, Johanna Spyri, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, E.B. White, T.H. White, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
£72.00
The American University in Cairo Press Discovery at Rosetta: Revealing Ancient Egypt
In 1798, young French general Napoleon Bonaparte entered Egypt with a veteran army and a specialist group of savants—scientists, engineers, and artists—his aim being not just conquest, but the rediscovery of the lost Nile kingdom. A year later, in the ruins of an old fort in the small port of Rosetta, the savants made a startling discovery: a large, flat stone, inscribed in Greek, demotic Egyptian, and ancient hieroglyphics. This was the Rosetta Stone, key to the two-thousand-year mystery of hieroglyphs, and to Egypt itself. Two years later, French forces retreated before the English and Ottoman armies, but would not give up the stone. Caught between the opposing generals at the siege of Alexandria, British special agents went in to find the Rosetta Stone, rescue the French savants, and secure a fragile peace treaty. Discovery at Rosetta uses French, Egyptian, and English eyewitness accounts to tell the complete story of the discovery, decipherment, and capture of the Rosetta Stone, investigating the rivalries and politics of the time, and the fate of the stone today.
£16.99
Pluto Press A People's Green New Deal
'Hands-down the best book yet on the Green New Deal' - Jason Hickel The idea of a Green New Deal was launched into popular consciousness by US Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. It has become a watchword in the current era of global climate crisis. But what - and for whom - is the Green New Deal? In this concise and urgent book, Max Ajl provides an overview of the various mainstream Green New Deals. Critically engaging with their proponents, ideological underpinnings and limitations, he goes on to sketch out a radical alternative: a 'People's Green New Deal' committed to decommodification, working-class power, anti-imperialism and agro-ecology. Ajl diagnoses the roots of the current socio-ecological crisis as emerging from a world-system dominated by the logics of capitalism and imperialism. Resolving this crisis, he argues, requires nothing less than an infrastructural and agricultural transformation in the Global North, and the industrial convergence between North and South. As the climate crisis deepens and the literature on the subject grows, A People's Green New Deal contributes a distinctive perspective to the debate.
£14.99
Hodder & Stoughton Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol: Oscar Wilde Mystery: 6
In OSCAR WILDE AND THE MURDERS AT READING GAOL, the sixth in Gyles Brandreth's acclaimed Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries series featuring Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle, Reading Gaol's most famous prisoner is pitted against a ruthless and fiendishly clever serial killer. 'Intelligent, amusing and entertaining' Alexander McCall Smith It is 1897, Dieppe. Oscar Wilde, poet, playwright, novelist, raconteur and ex-convict, has fled the country after his release from Reading Gaol. Tonight he is sharing a drink and the story of his cruel imprisonment with a mysterious stranger. He has endured a harsh regime: the treadmill, solitary confinement, censored letters, no writing materials. Yet even in the midst of such deprivation, Oscar's astonishing detective powers remain undiminished - and when first a brutal warder and then the prison chaplain are found murdered, who else should the governor turn to for help other than Reading Gaol's most celebrated inmate? In this, the latest novel in his acclaimed Oscar Wilde murder mystery series, Gyles Brandreth takes us deep into the dark heart of Wilde's cruel incarceration.
£10.04
Hodder & Stoughton Oscar Wilde and the Nest of Vipers: Oscar Wilde Mystery: 4
In OSCAR WILDE AND THE NEST OF VIPERS, the fourth in Gyles Brandreth's acclaimed Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries series featuring Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle, the Prince of Wales asks Oscar to investigate a scandalous crime at the very heart of Victorian high society. 'Intelligent, amusing and entertaining' Alexander McCall Smith The story opens in the spring of 1890 at a glamorous reception hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All London's haut monde is there, including the Prince of Wales, who counts the Albemarles as close friends. Although it is the first time Oscar and Bertie have met, Oscar seems far more interested in Rex LaSalle, a young actor, who disarmingly claims to be a vampire.However, what begins as a diverting evening ends in tragedy. As the guests are leaving, the Duchess is found murdered, two tiny puncture marks in her throat. No one has entered the house; no one has left. Desperate to avoid another scandal, the Prince of Wales asks Oscar to investigate the crime. What he discovers threatens to destroy the very heart of the Royal Family.
£10.04
Carcanet Press Ltd Joy
Winner of the 2017 Poetry Book Society Winter Choice Award. Contains the poem 'Joy' - Winner of the 2016 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. Sasha Dugdale’s fourth Carcanet collection, Joy, features the poem of that title which received the 2016 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. `Joy’ is a monologue in the voice of William Blake’s wife Catherine, exploring the creative partnership between the artist and his wife, and the nature of female creativity. The Forward judges called it `an extraordinarily sustained visionary piece of writing’. The poems in Joy mark a new departure for Dugdale, who expresses in poetry a hitherto `silent’ dialogue which she began as an editor of Modern Poetry in Translation with writers such as Don Mee Choi, Kim Hyesoon, Maria Stepanova and Svetlana Alexeivich. Dugdale combines an open interest in the historical fate of women and in the treacherous fictional shaping of history. In the abundant, complex and not always easy range of voices in Joy she attempts to redress the linear nature of remembrance and history and restore the `maligned and misaligned’.
