|
Books > Fiction > True stories > Discovery / historical / scientific
Local prosecution associations were a method of controlling crime
which was devised in the second half of the eighteenth century,
fifty years before the introduction of police forces. They were a
national phenomenon, and it is estimated that by the end of the
1700s around 4000 of them existed in England, but this book tells
the story of one particular society: the Hathersage Association for
the Prosecution of Felons and Other Offenders. Hathersage is a Peak
District village which recently came top in a Country Living poll
to determine the '20 best hidden gems in the UK'. The tourists who
now visit the village in their thousands each year come as walkers,
climbers, and cyclists. Its grimy history of wire and needle
manufacturing is almost forgotten. In addition to telling the story
of its ancient prosecution organisation, this book seeks to
illuminate some of the less conspicuous aspects of Hathersage's
social history by shining a light from the unusual direction of
minor crime and antisocial behaviour. It also describes the lives
of some of the residents of the village: minor gentry;
industrialists; clergy; and farmers, in addition to the mill
workers and labourers. With access to hand-written records going
back to 1784 which had never been studied before, the author has
drawn on contemporary newspaper articles and census returns to
assemble a montage which depicts the life of the village,
particularly during the 19th century. Many of these original
records have been reproduced in order to offer reader an
opportunity to interpret the old documents themselves. While
striving for historical accuracy throughout, the author has
produced a book which is both entertaining and informative. Any
profits from the sale of this book will go to the Hathersage
Association and will, in turn, be donated to the local charities
which the Association supports. Those charities include Edale
Mountain Rescue, the Air Ambulance, Helen's Trust, Bakewell &
Eyam Community Transport, and Cardiac Risk in the Young.
Local prosecution associations were a method of controlling crime
which was devised in the second half of the eighteenth century,
fifty years before the introduction of police forces. They were a
national phenomenon, and it is estimated that by the end of the
1700s around 4000 of them existed in England, but this book tells
the story of one particular society: the Hathersage Association for
the Prosecution of Felons and Other Offenders. Hathersage is a Peak
District village which recently came top in a Country Living poll
to determine the '20 best hidden gems in the UK'. The tourists who
now visit the village in their thousands each year come as walkers,
climbers, and cyclists. Its grimy history of wire and needle
manufacturing is almost forgotten. In addition to telling the story
of its ancient prosecution organisation, this book seeks to
illuminate some of the less conspicuous aspects of Hathersage's
social history by shining a light from the unusual direction of
minor crime and antisocial behaviour. It also describes the lives
of some of the residents of the village: minor gentry;
industrialists; clergy; and farmers, in addition to the mill
workers and labourers. With access to hand-written records going
back to 1784 which had never been studied before, the author has
drawn on contemporary newspaper articles and census returns to
assemble a montage which depicts the life of the village,
particularly during the 19th century. Many of these original
records have been reproduced in order to offer reader an
opportunity to interpret the old documents themselves. While
striving for historical accuracy throughout, the author has
produced a book which is both entertaining and informative. Any
profits from the sale of this book will go to the Hathersage
Association and will, in turn, be donated to the local charities
which the Association supports. Those charities include Edale
Mountain Rescue, the Air Ambulance, Helen's Trust, Bakewell &
Eyam Community Transport, and Cardiac Risk in the Young.
The extraordinary story of how the Endurance, Sir Ernest
Shackleton's ship, was found in the most hostile sea on Earth in
2022 On 21 November 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance,
finally succumbed to the crushing ice. Its crew watched in silence
as the stern rose twenty feet in the air and then, it was gone. The
miraculous escape and survival of all 28 men on board have entered
legend. And yet, the iconic ship that bore them to the brink of the
Antarctic was considered forever lost. A century later, an
audacious plan to locate the ship was hatched. The Ship Beneath the
Ice gives a blow-by-blow account of the two epic expeditions to
find the Endurance. As with Shackleton's own story, the voyages
were filled with intense drama and teamwork under pressure. In
March 2022, the Endurance was finally found to headlines all over
the world. Written by Mensun Bound, the Director of Exploration on
both expeditions, this captivating narrative includes countless
fascinating stories of Shackleton and his legendary ship. Complete
with a selection of Frank Hurley's photos from Shackleton's
original voyage in 1914-17, as well as from the expeditions in 2019
and 2022, The Ship Beneath the Ice is the perfect tribute to this
monumental discovery.
