Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher: Crux Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1909979333
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
"A brilliantly fun and informative read. Dominic Selwood has taken the juiciest bits of history from the past two thousand years and put them together in one marvellous volume. Selwood is a rare blend of insightful historian and thrilling writer. Cracking along at a breakneck pace reminiscent of Dan Brown,Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers is as perfect for the beach as it is for serious historical background reading." Claudia Gold author of The King's Mistress: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I and Women Who Ruled: History's 50 Most Remarkable Women Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers unveils the history you were never taught at school. With a breath-taking sweep spanning Rome to the modern day, popular historian and author Dominic Selwood challenges the traditional version of some of the best-known events of the past. From ancient Christianity to the voyages of Columbus, and from the medieval Crusades to ISIS and the modern Middle East, this book debunks dozens of historical myths. You will learn that: – Magna Carta was an infamous failure in medieval times – Richard the Lionheart was a cruel and dreadful king – The Knights Templar were heretical, and have left a genuinely baffling mystery – The painter of the Turin Shroud was found in the 1300s – Christopher Columbus never saw America – The first computer coder was a woman, a century before Alan Turing – The man who unleashed mustard gas in the World War One trenches won the Nobel Prize for chemistry – One incredible Spanish spy saved D-Day ... and lots more. This book will challenge everything you think you know about history!

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher: Crux Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1909979333
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A brilliantly fun and informative read. Dominic Selwood has taken the juiciest bits of history from the past two thousand years and put them together in one marvellous volume. Selwood is a rare blend of insightful historian and thrilling writer. Cracking along at a breakneck pace reminiscent of Dan Brown,Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers is as perfect for the beach as it is for serious historical background reading." Claudia Gold author of The King's Mistress: The True and Scandalous Story of the Woman Who Stole the Heart of George I and Women Who Ruled: History's 50 Most Remarkable Women Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers unveils the history you were never taught at school. With a breath-taking sweep spanning Rome to the modern day, popular historian and author Dominic Selwood challenges the traditional version of some of the best-known events of the past. From ancient Christianity to the voyages of Columbus, and from the medieval Crusades to ISIS and the modern Middle East, this book debunks dozens of historical myths. You will learn that: – Magna Carta was an infamous failure in medieval times – Richard the Lionheart was a cruel and dreadful king – The Knights Templar were heretical, and have left a genuinely baffling mystery – The painter of the Turin Shroud was found in the 1300s – Christopher Columbus never saw America – The first computer coder was a woman, a century before Alan Turing – The man who unleashed mustard gas in the World War One trenches won the Nobel Prize for chemistry – One incredible Spanish spy saved D-Day ... and lots more. This book will challenge everything you think you know about history!

Anatomy of a Nation

Anatomy of a Nation PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher: Constable
ISBN: 1472131886
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description
From an obscure, misty archipelago on the fringes of the Roman world to history's largest empire and originator of the world's mongrel, magpie language - this is Britain's past. But, today, Britain is experiencing an acute trauma of identity, pulled simultaneously towards its European, Atlantic and wider heritages. To understand the dislocation and collapse, we must look back: to Britain's evolution, achievements, complexities and tensions. In a ground-breaking new take on British identity, historian and barrister Dominic Selwood explores over 950,000 years of British history by examining 50 documents that tell the story of what makes Britain unique. Some of these documents are well-known. Most are not. Each reveal something important about Britain and its people. From Anglo-Saxon poetry, medieval folk music and the first Valentine's Day letter to the origin of computer code, Hitler's kill list of prominent Britons, the Sex Pistols' graphic art and the Brexit referendum ballot paper, Anatomy of a Nation reveals a Britain we have never seen before. People are at the heart of the story: a female charioteer queen from Wetwang, a plague surviving graffiti artist, a drunken Bible translator, outlandish Restoration rakehells, canting criminals, the eccentric fathers of modern typography and the bankers who caused the finance crisis. Selwood vividly blends human stories with the selected 50 documents to bring out the startling variety and complexity of Britain's achievements and failures in a fresh and incisive insight into the British psyche. This is history the way it is supposed to be told: a captivating and entertaining account of the people that built Britain.

A World Lit Only by Fire

A World Lit Only by Fire PDF Author: William Manchester
Publisher: Back Bay Books
ISBN: 0316082791
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
A "lively and engaging" history of the Middle Ages (Dallas Morning News) from the acclaimed historian William Manchester, author of The Last Lion. From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose, and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth: the dense explosion of energy that spawned some of history's greatest poets, philosophers, painters, adventurers, and reformers, as well as some of its most spectacular villains. "Manchester provides easy access to a fascinating age when our modern mentality was just being born." --Chicago Tribune

Knights of the Cloister

Knights of the Cloister PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780851158280
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The military and religious orders of the Templars and the Hospitallers were a driving force throughout the long history of the crusades. Here, their daily business of recruitment, fund raising, farming, shipping and communal life is explored.