£9.99
Pan Macmillan The Last of the Tsars: Nicholas II and the Russian Revolution
‘A timely and important book . . . he brings to it rare clarity and common sense. His book is a fast-paced account of the last sixteen months of the tsar’s life; brief, sharp, but laced with well-judged feeling for the dramas of the time.’ Catherine Merridale, ObserverIn March 1917, Nicholas II, the last Tsar of All the Russias, abdicated and the dynasty that had ruled an empire for three hundred years was forced from power by revolution. In this masterful and forensic study, Robert Service examines the last year Nicholas's reign and the months between that momentous abdication and his death, with his family, in Ekaterinburg in July 1918.Drawing on the Tsar's own diaries and other hitherto unexamined contemporary records, The Last of the Tsars reveals a man who was almost entirely out of his depth, perhaps even willfully so. It is also a compelling account of the social, economic and political foment in Russia in the aftermath of Alexander Kerensky's February Revolution, the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 and the beginnings of Lenin's Soviet republic.
£12.99
Pen & Sword Books Ltd An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action
The Hellenistic pike-phalanx was a true military innovation, transforming the face of warfare in the ancient world. For nearly 200 years, from the rise of the Macedonians as a military power in the mid-fourth century BC, to their defeat at the hands of the Romans at Pydna in 168BC, the pike-wielding heavy infantryman (the phalangite) formed the basis of nearly every Hellenistic army to deploy on battlefields stretching from Italy to India. And yet, despite this dominance, and the vast literature dedicated to detailing the history of the Hellenistic world, there remains fierce debate among modern scholars about how infantry combat in this age was actually conducted. Christopher Matthews critically examines phalanx combat by using techniques such as physical re-creation, experimental archaeology, and ballistics testing, and then comparing the findings of this testing to the ancient literary, artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as modern theories. The result is the most comprehensive and up-to-date study of what heavy infantry combat was like in the age of Alexander the Great and his Successors.
£18.99
Transworld Publishers Ltd Straight Jacket
'This is an essential read for every gay person on the planet' - Elton John'A really brilliant and moving read for everybody, especially LGBTQI+ people' - Olly Alexander, star of It's A SinStraight Jacket is a revolutionary clarion call for gay men, the wider LGBT community, their friends and family. Part memoir, part ground-breaking polemic, it looks beneath the shiny facade of contemporary gay culture and asks if gay people are as happy as they could be - and if not, why not? Meticulously researched, courageous and life-affirming, Straight Jacket offers invaluable practical advice on how to overcome a range of difficult issues. It also recognizes that this is a watershed moment, a piercing wake-up-call-to-arms for the gay and wider community to acknowledge the importance of supporting all young people - and helping older people to transform their experience and finally get the lives they really want.WINNER BOYZ BEST LGBT BOOK 2017SHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI BOOK PRIZE 2017'Insightful, inclusive, clever and engaging' - Jeremy Langmead'Utterly brilliant' - The Guardian
£10.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Mould In Dr Florey's Coat: The Remarkable True Story of the Penicillin Miracle
Many people know that in 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin's antibiotic potential while examining a stray mould that had bloomed in a dish of bacteria in his London laboratory. But few realise that Fleming worked only fitfully on penicillin until 1935, and that he is merely one character in the remarkable story of the antibiotic's development as a drug. The others are Howard Florey, Professor of Pathology at Oxford University, where he ran the Dunn School; the German Jewish emigre and biochemist Ernst Chain; and Norman Heatley, one of the few scientists in Britain capable of the micro-analysis of organic substances. It was these three men and their colleagues at the Dunn School who would battle a lack of money, a lack of resources and even each other to develop a drug that would change the world. It was these three men and their colleagues who would be almost forgotten. Why this happened, why it took fourteen years to develop penicillin, and how it was finally done, is a story of quirky individuals, missed opportunities, medical prejudice, brilliant science, shoestring research, wartime pressures and misplaced modesty.
