Long before the smokestacks and factories of industrial Akron rose from Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley, the region was a place of tense confrontation. Beginning in the early 19th-century, white settlers began pushing in from the east, lured by the promise of cheap (or free) land. They inevitably came into conflict with the current inhabitants, American Indians who had thrived in the valley for generations or had already been displaced by settlement along the eastern seaboard. Here, on what was once the western fringe of the United States, the story of the country's founding and development played out in all its ignominy and drama, as American Indians lost their land, and often their lives, while white settlers expanded a nation. Historian and novelist John Tully draws on contemporary accounts and a wealth of studies to produce this elegiac history of the Cuyahoga Valley. He pays special attention to how settlers' notions of private property--and the impulse to own and develop the land--clashed with more collective social organizations of American Indians. He also documents the ecological cost of settlement, long before heavy industry laid waste to the region. Crooked Deals and Broken Treatiesis an impassioned accounting of the cost of "progress," and an insistent reminder of the barbarism and deceit that fueled the rise of the United States.

A history of the modern world told through the multiple lives of rubber Capital, as Marx once wrote, comes into the world "dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt." He might well have been describing the long, grim history of rubber. From the early stages of primitive accumulation to the heights of the industrial revolution and beyond, rubber is one of a handful of commodities that has played a crucial role in shaping the modern world, and yet, as John Tully shows in this remarkable book, laboring people around the globe have every reason to regard it as "the devil's milk." All the advancements made possible by rubber--industrial machinery, telegraph technology, medical equipment, countless consumer goods--have occurred against a backdrop of seemingly endless exploitation, conquest, slavery, and war. But Tully is quick to remind us that the vast terrain of rubber production has always been a site of struggle, and that the oppressed who toil closest to "the devil's milk" in all its forms have never accepted their immiseration without a fight. This book, the product of exhaustive scholarship carried out in many countries and several continents, is destined to become a classic. Tully tells the story of humanity's long encounter with rubber in a kaleidoscopic narrative that regards little as outside its range without losing sight of the commodity in question. With the skill of a master historian and the elegance of a novelist, he presents what amounts to a history of the modern world told through the multiple lives of rubber.

In this compact book, the authors reflect on the legacy of four great religious thinkers: Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, and Muhammad. They offer a brief biography of each founder, describing the events that most shaped his life, how his personal spirituality developed, how he lived and how he died, what kind of person he was, and finally, they briefly trace the course of each religious tradition after its founder's death. The Carmodys divide their topic into the major dimensions of spiritual life - nature, society, the self, and divinity - and provide clear and easy access to where each figure stands on enduring issues and how each compares with the others.

The Carmodys provide an accessible overview and evaluation of Buddhist thought and practice, from a Christian point of view, focusing on Buddhist ideas of holiness and how they compare to similar values in Christianity.

In 1889, Samuel Winkworth Silver's rubber and electrical factory was the site of a massive worker revolt that upended the London industrial district which bore his name: Silvertown. Once referred to as the "Abyss" by Jack London, Silvertown was notorious for oppressive working conditions and the relentless grind of production suffered by its largely unorganized, unskilled workers. These workers, fed-up with their lot and long ignored by traditional craft unions, aligned themselves with the socialist-led "New Unionism" movement. Their ensuing strike paralyzed Silvertown for three months. The strike leaders-- including Tom Mann, Ben Tillett, Eleanor Marx, and Will Thorne--and many workers viewed the trade union struggle as part of a bigger fight for a "co-operative commonwealth." With this goal in mind, they shut down Silvertown and, in the process, helped to launch a more radical, modern labor movement. Historian and novelist John Tully, author of the monumental social history of the rubber industry The Devil's Milk, tells the story of the Silvertown strike in vivid prose. He rescues the uprising-- overshadowed by other strikes during this period--from relative obscurity and argues for its significance to both the labor and socialist movements. And, perhaps most importantly, Tully presents the Silvertown Strike as a source of inspiration for today's workers, in London and around the world, who continue to struggle for better workplaces and the vision of a "co-operative commonwealth."

