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The story of Aelfred the Great, his war against the Vikings and the
foundations of modern Britain. In AD 865, a 'great host' of
battle-hardened Norse warriors landed on England's eastern coast,
overwhelmed East Anglia with terrifying swiftness and laid the
North to waste. Ghosting along estuaries and inshore waters, in 871
they penetrated deep into the southern kingdom of Wessex, ruled
over by a new and untested king, Ælfred son of Æðelwulf. It
seemed as though the End of Days was come. Max Adams tells the
story of the heroic efforts of Ælfred, his successors and
fellow-kings of Britain, to adapt and survive in the face of an
apocalyptic threat; and in so doing, to lay the foundations of the
nations of modern Britain in all their regional diversity.
A passionate and imaginative exploration of wood – the material
that shaped human history. As a material, wood has no equal in
strength, resilience, adaptability and availability. It has been
our partner in the cultural evolution from woodland foragers to
engineers of our own destiny. Tracing that partnership through
tools, devices, construction and artistic expression, Max Adams
explores the role that wood has played in our own history as an
imaginative, curious and resourceful species. Beginning with an
investigation of the material properties of various species of
wood, The Museum of the Wood Age investigates the influence of six
basic devices – wedge, inclined plane, screw, lever, wheel, axle
and pulley – and in so doing reveals the myriad ways in which
wood has been worked throughout human history. From the simple
bivouacs of hunter-gatherers to sophisticated wooden buildings such
as stave churches; from the decorative arts to the humble
woodworking of rustic furniture; Max Adams fashions a lattice of
interconnected stories and objects that trace a path of human
ingenuity across half a million years of history.
A passionate and imaginative exploration of wood – the material
that shaped human history. Wood – humankind's long-term partner
in our evolution from woodland foragers to engineers of our own
destiny – has no equal in strength, resilience, adaptability and
availability. The Museum of the Wood Age investigates the influence
of basic devices – wedge, inclined plane, screw, lever, wheel,
axle and pulley – to reveal the myriad ways in which wood has
been worked throughout human history. From the simple bivouacs of
hunter-gatherers to sophisticated wooden buildings such as stave
churches; from the decorative arts to the humble woodworking of
rustic furniture; Max Adams fashions a lattice of interconnected
stories and objects that trace a path of human ingenuity across
half a million years of history.
The bestselling historian tells the story of the landscapes,
peoples and culture of early medieval Britain in eight walks, an
epic sea voyage and a north-south ride by motorbike. The five
centuries between the end of Roman Britain (410) and the death of
Alfred the Great (899) have left few voices save a handful of
chroniclers, but Britain's 'Dark Ages' can still be explored
through their material remnants: buildings, books, metalwork, and,
above all, landscapes. Adams explores Britain's lost early medieval
past by walking its paths and exploring its imprint on valley, hill
and field. From York to Whitby, London to Sutton Hoo and Falmouth
to Mallaig, In the Land of Giants offers a beautifully written
insight into the lives of peasants, drengs, ceorls, thanes, monks
and kings during an enigmatic but richly exciting period of our
island's history.
The bestselling author of The King in the North turns his attention
to the obscure era of British history known as 'the age of Arthur'.
Somewhere in the shadow time between the departure of the Roman
legions in the early fifth century and the arrival in Kent of
Augustine's Christian mission at the end of the sixth, the kingdoms
of Early Medieval Britain were formed. But by whom? And out of
what? In The First Kingdom, Max Adams scrutinizes the narrative of
this period handed down to us by later historians and chroniclers.
Stripping away the more lurid claims made for a warrior-hero named
Arthur, he synthesises the research carried out over the last forty
years to tease out the strands of reality from the myth. He reveals
how archaeology has delivered evidence of a diverse and dynamic
response to Britain's new-found independence, of material and
intellectual trade between the Atlantic islands and the rest of
Europe, and of the environmental context of those centuries. A
skilfully wrought and intellectually probing investigation of the
most mysterious epoch in our history, The First Kingdom presents an
image of post-Roman Britain whose resolution is high enough to show
the emergence of distinct political structures in the sixth century
- polities that survive long enough to be embedded in the medieval
landscape, recorded in the lines of river, road and watershed, and
memorialised in place names. PRAISE FOR MAX ADAMS: 'A triumph. The
most gripping portrait of seventh-century Britain that I have read
... A Game of Thrones in the Dark Ages' Tom Holland in The Times on
The King in the North 'Gripping, hugely enjoyable and deeply
scholarly' History Today, Books of the Year, on The King in the
North 'Brilliantly combines history and archaeological research ...
A compelling read' The Lady on AElfred's Britain
A captivatingly informative and visually beautiful survey of the
tree species - from all over the world - that human cultures have
found most useful. Each tree species is the subject of a concise
text centred on a story - or stories - about the tree in question,
and is depicted by means of a photograph, painting or other
aesthetic artefact. The species will be organized thematically
according to the virtues they impart, be that in the form of
timber, nuts, fruit or medicine. The bloodwood tree, a native of
central America, is a tree that made a nation. Its wood produces a
brilliant and lucrative bright red dye and was imported to Europe
for use in dyeing fabrics. The 17th and 18th-century logging camps
established by the British later became the modern nation of
Belize, and the bloodwood tree appears on its national flag. From
the bloodwood to the breadfruit and from the cinchona to the peach,
these are trees that offer not merely shelter, timber and fuel but
also medicines, dyes, foods and fibres. They are very special
trees, and Max Adams, author of The Wisdom of Trees, has a plethora
of such fascinating stories to tell about them.