£12.99
David R. Godine Publisher Inc How Baseball Happened: Outrageous Lies Exposed! The True Story Revealed
The fascinating, true, story of baseball’s amateur origins. “Explores the conditions and factors that begat the game in the 19th century and turned it into the national pastime....A delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was love from the first crack of the bat.”—Paul Dickson, The Wall Street JournalBaseball’s true founders don’t have plaques in Cooperstown. The founders were the hundreds of uncredited amateurs — ordinary people — who played without gloves, facemasks or performance incentives in the middle decades of the 19th century. Unlike today’s pro athletes, they lived full lives outside of sports. They worked, built businesses and fought against the South in the Civil War.But that’s not the way the story has been told. The wrongness of baseball history can be staggering. You may have heard that Abner Doubleday or Alexander Cartwright invented baseball. Neither did. You may have been told that a club called the Knickerbockers played the first baseball game in 1846. They didn’t. You have read that baseball’s color line was uncrossed and unchallenged until Jackie Robinson in 1947. Nope. You have been told that the clean, corporate 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings were baseball’s first professional club. Not true. They weren’t the first professionals; they weren’t all that clean, either. You may have heard Cooperstown, Hoboken, or New York City called the birthplace of baseball, but not Brooklyn. Yet Brooklyn was the home of baseball’s first fans, the first ballpark, the first statistics—and modern pitching.Baseball was originally supposed to be played, not watched. This changed when crowds began to show up at games in Brooklyn in the late 1850s. We fans weren’t invited to the party; we crashed it. Professionalism wasn’t part of the plan either, but when an 1858 Brooklyn versus New York City series accidentally proved that people would pay to see a game, the writing was on the outfield wall.When the first professional league was formed in 1871, baseball was already a fully formed modern sport with championships, media coverage, and famous stars. Professional baseball invented an organization, but not the sport itself. Baseball’s amazing amateurs had already done that.Thomas W. Gilbert’s history is for baseball fans and anyone fascinating by history, American culture, and how great things began.
£13.99
Bodleian Library A Library Miscellany
What can be found in the Vatican’s Secret Archive? How many books did Charles Darwin’s library aboard the Beagle hold? Which library is home to a colony of bats? Bursting with potted histories, quirky facts and enlightening lists, this book explores every aspect of the library, celebrating not only these remarkable institutions but also the individuals behind their awe-inspiring collections. From the ancient library at Alexandria to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, A Library Miscellany explores institutions both old and new, from the university library to that of the humble village. It opens the door to unusual collections such as herbaria, art libraries, magic libraries and even the library of smells, and charts the difficulties of cataloguing books deemed to be subversive, heretical, libellous or obscene. Packed with unusual facts and statistics, this is the perfect volume for library enthusiasts, bibliophiles and readers everywhere.
£9.99
Cambridge University Press The Buddha: Life and Afterlife Between East and West
Alongside Jesus and Muhammad, the Buddha is the most significant figure in the history of religion. Philip Almond's engaging new book is the first to combine a history of early traditions about Siddhartha Gautama's life with an authoritative account of how he and the tantalizing philosophy inspired by him came to the attention of the West. It takes the reader on a remarkable journey encompassing (among other topics) Alexander the Great, the courts of the Mongol Khans, Jesuit missions to China and Japan, and intrepid European travellers and scholars from the modern era. Melding Pali and Sanskrit sources with vivid reception, Almond presents the Buddha's story as multi-layered: one of transition from a world of angels and demons, water and tree spirits, to an altogether different context where Buddhism mixed with the cultural preoccupations of those who tentatively – sometimes following false trails – tried to make sense of its fascinating complexity.
£30.00
Allison & Busby Castle Shade: The intriguing mystery for Sherlock Holmes fans
Queen Marie of Roumania, granddaughter to both Victoria, Empress of the British Empire, and Alexander II, Tsar of Russia, is in need of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes' services. The Queen, a famous beauty who has transformed Roumania from a quiet backwater into a significant force, invites the pair to Bran castle, the ancient fortress that sits on the border with the newly regained territory of Transylvania. The threat the Queen fears is dubious: shadowy figures, vague whispers, dangers that may only be accidents. But a young girl is involved. So, putting aside their doubts, Russell and Holmes set out to investigate the mystery in a land of long memory and hidden corners, from whose churchyards the shades creep.
£8.99
DOM Publishers Eastern Block Stories: Visualising Housing Estates from Post-Socialist Cities
The title Eastern Block Stories features a dozen of articles and over 60 unique hand-picked images about mass housing estates in former communist states. This book aims to address the blind spots to take a closer look at the major challenges for post-socialist housing estates today and imagine what could be their future. Besides stories from Georgia, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Germany unique photographic material which covers cases from more than ten countries is included. The major take of this book is to unveil the diversity of the Eastern blocks alive and the richness of their urban context besides a stigmatizing and alienating gaze. With contributions by Carola S. Neugebauer, Romea Muryń, Kuba Snopek, Dimitrij Zadorin, Lubov Davidkina, Nataliia Mysak, Gigi Shukakidze, Paulina Paga, Maria Melnikova, Aleksandra Katasonova, llyas Kulbarisov, David Sichinava and, Alexander Novikov.