Long before the smokestacks and factories of industrial Akron rose from Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley, the region was a place of tense confrontation. Beginning in the early 19th-century, white settlers began pushing in from the east, lured by the promise of cheap (or free) land. They inevitably came into conflict with the current inhabitants, American Indians who had thrived in the valley for generations or had already been displaced by settlement along the eastern seaboard. Here, on what was once the western fringe of the United States, the story of the country's founding and development played out in all its ignominy and drama, as American Indians lost their land, and often their lives, while white settlers expanded a nation. Historian and novelist John Tully draws on contemporary accounts and a wealth of studies to produce this elegiac history of the Cuyahoga Valley. He pays special attention to how settlers' notions of private property--and the impulse to own and develop the land--clashed with more collective social organizations of American Indians. He also documents the ecological cost of settlement, long before heavy industry laid waste to the region. Crooked Deals and Broken Treatiesis an impassioned accounting of the cost of "progress," and an insistent reminder of the barbarism and deceit that fueled the rise of the United States.

A history of the modern world told through the multiple lives of rubber Capital, as Marx once wrote, comes into the world "dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt." He might well have been describing the long, grim history of rubber. From the early stages of primitive accumulation to the heights of the industrial revolution and beyond, rubber is one of a handful of commodities that has played a crucial role in shaping the modern world, and yet, as John Tully shows in this remarkable book, laboring people around the globe have every reason to regard it as "the devil's milk." All the advancements made possible by rubber--industrial machinery, telegraph technology, medical equipment, countless consumer goods--have occurred against a backdrop of seemingly endless exploitation, conquest, slavery, and war. But Tully is quick to remind us that the vast terrain of rubber production has always been a site of struggle, and that the oppressed who toil closest to "the devil's milk" in all its forms have never accepted their immiseration without a fight. This book, the product of exhaustive scholarship carried out in many countries and several continents, is destined to become a classic. Tully tells the story of humanity's long encounter with rubber in a kaleidoscopic narrative that regards little as outside its range without losing sight of the commodity in question. With the skill of a master historian and the elegance of a novelist, he presents what amounts to a history of the modern world told through the multiple lives of rubber.

Collection of four British crime thrillers from the 1950s. In 'High Treason' (1951), after the destruction of the SS Asia Star in London Docks, Commander 'Robbie' Brennan (Liam Redmond) joins forces with Special Branch and MI5 to investigate an underground terrorist group plotting acts of sabotage. They discover that the group are planning an attack on a power station. Can they stop them before it's too late? In 'The Big Chance' (1957), fed up with living his mundane life, travel agency employee Bill Anderson (William Russell) siezes his opportunity for a change when a customer returns tickets to Panama. Bill decides to take the tickets and go to Panama himself. While at the airport, however, he is distracted by the alluring Diana Maxwell (Adrienne Corri). When the flight is delayed until the following day, Diana manages to get Bill involved in all manner of misadventures. Will he be glad of this change from the humdrum of his daily existence? In 'Dublin Nightmare' (1958), adapted from the novel by Robin Estridge, Steve Lawlor (Richard Leech) is reported dead following a car accident after he helped a Republican gang rob a Northern Irish security vehicle. The loot has gone missing and while the gang believe the car passenger Danny O'Callaghan (Pat O'Sullivan) has betrayed them, Lawlor's former girlfriend is convinced he is still alive. His photographer friend John Kevin (William Sylvester) investigates. In 'Deadly Nightshade' (1953) Robert Matthews (Emrys Jones) is arrested in Cornwall when he is mistaken for convict John Barlow, to whom he bears a striking resemblance. When Barlow (also Jones) hears of this, he makes his way to the man's cottage and takes his place. After surviving a local shipwreck Robert's fiancée Ann Farrington (Zena Marshall) is taken in by Barlow, who maintains his imposture but soon discovers that Matthews is not all he seems.

Triple bill of British movies produced by the Children's Film Foundation. In 'The Man from Nowhere' (1976), a young girl goes to stay at her wealthy uncle's home where she encounters a mysterious stranger who seems keen for her to leave. In 'Haunters of the Deep' (1984), a businessman causes trouble when he reopens an old mine with a dark history. In 'Out of the Darkness' (1985), two siblings and their young friend try to free the spirit of a child who died during the Great Plague.