Lord Derby, Lancashire's highest-ranked nobleman and its principal royalist, once offered the opinion that the English civil wars had been a 'general plague of madness'. Complex and bedevilling, the earl defied anyone to tell the complete story of 'so foolish, so wicked, so lasting a war'. Yet attempting to chronicle and to explain the events is both fascinating and hugely important. Nationally and at the county level the impact and significance of the wars can hardly be over-stated: the conflict involved our ancestors fighting one another, on and off, for a period of nine years; almost every part of Lancashire witnessed warfare of some kind at one time or another, and several towns in particular saw bloody sieges and at least one episode characterised as a massacre. Nationally the wars resulted in the execution of the king; in 1651 the Earl of Derby himself was executed in Bolton in large measure because he had taken a leading part in the so-called massacre in that town in 1644.In the early months of the civil wars many could barely distinguish what it was that divided people in 'this war without an enemy', as the royalist William Waller famously wrote; yet by the end of it parliament had abolished monarchy itself and created the only republic in over a millennium of England's history. Over the ensuing centuries this period has been described variously as a rebellion, as a series of civil wars, even as a revolution. Lancashire's role in these momentous events was quite distinctive, and relative to the size of its population particularly important. Lancashire lay right at the centre of the wars, for the conflict did not just encompass England but Ireland and Scotland too, and Lancashire's position on the coast facing Catholic, Royalist Ireland was seen as critical from the very first months.And being on the main route south from Scotland meant that the county witnessed a good deal of marching and marauding armies from the north. In this, the first full history of the Lancashire civil wars for almost a century, Stephen Bull makes extensive use of new discoveries to narrate and explain the exciting, terrible events which our ancestors witnessed in the cause either of king or parliament. From Furness to Liverpool, and from the Wyre estuary to Manchester and Warrington...civil war actions, battles, sieges and skirmishes took place in virtually every corner of Lancashire.

Contrary to popular belief, Western civilisation as we know it today is not the end result of steady progress. For over half a millennium revolution has succeeded revolution like a succession of tidal waves. At one level this book is a chronological narrative of these revolutions, from the Renaissance to the Russian. It shows how Utopian visions of ideal societies end in massacres and the guillotine, and therefore appeals to and challenges both left and right. At a second level it offers a new and original theory of why revolutions happen. An idealist has a vision, which others state in intellectual terms. This becomes corrupted by a political regime, and results in physical repression. The unique approach that The Secret History takes is that this vision has never been part of Establishment thought or practice. Indeed it usually has its roots in ideas and influences that have hitherto been unexpressed, "secret." But all these ideas have a common thread. They can be traced back to the heretical sects - Gnostics, Templars, Cathars and Rosicrucians - and secret organizations such as the mysterious Priory of Sion. Their influence powered the Protestant Revolution, which in turn provided the ideological foundations of the English, American, French and Russian revolutions. Factions within Freemasonry and families such as the Rothschilds have figured prominently in all these upheavals. They add up to a tide of world revolution that is reaching high water mark in our own time, as Hagger has shown in the companion volume to this work, The Syndicate: The Story of the Coming World Government.

In 1923, with its currency effectively worthless (the exchange rate in December of that year was one dollar to 4,200,000,000,000 marks), the Weimar Republic was all but reduced to a barter economy. Expensive cigars, artworks and jewels were routine...

Animal Farm by George Orwell - Annotation Edition. This annotation edition of Orwell's well-known satire is perfect for students and Orwell enthusiasts alike. Scholastic Annotation Editions come with extra wide margins and double spaced lines, they are perfect for your annotations. They include: Large spaces between lines and large outer margins, perfect for highlighting and note-taking. Pages for note-taking in every book. A large, easy to read font and left-justified text for children who struggle to access the printed word. Top tips on effective annotation from English teacher and revision guide author, Cindy Torn. When the ill-treated animals of Manor Farm rebel against their master Mr Jones and take over the farm, they start to believe in a life of freedom and equality for all. But slowly, the egocentric and ruthless Napoleon takes control and the animals are subjected to force and violence from the corrupt elite - the pigs. As one dictator is replaced with another, the idea of fairness and equality or all becomes a distant memory. Class, equality, power and control are some of the themes that run throughout this novel. Scholastic have a full suite of revision guide, study guide, app, student book, revision cards and essay planners - the most comprehensive support for GCSE set texts available!