£25.00
Quercus Publishing The Wild Swimmers
''Shaw''s novels combine a strong central character with an atmospheric setting and original plots'' Sunday TimesIf only Alexandra Cupidi had turned south instead of north, she would have found the dead woman.Instead it is her vulnerable daughter Zoë who stumbles across Mimi Greene''s lifeless body on the shoreline. A regular wild swimmer with a group of close friends, it''s out of character for Mimi to have been swimming alone, especially in bad weather. DS Cupidi starts to suspect this is more than just an accidental drowning.Meanwhile, her friend and colleague Jill Ferriter receives a mysterious letter from a man who claims to be her father. Stephen Dowles has been in prison for the last twenty years, convicted of two brutal and senseless murders.With Cupidi obsessed by the death of Mimi Greene, Ferriter must lean on Bill South to uncover the facts around Dowles'' conviction, revisiting old colleagues and criminal
£20.00
Dia Art Foundation,U.S. Mel Bochner: Measurements (1968-1971)
Documenting arch-conceptualist Mel Bochner’s fusion of architecture and quantification Produced in honor of the 50th anniversary of his first Measurement Room, Mel Bochner: Measurements (1968–1971) revisits this defining period early in the New York–based artist’s renowned career. One of the most important conceptual artists of the 1960s and 1970s, Bochner (born 1940) applied various abstract systems in his artistic practice. Here, measurements—a numerical means of ordering the world—highlight the interplay of architecture and the viewer’s relationship to it. Subverting a simple yet meticulous procedure by rendering it as aesthetics, the work challenges conventional understandings of dimensions in space and by consequence one’s place in the world. Here, preparatory drawings, poetic artist’s notes and archival photographs of the first Measurement Rooms reveal Bochner’s thinking and process beyond this pivotal series while a contemporaneous interview with Elayne Varian and an essay by Dia curator Alexis Lowry add essential context.
£31.50
Simon & Schuster Immortal Poems of the English Language
A timeless and comprehensive anthology of enduring English language poetry, featuring entries from 150 British and American poets, including Alexander Pope, Lord Byron, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Emily Dickinson. The last six hundred years in British and American literature have given us some of the most moving and memorable poems in all literature. Now, discover many of these same works in one gorgeously wrought collection, featuring entries from poets as legendary and beloved as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, Rudyard Kipling, Ralph Waldo Emerson, D.H. Lawrence, and many more. From Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberywocky” to Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and from Shakespeare’s sonnets to anonymous classics, this is the ultimate gift for poetry lovers of all ages and backgrounds. Arranged chronologically, the 150 poems featured in this stunning collection reflect the immortality of the poetic soul.
£11.69
Troubador Publishing The Great Lieder Cycles In English Singing Translations
Here, for the first time, a singer has created a true, line by line, translation of all the song cycles of Schubert and Schumann, along with Beethoven’s An Die Ferne Geliebte (To The Distant Beloved), Mahler’s Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Songs Of A Wayfarer) and the rare Eliland By Alexander Von Fielitz. “With the needs of the singer, and also the listener, in mind I have by each line a faithful, rhyming translation of the original poems. It became clear to me at the start of my concert career, at my very first recital at London’s Wigmore Hall, that the greater part of the audience were hearing only piano and voice, and that the wonderful poetry which was the inspiration of the composer, was lost to the listener. My ambition was to translate and make recordings of all the great song cycles so that the whole world can enjoy the wonderful poetry set to music.” - Jeffrey Benton
£9.99
Hodder & Stoughton Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile: Oscar Wilde Mystery: 3
In OSCAR WILDE AND THE DEAD MAN'S SMILE, the third in Gyles Brandreth's acclaimed Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries series featuring Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle, Oscar risks his life to solve a series of deadly murders in bohemian Paris...'Intelligent, amusing and entertaining' Alexander McCall Smith Paris, 1883. Oscar Wilde, aged twenty-seven, has come to the city of decadence to discover its charms, to rekindle his friendship with the divine Sarah Bernhardt and to collaborate with France's most celebrated actor-manager, Edmond La Grange. Oscar discovers dark secrets lying at the heart of the La Grange company, and is confronted by murders both foul and bizarre. To solve the crimes, to unravel the mystery, Oscar risks his life - and his reputation - embarking on a dangerous adventure that takes him from bohemian night clubs to an asylum for the insane, from a duel in the Buttes de Chaumont to the gates of Reading Gaol.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece
The cradle of Western civilisation, Ancient Greece was a land of contradictions and conflict. Intensely quarrelsome and competitive, the Greek city-states consistently proved unwilling and unable to unite. Yet, in spite of or even because of this internal discord, no ancient civilization proved so dynamic or productive. The Greeks not only colonized the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas but set standards of figurative art that endured for nearly 2500 years. Charting topics as diverse as Minoan civilization, The Persian Wars, the Athenian Golden Age and the conquests of Alexander the Great, the book traces the development of this creative and restless people and assesses their impact not only on the ancient world but also on our own attitudes and environment. The authoritative narrative, illustrated with over sixty full colour maps and over seventy plates, makes this an indispensable handbook for history students and enthusiasts alike.