In the early 1990's Kristiane Backer was one of the very first
presenters of MTV Europe. For some years she lived and breathed the
international music scene, quickly gaining a cult following amongst
viewers and becoming a darling of European press. As she reached
the pinnacle of her success she realised that, despite having all
she could have wished for, she was never truly satisfied. Something
very important was missing. A fateful meeting with Pakistani
cricket hero Imran Khan changed her life. He invited her to his
country where she encountered a completely different world from the
one she knew, the religion and culture of Islam. Instead of pop and
rock stars she was meeting men and women whose lives were dominated
by the love of God and who cared very little for the brief glories
of this world. She began to read the Quaran and to study books
about the Faith. A few years later, after travelling more widely in
the Islamic world and knowing that she had discovered her spiritual
path, she embraced Islam in a London mosque. And then her real
adventures began.In this very personal memoir Kristiane Backer
tells the story of her conversion and explains how faith, despite
the many challenges she faced, has given her inner peace and the
meaning she sought.
From the forests of Inverness-shire to fashionable Park Lane,
London, this is the fascinating story of a small group of
individuals, whose lives intertwined across the social classes to
develop one of today's most beloved breeds of dog - the Golden
Retriever.Spanning more than seventy years, From Yellow to Golden
is a social and family history of seven people whose contributions
were pivotal in the development of the breed. It was their devotion
that helped make the Golden Retriever so successful as a working
dog and in the show ring. They have left a lasting legacy. It is a
legacy that is enjoyed by tens of thousands of owners around the
world today.Supporting Medical Detection Dogs
From the forests of Inverness-shire to fashionable Park Lane,
London, this is the fascinating story of a small group of
individuals, whose lives intertwined across the social classes to
develop one of today's most beloved breeds of dog - the Golden
Retriever.Spanning more than seventy years, From Yellow to Golden
is a social and family history of seven people whose contributions
were pivotal in the development of the breed. It was their devotion
that helped make the Golden Retriever so successful as a working
dog and in the show ring. They have left a lasting legacy. It is a
legacy that is enjoyed by tens of thousands of owners around the
world today.Supporting Medical Detection Dogs
This is the story of one man's dream, a vision. It is the story of
an enterprise unparalleled in the history of The Church of
Scotland. It is the story of commitment in the face of danger and
dogged persistence in facing up to immense obstacles in Scotland
and the shifting political scene in Palestine and Israel. It is the
story of a depth of faith which leaves you questioning your own.
The author was employed as a member of staff of The Church of
Scotland firstly in Malawi and then in Israel from 1986 to 1993. He
was later appointed the Church's Middle East Secretary and retired
in 2010. The sacrifice of The Great War was marked by many
memorials across the world. There is none more unique or poignant
than the Scots Memorial Church of St Andrew's in Jerusalem. The
Society of Friends of St Andrew's, Jerusalem, supports The Church
of Scotland in its work of maintaining this vital resource and its
ministry in this most Holy Land. Many of the Friends have military
connections and all wish to ensure that the commitment and
achievements of Scottish soldiers in the Middle East campaigns
continue to be recognised and remembered. This wonderful book
records the background to the vision for a Scots Memorial in
Jerusalem, its creation and challenges. By purchasing a copy you
are helping the Friends and The Church of Scotland to develop and
adapt the original vision and continue their work and influence in
the region. Major General Mark Strudwick, C.B.E. - President of the
Society of the Friends of St Andrew's, Jerusalem.
The sensational tale of the first mixed-race girl introduced to
high-society England and raised as a lady...
The illegitimate daughter of a captain in the Royal Navy and an
enslaved African woman, Dido Belle was raised by her great-uncle,
the Earl of Mansfield, one of the most powerful men of the time and
a leading opponent of slavery. When the portrait he commissioned of
his two wards, Dido and her white cousin, Elizabeth, was unveiled,
eighteenth-century England was shocked to see a black woman and
white woman depicted as equals. Inspired by the painting, Belle
vividly brings to life this extraordinary woman caught between two
worlds, and illuminates the great civil rights question of her age:
the fight to end slavery.
The feature film Belle is produced by Damian Jones (The Iron
Lady, The History Boys, Welcome to Sarajevo), written by Misan
Sagay, and directed by Amma Asante, and stars the extraordinary
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Belle, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Miranda
Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, Matthew Goode, and Emily
Watson.