WINNER YOUNG QUILLS AWARD BEST HISTORICAL FICTION 2021 12-year-old Ada is a laundress of little consequence but the new castle commander Brian de Berclay has his evil eye on her. Perhaps she shouldn't have secretly fed the young prisoner in the tower. But when the King of England crosses the border with an army of over 3000 strong, Ada, her friend Godfrey and all at Caerlaverock suddenly find themselves under attack, with only 60 men for protection. Soon, rocks and flaming arrows rain from the sky over Castle Caerlaverock - and Ada has a dangerous choice to make.

'Thrilling and eye-opening' Lewis Dartnell 'Unpicks everything we thought we knew... Mind blowing' Cal Flyn 'A revelation' Sathnam Sanghera Humans did not make history - we played host. According to the accepted narrative of progress, a few great humans have bent the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, Dr Jonathan Kennedy argues that germs have done more to shape humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam. How did an Indonesian volcano help cause the Black Death, setting Europe on the road to capitalism? How could 168 men extract the largest ransom in history from an opposing army of eighty thousand? And why did the Industrial Revolution lead to the birth of the modern welfare state? The latest science reveals that infectious diseases are not just something that happens to us, but a fundamental part of who we are. Indeed, the only reason humans don't lay eggs is that a virus long ago inserted itself into our DNA, and there are as many bacteria in your body as there are human cells. We have been thinking about the survival of the fittest all wrong: evolution is not simply about human strength and intelligence, but about how we live and thrive in a world dominated by microbes. By exploring the startling intimacy of our relationship with infectious diseases, Kennedy shows how they have been responsible for some of the seismic revolutions of the past 50,000 years. Provocative and brimming with insight, Pathogenesis transforms our understanding of the human story, revealing how the crisis of a pandemic can offer vital opportunities for change.

'A perfect mirror to its subject... should be compulsory reading' Observer Vladimir Putin is a pariah to the West. He has the power to reduce the West to nuclear ashes. He invades his neighbours, meddles in western elections and orders assassinations. Yet many Russians continue to support him. Under Putin's leadership, Russia has once again become a force to be reckoned with. Philip Short's magisterial biography explores in unprecedented depth the personality of Russia's leader and demolishes many of our preconceptions about Putin's Russia. To explain is not to justify. Putin's regime is dark. But on closer examination, much of what we think we know about him turns out to rest on half-truths. This book is as close as we will come to understanding Russia's ruler. 'Exhaustively researched... as a chronicle of Putin's public doings, the book is near faultless' The Times 'Timely... a comprehensive, extensively researched account of Putin's life' New Statesman 'Extensively covers the dark moments of Putin's career.... The Putin of Short's book is not someone you would invite to dinner' New York Times

After a century that has been described as the most violent in the history of humanity, Professor Richard Bessel has written an intelligent and fascinating book on the history of our violent world and how we have become obsessed about violence. He critiques the great themes of modern history from revolutionary upheavals around the globe, to the two world wars and the murder of the European Jews, to the great purges and, more recently, terrorism. Violence, it seems, is on everyone's mind. It constantly is in the news; it has given rise to an enormous historical, sociological, and philosophical literature; it occupies a prominent place in popular entertainment; and it is regarded as one of the fundamental problems affecting social, political and interpersonal relations. Bessel sheds light on this phenomenon and how our sensitivity towards violence has grown and has affected the ways in which we understand the world around us - in terms of religious faith, politics, military confrontation, the role of the state, as well as of interpersonal and intimate relations. He critiques our modern day relationship with violence and how despite its continuing and inevitable nature, we have become more committed to limiting and suppressing it. Both historically questioning and intensely evocative of the most vicious and brutal violence enacted by mankind, this book shows how the place of violence in the modern world presents a number of paradoxes and how it is an inescapable theme in human history.

The Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller Shortlisted for a British Book Industry Book of the Year Award 2016 Ancient Rome matters. Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the Rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today. SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists. It explores not only how Rome grew from an insignificant village in central Italy to a power that controlled territory from Spain to Syria, but also how the Romans thought about themselves and their achievements, and why they are still important to us. Covering 1,000 years of history, and casting fresh light on the basics of Roman culture from slavery to running water, as well as exploring democracy, migration, religious controversy, social mobility and exploitation in the larger context of the empire, this is a definitive history of ancient Rome. SPQR is the Romans' own abbreviation for their state: Senatus Populusque Romanus, 'the Senate and People of Rome'.

Die grootskaalse verhuising van boere aan die Kaapkolonie se oosgrens, ’n gebeurtenis wat later as die Groot Trek bekend sou word, was teen 1835 reeds in volle swang. Uiteindelik het bykans 10 000 siele huis en haard met ossewaens en veetroppe verlaat met die ideaal: om in die ongetemde Suid-Afrikaanse binneland ’n eie staat en samelewing tot stand te bring. Wie was hierdie Trekkers waarvan die geskiedenis vertel? Hulle was tog mense van vlees en bloed, wat gelag en gehuil, geeet, geslaap en gedroom het. Hoe het hulle die talle struikelblokke op die trekpad oorkom? Was daar tyd vir pret en plesier of was elke dag ’n stryd om oorlewing? Op trek, die resultaat van omvattende kultuurhistoriese navorsing wat met die oog op die 150ste herdenking van die Groot Trek gedoen is, het die eerste keer in 1988 verskyn. Buiten teks, bevat dit foto’s en illustrasies wat ’n nabyblik gee op die daaglikse lewe tydens die Groot Trek – aan die hand van wat beeldende kunstenaars verewig het en persoonlike besittings van die Trekkers wat behoue gebly het, soos dagboeke godsdienstige en ander boeke, wapens, kledingstukke, gebruiksartikels en foto’s.

An artist in her thirties weaves and unravels connections between the loom and the computer, DNA and technology, dreams and decisions Thread Ripper is a multi-strand novel about weaving, women, and programming. In Copenhagen, a tapestry-weaver embarks on her first big commission, a digitally woven tapestry. As she works, she draws illuminating connections between all the stuff that life is made from - DNA, plant tissue, algorithms, text and textile - and that which disrupts it - radiation, pests, entropy and doubt. In another strand, we follow Ada Lovelace, the 1830s mathematician and pioneer of computer programming. And Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus, who wove and unpicked a shroud to put off her 108 suitors. Contemplative yet clear-sighted, Amalie Smith's hybrid textile of a novel bares the aching but crucial interwovenness of art and life.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 WINGATE LITERARY PRIZE THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A MAIL ON SUNDAY, THE TIMES, ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN, THE SPECTATOR, TIME, DAILY EXPRESS AND DAILY MIRROR BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Thrilling' Daily Mail 'Gripping' Guardian 'Heartwrenching' Yuval Noah Harari 'Magnificent' Philip Pullman 'Excellent' Sunday Times 'Inspiring' Daily Mail 'An immediate classic' Antony Beevor 'Awe inspiring' Simon Sebag Montefiore 'Shattering' Simon Schama 'Utterly compelling' Philippe Sands 'A must-read' Emily Maitlis 'Indispensable' Howard Jacobson Anne Frank. Primo Levi. Oskar Schindler . . . Rudolf Vrba. In April 1944 nineteen-year-old Rudolf Vrba and fellow inmate Fred Wetzler became the first Jews ever to break out of Auschwitz. Under electrified fences and past armed watchtowers, evading thousands of SS men and slavering dogs, they trekked across marshlands, mountains and rivers to freedom. Vrba's mission: to reveal to the world the truth of the Holocaust. In the death factory of Auschwitz, Vrba had become an eyewitness to almost every chilling stage of the Nazis' process of industrialised murder. The more he saw, the more determined he became to warn the Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. A brilliant student of science and mathematics, he committed each detail to memory, risking everything to collect the first data of the Final Solution. After his escape, that information would form a priceless thirty-two-page report that would reach Roosevelt, Churchill and the pope and eventually save over 200,000 lives. But the escape from Auschwitz was not his last. After the war, he kept running - from his past, from his home country, from his adopted country, even from his own name. Few knew of the truly extraordinary deed he had done. Now, at last, Rudolf Vrba's heroism can be known - and he can take his place alongside those whose stories define history's darkest chapter.