£19.99
BBC Worldwide Ltd Pygmalion: A brand new BBC Radio 4 drama plus the story of the play's scandalous opening night
A star-studded BBC radio production of Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion – plus bonus drama The ‘B’ Word, telling the story of the play’s scandalous opening nightIrascible phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can train Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle to talk ‘like a lady’ and pass as a duchess at the Ambassador’s Ball. As the day of reckoning approaches, can Eliza convince the assembled aristocrats that she’s one of them? And what will become of her afterwards?This effervescent radio version of Shaw’s classic comedy features a stellar cast, including award-winning comedians Alistair McGowan as Henry Higgins, Morgana Robinson as Eliza Doolittle and Al Murray as Alfred Doolittle.Also featured on this release is The ‘B’ Word, written by and starring Alistair McGowan as Bernard Shaw. Centring on the shocking opening night of Pygmalion – the first time that the word ‘bloody' was used on the British stage – it also explores the passionate love-hate relationship between Shaw; his leading man, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (Richard McCabe) and his leading lady, Mrs Patrick Campbell (Charlotte Page), who played the 19-year-old Eliza Doolittle at the age of 49.Cast and creditsPygmalionHenry Higgins……………………Alistair McGowanEliza Doolittle……………………Morgana RobinsonAlfred Doolittle……………………Al MurrayColonel Pickering……………………Hugh FraserMrs Higgins……………………Siân PhillipsMrs Pearce/Maid……………………Charlotte PageMrs Eynsford-Hill……………………Georgie GlenClara Eynsford-Hill……………………Maeve Bluebell WellsFreddy Eynsford-Hill.....……………………Tom ForristerNepommuck……………………David SturzakerAmbassador……………………John DougallAmbassador's wife……………………Sarah RidgewayBystander……………………David SterneWritten by Bernard ShawProduced and directed by Emma HardingThe ‘B’ WordBernard Shaw……………………Alistair McGowanGeorge Alexander……………………David SturzakerMrs Patrick Campbell.....……………………Charlotte PageSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree……………………Richard McCabeCharlotte Shaw……………………Georgie GlenMerivale……………………Philip FoxGurney/Fishman……………………Simon LuddersBell……………………Charlie ClementsMaid……………………Sarah RidgewayWritten by Alistair McGowanProduced and directed by Emma HardingProduction Coordinator: Jenny MendezStudio Managers: Alison Craig, Caleb Knightley and Thomas GlasserDuration: 2 hours 45 mins approx.
£14.85
Vintage Publishing Stalingrad
'One of the great novels of the 20th century' ObserverIn April 1942, Hitler and Mussolini plan the huge offensive on the Eastern Front that will culminate in the greatest battle in human history.Hundreds of miles away, Pyotr Vavilov receives his call-up papers and spends a final night with his wife and children in the hut that is his home. As war approaches, the Shaposhnikov family gathers for a meal: despite her age, Alexandra will soon become a refugee; Tolya will enlist in the reserves; Vera, a nurse, will fall in love with a wounded pilot; and Viktor Shtrum will receive a letter from his doomed mother which will haunt him forever.The war will consume the lives of a huge cast of characters - lives which express Grossman's grand themes of the nation and the individual, nature's beauty and war's cruelty, love and separation.For months, Soviet forces are driven back inexorably by the German advance eastward and eventually Stalingrad is all that remains between the invaders and victory. The city stands on a cliff top by the Volga River. The battle for Stalingrad - a maelstrom of violence and firepower - will reduce it to ruins. But it will also be the cradle of a new sense of hope.Stalingrad is a magnificent novel not only of war but of all human life: its subjects are mothers and daughters, husbands and brothers, generals, nurses, political officers, steelworkers, tractor girls. It is tender, epic, and a testament to the power of the human spirit.'You will not only discover that you love his characters and want to stay with them - that you need them in your life as much as you need your own family and loved ones - but that at the end... you will want to read it again' Daily Telegraph THE PREQUEL TO LIFE AND FATE NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME, STALINGRAD IS A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND NOW A MAJOR RADIO 4 DRAMAWINNER OF MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION "LOIS ROTH AWARD" FOR TRANSLATIONS FROM ANY LANGUAGE
£12.99
Oxford University Press Inc To the Ends of the Earth
A sweeping history of ancient exploration, the first full-scale account in over a centuryOdysseus. Jason and the Argonauts. Heracles. Greek mythology is full of tales of heroes setting out for the unknown. Such tales reflected and instilled a sense of confidence in the Greeks as they explored the limits of their world. Their voyages of discovery (and conquest), most dramatically under Alexander the Great, are but the most famous examples of ancient exploration. These expeditions were built on earlier voyages, notably those by Bronze Age Egyptians and Mesopotamians, and led to further global travel, trade, and warfare among the Romans, Persians, Scythians, Indians, and Chinese. To the Ends of the Earth is the first modern history of ancient exploration in over a century. Ranging from the Mediterranean Bronze Age to the third century CE, it reveals long-distance, explorative campaigning to be more than a mere ephemeral phenomenon of ancient history. Rather, exploration was, and still is,
£23.54
Yale University Press Ludwig van Beethoven: The Piano Sonatas; History, Notation, Interpretation
A comprehensive and immersive survey of thirty-five Beethoven piano sonatas “Beethoven piano sonatas accompany every pianist, amateur or professional for his or her entire life and constitute one of the most miraculous constants of the human civilization. To help us around the exciting journey through those masterpieces Jan Marisse Huizing combines his expertise, knowledge, and above all his unconditional love for this music.”— Alexander Melnikov, pianist Beethoven’s piano sonatas are among the iconic cornerstones of the classical music repertoire. Jan Marisse Huizing offers an in-depth study of the sonatas using available autographs, first editions, recordings, and nearly three hundred musical examples. Digging into the historical background and historical performance practice, the book provides illuminating detail on Beethoven’s pianism as well as his characteristics of notation, form and content, “types of touch,” articulation, beaming, pedal indications, character, rubato, meter, metric constructions, tempo, and metronome marks. Packed with anecdotes, quotations, and considerable new information, the book will inspire all involved with these masterworks, playing a fortepiano or modern Grand, giving the sense of the composer sitting beside them as he translates his inspiration and ideas into his notation.
