This book presents up-to-date information on the origins of the Ashkenazic Jewish people from central and eastern Europe based on genetic research on modern and pre-modern populations. It focuses on the 129 maternal haplogroups that the author confirmed that Ashkenazim have acquired from distinct female ancestors who were indigenous to diverse lands that include Israel, Italy, Poland, Germany, North Africa, and China, revealing both their Israelite inheritance and the lasting legacy of conversions to Judaism. Genetic connections between Ashkenazic Jews and other Jewish populations, including Turkish Jews, Moroccan Jews, Tunisian Jews, Iranian Jews, and Cochin Jews, are indicated wherever they are known.

Rich in new discoveries and fresh interpretation, this fully revised survey is the perfect companion and guide to one of England's most beguiling counties. A profusion of black-and-white timber-framed houses testifies to the prosperity of earlier centuries, as do the many and varied parish churches. Highlights among these include the extraordinary Norman carvings at Kilpeck, the exquisitely spare Cistercian architecture of Abbey Dore, the seductive Georgian Gothick of Shobdon, and Lethaby's Arts and Crafts masterpiece at Brockhampton. The city of Hereford is freshly presented in detail, from its splendid medieval cathedral to the architectural adventures of the Georgians and Victorians. Country houses are plentiful and diverse, including much that is well in step with national fashions. The characteristic landscape of hills and woods lends a special pleasure to architectural exploration, while market towns such as Ledbury, Leominster, and Ross-on-Wye can match any in England for visual and architectural appeal.

This book presents up-to-date information on the origins of the Ashkenazic Jewish people from central and eastern Europe based on genetic research on modern and pre-modern populations. It focuses on the 129 maternal haplogroups that the author confirmed that Ashkenazim have acquired from distinct female ancestors who were indigenous to diverse lands that include Israel, Italy, Poland, Germany, North Africa, and China, revealing both their Israelite inheritance and the lasting legacy of conversions to Judaism. Genetic connections between Ashkenazic Jews and other Jewish populations, including Turkish Jews, Moroccan Jews, Tunisian Jews, Iranian Jews, and Cochin Jews, are indicated wherever they are known.

The Making of London explores the rich history of the Metropolis from the Roman settlement established 2,000 years ago in the area that came to be known as the 'Square Mile' and traces the process whereby it eventually emerged as the world's greatest city. London became the capital and seat of government of Britain, a centre of culture, entertainment and retailing, a major port and industrial centre and world leader in international trade, commerce and finance. The focus is largely on central London but necessarily brings in other nearby districts when events involved interaction with these. While examining a selection of major historical events, consideration is also given to some of the more unusual and quirky aspects that have contributed to making London the diverse and fascinating place it remains today. A largely chronological approach is taken which emphasises how the lives of the ordinary people were shaped by the events they witnessed such as invasions, riots and rebellions, fires, smogs, wars, epidemics and pandemics. The story embraces the apparent glamour of areas such as Mayfair and the West End but does not neglect districts stalked by crime, poverty and despair. London has always been a place of paradoxes where flaunted wealth has existed alongside appalling social deprivation. The juxtaposition of extravagance and poverty, of high culture with the lowest of low life is a recurrent theme in London's history. The Making of London will interest newcomers wishing to know about London's past but even those familiar with its history are likely to find something new in its pages.

This volume is a fully expanded and revised architectural guide to the greater part of Oxfordshire, based on Jennifer Sherwood's 1970s account, full of new information and with specially commissioned photography.The vernacular architecture of the villages and farms is well represented here, as well as notable town architecture and the medieval parish churches for which the area is well known. Oxfordshire is also a county of great houses, from the romantic medieval ruins of Minster Lovell to the late flowering of Lutyens's 1930s Middleton Park; the grandest, however, is Blenheim Palace, the Baroque masterpiece designed by John Vanbrugh (1664-1726).

9th volume to be published in this successful series of re- vision / study aids, FRCR Part 1 is derived from the questions used in the annual revision course held at The Royal London and St. Bartholomew's hospitals.

This expanded and updated guide to the buildings of Worcestershire encompasses the entire county, from the dramatic Malvern Hills through the Severn Valley to the fringes of the Cotswolds. Medieval Worcestershire is represented by the fine Gothic cathedral of Worcester, the splendid remains of the abbeys and priories, and the many parish churches with their rich inheritance of Norman work. Timber-framed houses are abundant. But Worcestershire is also a county of red brick and sandstone, with such fine country houses as Jacobean Westwood, Hanbury Hall, Hagley Hall, and Witley Court. Among the towns are Stourport, the only English town created by the canals, the genteel spa resort at Great Malvern, and the leafy New Town at Redditch.

The Jews of Khazaria explores the history and culture of Khazaria-a large empire in eastern Europe (located in present-day Ukraine and Russia) in the early Middle Ages noted for its adoption of the Jewish religion. The third edition of this modern classic features new and updated material throughout, including new archaeological findings, new genetic evidence, and new information about the migration of the Khazars. Though little-known today, Khazaria was one of the largest political formations of its time-an economic and cultural power connected to several important trade routes and known for its religious tolerance. After the royal family converted to Judaism in the ninth century, many nobles and common people did likewise. The Khazars were ruled by a succession of Jewish kings and adopted many hallmarks of Jewish civilization, including study of the Torah and Talmud, Hebrew script, and the observance of Jewish holidays. The third edition of The Jews of Khazaria tells the compelling true story of this kingdom past.

Tyburn Fields is the best known site of execution in London, but London may be aptly named the executioner's city, so many were the places where executions could and did occur. "London: The Executioner's City" reveals the capital as a place where the bodies of criminals defined the boundaries of the city and heads on poles greeted patrons on London Bridge. The ubiquity of crime and punishment was taken for granted by countless generations of the capital's inhabitants, though it seems to have done little to stem the tide of criminality that has always threatened to engulf the city. The book is a powerful evocation of the dark side of London's history, where the great and not so good, the poor and helpless, the cruel and the idealistic crowd together to be punished in public. A king and more than one queen, heretics, archbishops, pirates, poisoners, plotters, murderers, and a cook executed for selling putrid fish met death by hanging, beheading, burning, or boiling in London, and on most occasions the crowd roared its approval.

London's Underground is associated with a multitude of ghostly stories and sightings. Particular stations and abandoned lines, many of which are in close proximity to burial sites from centuries ago, have given rise to unexplained events. This chilling book reveals well-known and hitherto unpublished tales of spirits, specters, and other spooky occurrences on one of the oldest railway networks in the world. The stories of sightings include the ghost of an actress regularly witnessed on Aldywch Station and the "Black Nun" at Bank Station. Eerie noises, such as the cries of 13 year-old Anne Naylor, who was murdered in 1758 at Farringdon Station, and the screams of children who were in an accident at Bethnal Green Station during World War II, are still heard echoing down the stations. These and many more ghostly accounts are recorded in fascinating detail in this book, which is a must-read for anyone interested in the mysterious and murky history of London's Underground.