An extraordinary account of one woman's single-minded campaign to
restore a Victorian steamship to her former glory and make her an
Andean attraction Here is a vivid account of Meriel Larken's
incredible quest to restore the "Yavari" steamship against the
odds--a ship that is now celebrating its 150 year anniversary in
2012. In 1862 the English-built "Yavari" was taken to bits and
shipped to South America. In an epic logistical feat it was carried
in thousands of pieces, by mule, up the Andes to Lake Titicaca,
12,500 feet above sea level, the world's highest navigable
waterway. She was reconstructed and for more than a century plied
her trade up and down the lake, but by 1985 she was a sad rotting
hulk--until she was found by Larken, who led the quest to project
to restore and preserve the ship. The oldest single screw iron
passenger ship in the world, this nautical and engineering jewel is
now a major Peruvian tourist attraction.
Who were the pioneers in science education, and what motivated them
to do what they did?" This book is the second volume of an attempt
to capture and record some of the answers to these questions-either
from the pioneers themselves or from those persons who worked most
closely with them. As with the first volume, we have attempted to
include as many pioneers as possible, but we know that there are
still many that are not included in this or the previous volume. As
we have posed questions, rummaged through files and oft?neglected
books, and probed the memories of many individuals, we have come to
realize our list of true pioneers is ever growing. As we consider
our list of pioneers, we know that there are names on the list that
most of us readily recognize. We also fully realize that there are
names of whom few of us have heard-yet who were significant in
their roles as mentors or idea development and teaching. We
continue to be impressed with our science education "family tree"
ever branching out to more individuals and connections. The stories
in this volume continue to demonstrate how vital this network was
in supporting the individual pioneers during their journey in
difficult times and continues to be for those of us today in our
own enterprise.
Memories of Chinatown is a Singapore classic and is now republished
with a new visual interpretation by watercolour artist Graham
Byfield. Both a memoir and a narrative guide to the vibrant spirit
of a bygone Singapore, it is written by much loved 'walking
treasure' and heritage tour pioneer Geraldene Lowe-Ismail. Blessed
with a rich trove of stories and personal knowledge stretching over
50 years, Geraldene delivers a unique insight into the glory and
past of one of Southeast Asia's truly original Chinatowns. For
anyone interested in heritage architecture and culture, this is a
fascinating read.
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and
movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman
as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has
probably been written about more than any other woman of the
nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely
obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and
exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the
Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of
her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine.
Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary,
orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she
traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and
drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South
Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha
Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose.
Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood's saloons and
theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a
prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those
of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the
down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn't get enough of
either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers.
Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W.
Etulain's account begins with a biography that offers new
information on Calamity's several "husbands" (including one she
legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be
the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain
discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the
stories that have shaped Calamity Jane's reputation. Some Calamity
portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a
husband and family. As the 2004-2006 HBO series "Deadwood" makes
clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a
heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives
on--raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.""
An "intriguing and accessible" (Publishers Weekly) interpretation
of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history's greatest and most
fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and
how he was challenged by science deniers. "We really need this
story now, because we're living through the next chapter of science
denial" (Bill McKibben). Galileo's story may be more relevant today
than ever before. At present, we face enormous crises-such as
minimizing the dangers of climate change-because the science behind
these threats is erroneously questioned or ignored. Galileo
encountered this problem 400 years ago. His discoveries, based on
careful observations and ingenious experiments, contradicted
conventional wisdom and the teachings of the church at the time.
Consequently, in a blatant assault on freedom of thought, his books
were forbidden by church authorities. Astrophysicist and
bestselling author Mario Livio draws on his own scientific
expertise and uses his "gifts as a great storyteller" (The
Washington Post) to provide a "refreshing perspective" (Booklist)
into how Galileo reached his bold new conclusions about the cosmos
and the laws of nature. A freethinker who followed the evidence
wherever it led him, Galileo was one of the most significant
figures behind the scientific revolution. He believed that every
educated person should know science as well as literature, and
insisted on reaching the widest audience possible, publishing his
books in Italian rather than Latin. Galileo was put on trial with
his life in the balance for refusing to renounce his scientific
convictions. He remains a hero and inspiration to scientists and
all of those who respect science-which, as Livio reminds us in this
"admirably clear and concise" (The Times, London) book, remains
threatened everyday.
|
You may like...
Trees
J. Stilwell
Hardcover
R1,795
Discovery Miles 17 950
|