£30.00
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Black Roses: Odes Celebrating Powerful Black Women
The poet and founder of the music collective Flowers for the Living pays tribute to all Black women by focusing on visionaries and leaders who are making history right now, including Ava DuVernay, Janelle Monae, Kamala Harris, Misty Copeland, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Robin Roberts, Roxane Gay, and Simone Biles—with this compilation of celebratory odes featuring full-color illustrations by Melissa Koby.Black women are exceptional. To honor how Black women use their minds, talent, passion, and power to transform society, Harold Green began writing love letters in verse which he shared on his Instagram account. Balm for our troubled times, his tributes to visionaries and leaders quickly went viral and became a social media sensation. Now, in this remarkable collection, Green brings together many of these popular odes with never-before-seen works. A timely celebration of contemporary Black figures who are making history and shaping our culture today, Black Roses is divided into five sections—advocates, curators, innovators, luminaries, trailblazers—reflecting the diversity of Black women’s achievements and the depth of their reach. These inspiring changemakers are leaving their mark on the world by creating new beauty in their respective art forms, heading movements, fighting for equality and to change the status quo, and championing new definitions of what’s possible in every meaningful way. Green lifts them up to create meaningful connections between these figures and our own lives and experiences.Black Roses spotlights and urges readers to learn more about Allyson Felix, Angelica Ross, Ava DuVernay, Bisa Butler, Bozoma Saint John, Charisma Sweat-Green, Dr. Eve Ewing, Dr. Janice Jackson, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Eunique Jones-Gibson, Issa Rae, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Matthews, Kamala Harris, Keisha Bottoms, Kimberly Bryant, Kimberly Drew, Lisa Green, Lizzo, Mandilyn Graham, Mellody Hobson, Michelle Alexander, Misty Copeland, Naomi Beckwith, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Rapsody, Raquel Willis, Robin Roberts, Roxane Gay, Shellye Archambeau, Simone Biles, Stacey Abrams, Tabitha Brown, Tamika Mallory, Tarana Burke, Tasha Bell, Tomi Adeyemi, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
£14.38
Royal Society of Chemistry Molecules of Murder: Criminal Molecules and Classic Cases
Molecules of Murder is about infamous murderers and famous victims; about people like Harold Shipman, Alexander Litvinenko, Adelaide Bartlett, and Georgi Markov. Few books on poisons analyse these crimes from the viewpoint of the poison itself, doing so throws a new light on how the murders or attempted murders were carried out and ultimately how the perpetrators were uncovered and brought to justice. Part I includes molecules which occur naturally and were originally used by doctors before becoming notorious as murder weapons. Part II deals with unnatural molecules, mainly man-made, and they too have been dangerously misused in famous crimes. The book ends with the most famous poisoning case in recent years, that of Alexander Litvinenko and his death from polonium chloride. The first half of each chapter starts by looking at the target molecule itself, its discovery, its history, its chemistry, its use in medicine, its toxicology, and its effects on the human body. The second half then investigates a famous murder case and reveals the modus operandi of the poisoner and how some were caught, some are still at large, and some literally got away with murder. Molecules of Murder will explain how forensic chemists have developed cunning ways to detect minute traces of dangerous substances, and explain why some of these poisons, which appear so life-threatening, are now being researched as possible life-savers. Award winning science writer John Emsley has assembled another group of true crime and chemistry stories to rival those of his highly acclaimed Elements of Murder.
£18.28
Headline Publishing Group Ghosts of the West: Don't miss the new action-packed Drabble and Harris thriller!