Punctuation Without Tears

Punctuation Without Tears PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780992633295
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 126

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Book Description
Punctuate with confidence the easy way! A quick, funny, illustrated guide to all the punctuation you'll ever need to know. Whether you want to master punctuation for school, university, creative writing, journalism, business or anything else, this zany little book abandons complex rules and offers simple guidance for British and US English. In an easy and engaging style suitable for all ages, this short guide goes through all the common punctuation marks, explaining how to use each one, and showing how to avoid some of the commonest errors. Using funny, memorable examples, it allows you quickly to master all the common punctuation marks: periods (full stops), commas, colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks, dashes, hyphens, apostrophes, quotation marks, brackets, and ellipses. It also has sections on how to handle two punctuation marks next to each other, numbers, -ize and -ise, and a wealth of other style advice. Many of the chapters are brought to life with whacky illustrations. - British and US English - No technical jargon - Clear examples This book is for: - Writers (fiction and non-fiction) - Schools and colleges - Business - All ages 'I wish every one of my students would read this!' Professor of Physics, Oxford University 'What a wonderful book!' Director, Author School 'A magical manual!' Editor, Leading UK newspaper 'Made me laugh and cheer' Award-winning TV producer Dominic Selwood is a journalist and bestselling author. Delia Johnson is a book illustrator.

The Sword of Moses

The Sword of Moses PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher: Canelo
ISBN: 1910859036
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1139

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Book Description
A militia attack throws an archaeologist into a world of chaos and intrigue in this gripping adventure thriller. When former MI6 agent turned archaeologist Dr. Ava Curzon is engaged by American intelligence to track down an African militia claiming to hold the Ark of the Covenant, she is plunged into a world where nothing is what it seems. Her breakneck descent into the shadowy realm of dark biblical magic hurls her across continents and into the opaque worlds of the Knights Templar, freemasons, occultists, and extremist neo-Nazis, pushing her mentally and physically to the limits. As the plot twists and turns across the centuries, she requires all her skills to solve a trail of ancient clues leading her inexorably towards a terrifying ritual. Taking center stage, she faces the ultimate battle against an age-old evil she must stop at all costs. A great choice for fans of Dan Brown and Kate Mosse. Praise for The Sword of Moses “The thinking person’s DaVinci Code.” —BBC Radio “A rollercoaster. . . . Move over Lara Croft!” —Daily Express

Suffer the Children

Suffer the Children PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780992633233
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description
It is 1904, and an Oxford don decides to spend the Christmas vacation conducting research in rural Norfolk. But in the library of the country house where he is staying, he finds the records of a terrifying tragedy. A short story. A homage to M R James. FIVE STARS 'Mysterious, intelligent and wonderfully creepy.' (The Reader's Hollow) 'Ultimately, Selwood has written what can only be described as a perfect short story. Any reader who loves a high quality work of fiction will definitely appreciate this short story, because the research alone is fascinating - it is rich with interesting information and references, but it also captures a pleasantly dark mood. There is nothing predictable about the story and the only way to know what is going to happen next is by reading the next page.' (Horrorpalace)

The Voivod

The Voivod PDF Author: Dominic Selwood
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780992633257
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
A homage to M R James. London, 1897. An elderly bibliophile receives a letter from the recently retired head of the Bodleian Library in Oxford. But the tale it relates of a book buying journey to Cracow soon turns into a hellish nightmare. A short story.

The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film

The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film PDF Author: Michael Weldon
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312131494
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 662

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Book Description
The bible of B-movies is back--and better than ever! From Abby to Zontar, this book covers more than 9,000 amazing movies--from the turn of the century right up to today's Golden Age of Video--all described with Michael Weldon's dry wit. More than 450 rare and wonderful illustrations round out thie treasure trove of cinematic lore--an essential reference for every bad film fan.

The Damned - L-bas

The Damned - L-bas PDF Author: Joris-Karl Huysmans
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781726481397
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The Damned (Là-bas) By Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (February 5, 1848 - May 12, 1907) was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans; he is most famous for the novel À rebours. His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, wide-ranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit. The novels are also noteworthy for their encyclopaedic documentation, ranging from the catalogue of decadent Latin authors in À rebours to the discussion of the symbology of Christian architecture in La Cathédrale. Huysmans' work expresses a disgust with modern life and a deep pessimism, which led the author first to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer then to the teachings of the Catholic Church.