'A rollicking good read' IAN RANKIN'A fun read' OBSERVER'Deftly plotted and hugely entertaining' JAMES WILSONThis third novel in the Drabble and Harris thrillers is perfect for fans of action-packed, historical fiction.................................................................When daring journalist Sir Percival Harris gets wind of a curious crime in a sleepy English town, he ropes in his old friend Professor Ernest Drabble to help him investigate.The crime is a grave robbery, and as Drabble and Harris pry deeper, events take a mysterious turn when a theft at the British Museum is soon followed by a murder.The friends are soon involved in a tumultuous quest that takes them from the genteel streets of London to the wide plains of the United States. What exactly is at stake is not altogether clear - but if they don't act soon, the outcome could be a bloody conflict, one that will cross borders, continents and oceans...Meanwhile, can Drabble and Harris's friendship - which has endured near-death experiences on several continents, not to mention a boarding school duel - survive a crisis in the shape of the beautiful and enigmatic Dr Charlotte Moore?................................................................Praise for Alec Marsh's Drabble and Harris thrillers:'Marsh's mixture of derring-do and scholarship makes for a fun read' OBSERVER on Ghosts of the West'An immensely readable treat!'ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH'Told with humour and flair, Enemy of the Raj is a highly enjoyable, riveting read'ABIR MUKHERJEE'A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable diversion'NEW STATESMAN on Enemy of the Raj'Tremendous stuff! With the arrival of Alec Marsh's first Drabble and Harris thriller, John Buchan must be stirring uneasily in his grave'STANLEY JOHNSON'Immensely enjoyable'SPALDING TODAY'Hugely readable'ALEXANDER LARMAN, THE CHAP
£10.99
Luath Press Ltd Saut & Bluid: A Scotsaga
Commissioned especially for Scotland’s Year of Stories, Saut an Bluid offers an inspired blend of traditional storytelling with historical fiction to tell this tale that links Scotland and Norway’s pasts together. In nine days of drama, the full smeddum of Scotland’s Norse saga unfolds in pithy Scots. As Guid King Alexander tumbles to his death, a gutsy backstory comes to the boil. And at the heart of the crisis is Skald the Ferryman, storyteller of Pittenweem. What is his connection with the Maid of Norway, and the Corryvreckan whirlpool?
£8.03
Headline Publishing Group Learning to Love the Spaces in Between: Discover the Power of Liminal Spaces
The word liminal comes from the Latin word 'limen', meaning threshold. In its literal sense, a threshold is a doorway. 'Liminal' is often used to describe the gateway between two stages.A liminal space can be a metaphysical state – the place between sleep and wakefulness, between life and death where consciousness is altered, the transition period between one life event and the next; or it can be a physical space – the coastline between sea and shore, an empty art gallery, or the moment just before it rains.In an age where so much importance is placed on facts and explanations, the feelings we derive from liminal 'unknown' spaces can disrupt our equilibrium. Yet these 'spaces in between' are often where insight, creativity and inspiration are found.Here, life-long liminal explorer and journalist Claire Gillman helps us learn and grow through our experiences of liminality. Featuring contributions from leading luminaries including Bruce Parry, Caroline Myss, Dr Eben Alexander, Neale Donald Walsch, Phyllis Curott, Yasmin Boland, Dr Robert Holden, Satish Kumar, Dr Mike Dow and Felicity Warner, Claire shows us how we can navigate and embrace liminal experiences to enhance our wellbeing and understanding of the world.
£13.49
Yale University Press Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior
A life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages “[Matilda] will attract a growing audience interested in stories of women challenging the male-dominated European past.”—Alexandra Locking, Medieval Review “A lively and authoritative account.”—Katherine Harvey, Times Literary Supplement Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to the English crown—the first woman ever to hold the position—and an able military general. This new biography explores Matilda’s achievements as military and political leader, and sets her life and career in full context. Catherine Hanley provides fresh insight into Matilda's campaign to claim the title of queen, her approach to allied kingdoms and rival rulers, and her role in the succession crisis. Hanley highlights how Matilda fought for the throne, and argues that although she never sat on it herself her reward was to see her son become king. Extraordinarily, her line has continued through every single monarch of England or Britain from that time to the present day.
£13.60
Headline Publishing Group The Little Book of Whisky: Matured to Perfection
The perfect gift for anyone desiring a richer whisky experience. Some drinking buddies only ever talk about themselves. Well, not this guy. The Little Book of Whisky is here to listen, entertain and help you imbibe as many whisky-soaked titbits of wit and wisdom as possible. Whisky, aqua vitae, the water of life, the spirit of the Gods, the hard stuff – whatever you call it, has long been many people’s best friend. But now your best friend has a new best friend – The Little Book of Whisky, a tiny tome guaranteed to raise your spirits with its fine blend of whisky facts & stats, quotes & quips, and matured with whisky history and heritage. The Little Book of Whisky is a guaranteed 100 proof... of excellence. 'I'm on a whisky diet. I've lost three days already.' Tommy Cooper. 'A good gulp of hot whiskey at bedtime – it's not very scientific, but it helps.' Alexander Fleming on how to kill a common cold. If this doesn't make you want to visit Scotland nothing will. The nation is home to more than 20 million casks of maturing whisky. That's four barrels for every Scottish person. No wonder they want their independence.
£7.78
Everyman Chess Italian Game and Evans Gambit
The Italian Game (sometimes referred to as the Giuoco Piano) is one of the oldest openings around, and also one of the first lines players learn when they are introduced to chess. It leads to play that is easy to understand: both sides develop their pieces logically and begin attacks on the opposing kings. The Italian Game gives both White and Black the opportunity to play either aggressively and in gambit fashion, or in a restrained and positional manner. One of White's most exciting and attacking options is the legendary Evans Gambit, which has been brought back into the limelight in this modern era by such uncompromising players as World number one Garry Kasparov, Alexander Morozevich,and England's Nigel Short. In this book, openings expert Jan Pinski investigates the different strategies and tactics in the Italian Game and Evans Gambit. Using model games for both White and Black, Pinski provides crucial coverage of both the main lines and offbeat variations. This book arms readers with enough knowledge to play the Italian Game and Evans Gambit with confidence.
£16.99
Alma Books Ltd The House of the Dead
The House of the Dead recounts the story of Alexander Goryanchikov, a gentleman who is sent to a prison colony in Siberia for killing his wife. Largely ignored at first by his fellow inmates due to his noble blood, he gradually settles in and becomes an avid observer of the new world around him – watching his fellow prisoners being brutally and cruelly punished by the guards, listening to their past stories of blood and murder, assimilating the institution’s social codes and learning that even convicts are capable of acts of pure generosity. Based on Dostoevsky’s own autobiographical experiences of penal servitude in Siberia, this genre-defying novel is not only an unflinching exposé of the conditions faced by prisoners during the Tsarist period, but also a call to see the human side in criminals and rediscover the values of forgiveness and compassion. Based on Dostoevsky's own autobiographical experiences during a four-year internment in a prison colony in Siberia, this genre-defying novel is not only an unflinching expose of the conditions of Russian prisoners during the Tsarist period, but also a call to see the human side in criminals and rediscover the values of forgiveness and brotherly love.
£9.04
Reaktion Books North Pole: Nature and Culture
In North Pole, Michael Bravo explains how visions of the North Pole have been supremely important to the world's cultures and political leaders, from Alexander the Great to neo-Hindu nationalists. Tracing poles and polarity back to sacred ancient civilizations, this book explores how the idea of a North Pole has given rise to utopias, satires, fantasies, paradoxes and nationalist ideologies, from the Renaissance to the Third Reich. The Victorian conceit of the polar regions as a vast empty wilderness, and the preserve of white males battling against the elements, was far from the only polar vision. Michael Bravo shows an alternative set of pictures, of a habitable Arctic criss-crossed by densely connected networks of Inuit routes, rich and dense in cultural meanings. In Western and Eastern cultures, theories of a sacred North Pole abound. Visions of paradise and a lost Eden have mingled freely with the imperial visions of Europe and the United States. Forebodings of failure and catastrophe have been companions to tales of conquest and redemption. Michael Bravo shows that visions of a sacred or living pole can help humanity understand its twenty-first-century predicament, but only by understanding the pole's deeper history.
£16.95
Pen & Sword Books Ltd Allied Armies in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1945: Photographs from Wartime Archives
The Italian campaign was one of the most debated of the Second World War, splitting the American and British allies, and causing great disharmony. After the fall of Rome and the surrender of Italy, the invasion of Normandy led to the Italian campaign becoming a sideshow as the D-Day Dodgers' fought their way through Italy to the Alps against a grinding defence and extreme weather. In a sequence of 200 wartime photographs Simon Forty sums up the major events of the conflict - from the landings on Sicily to the crossing of the Po. Commanded first by Sir Harold Alexander and then Mark Clark, the Allied armies (US Fifth and British Eighth) drew men not only from Britain, the United States, France and Poland but from all over the Commonwealth - from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa - as well as such other countries as Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Greece and Palestine. The devastation caused by the war in the cities, towns and countryside is part of the story, but perhaps the most powerful impression is made by the faces of the soldiers themselves as they look out from the Italian front of so long ago.
£14.99
Amberley Publishing The Man in the Iron Mask: The Truth about Europe's Most Famous Prisoner
The Man in the Iron Mask has all the hallmarks of a thrilling adventure story: a glamorous and all-powerful king, ambitious ministers, a cruel and despotic gaoler, dark and sinister dungeons - and a secret prisoner. It is easy for forget that this story, made famous by Alexandre Dumas, is that of a real person, who spent more than thirty years in the prison system of Louis XIV’s France never to be freed. This book brings to life the true story of this mysterious man and follows his journey through four prisons and across decades of time. It introduces the reader to those with whom he shared his imprisonment, those who had charge of him and those who decided his fate. The Man in the Iron Mask is one of the most enduring mysteries of Louis XIV’s reign, but, above all, it is a human story. Using contemporary documents, this book shows what life was really like for state prisoners in seventeenth-century France and offers tantalising insight into why this mysterious man was arrested and why, several years later, his story would become one of France’s most intriguing legends.
£20.00