Unquiet Women is an exquisitely crafted patchwork of the forgotten
lives of some of the most remarkable women in history. History is
polyphonic; it must be told by many voices. In Unquiet Women, Max
Adams brings to life the voices and experiences of women living
between the last days of Rome and the Enlightenment, whose stories
of creativity, intellect and influence are all too rarely told.
From Wynflaed, the Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who owned male slaves and
badger-skin gowns, to Mary Astell, the philosopher who out-thought
John Locke, this is a kaleidoscopic study of women's history before
the Enlightenment changed everything. In this rigorous work of
rescue and recovery, their voices can be heard across the centuries
- still passionate and still strong. Reviews: 'A centuries-spanning
study that rescues women's lives from the margins of history' BBC
History Magazine 'Illuminating and wise ... An important book'
Herald 'A timely work which is beautifully designed and executed,
embodying the charm and power of the remarkable women within its
pages' All About History
'A triumph - a Game of Thrones in the Dark Ages' TOM HOLLAND. The
magisterial biography of Oswald Whiteblade, exiled prince of
Northumbria, who returned in blood and glory to reclaim his
birthright. A charismatic leader, a warrior whose prowess in battle
earned him the epithet Whiteblade, an exiled prince who returned to
claim his birthright, the inspiration for Tolkein's Aragorn. Oswald
of Northumbria was the first great English monarch, yet today this
legendary figure is all but forgotten. In this panoramic portrait
of Dark Age Britain, archaeologist and biographer Max Adams returns
the king in the North to his rightful place in history.
A passionate and informative celebration of trees and of man's ingenuity in exploiting their resources: the perfect gift for anyone who cares about the natural world.
Trees are marvels of nature, still-standing giants of extraordinary longevity. In a beautifully written sequence of essays, anecdotes and profiles of Britain's best-loved species (from yew to scots pine), Max Adams explores both the amazing biology of trees and humanity's relationship with wood and forest across the centuries.
Embellished with images from John Evelyn's classic Sylva (1664), The Wisdom of Trees a gift book that will delight anyone who cares about the natural world and our interaction with it.
From the author of The Wisdom of Trees, an informative and
practical guide to tree planting: including guidance on which trees
to plant and where; how to plant, propagate and care for your
trees; advice on the suitability and virtues of particular native
trees (from oak to alder and from beech to blackthorn); amplified
by details of how trees grow in nature and the stories of some
famous tree planters. A glossary of websites, nurseries,
conservation and other organisations completes the volume.
From the author of The Wisdom of Trees, an informative and practical guide to tree planting: including guidance on which trees to plant and where; how to plant, propagate and care for your trees; advice on the suitability and virtues of particular native trees (from oak to alder and from beech to blackthorn); amplified by details of how trees grow in nature and the stories of some famous tree planters. A glossary of websites, nurseries, conservation and other organisations completes the volume.
THE NEW SCREENWRITER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE: No one had ever won the
world's two hottest amateur screenwriting awards - The Nicholl
Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
and the Austin Film Festival screenwriting award - in a single
week. No one else had ever sold three pitches back to back over the
Christmas weekend. And almost no one else had ever made her first
sale as a complete unknown from outside California - and gone on to
get it produced starring the then hottest young actress in
Hollywood. People just don't do that. But Max Adams did. From
guerrilla meeting tactics to finding (and firing) you agent, from
maintaining "voice" to pitching and getting paid, the screenwriter
crowned "red hot" by Variety who has been there, done that, and
lived to talk about it tells you how to sell and get your
screenplay made. And, more importantly, stay alive and successful
for a long time afterward. "This is an accessible, smart, funny,
insightful book that I would and will recommend to all scribes who
come my way." Richard Walter, UCLA Screenwriting Chairman "Before
you even think of marketing your script, read this book and change
your screenwriting life." David Trottier, Author, The
Screenwriter's Bible "If you want to understand how Hollywood works
when you're the new kid on the block, this is the book to read."
Greg Beal, Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting "Every writer
should have Max Adams' advice in their arsenal." Jeanne Veillette
Bowerman, Editor, Script Magazine $21.95 US Visit the Book site:
http: //screenwriterssurvivalguide.com
The richly varied lives of the Martin brothers reflected the many
upheavals of Britain in the age of Industrial Revolution. Low-born
and largely unschooled, they were part of a new generation of
artists, scientists and inventors who witnessed the creation of the
modern world. William, the eldest, was a cussedly eccentric
inventor who couldn't look at a piece of machinery without thinking
about how to improve it; Richard, a courageous soldier, fought in
the Peninsular War and at Waterloo; Jonathan, a hellfire preacher
tormented by madness and touched with a visionary genius
reminiscent of William Blake, almost burned down York Minster in
1829; while John, the youngest Martin, single-handedly invented,
mastered and exhausted an entire genre of painting, the apocalyptic
sublime, while playing host to the foremost writers, scientists and
thinkers of his day. In The Prometheans Max Adams interweaves the
fascinating story of these maverick siblings with a magisterial and
multi-faceted account of the industrial, political and artistic
ferment of early 19th-century Britain. His narrative centres on a
generation of inventors, artists and radical intellectuals
(including the chemist Humphry Davy, the engineer George
Stephenson, the social reformer Robert Owen and the poet Shelley)
who were seeking to liberate humanity from the tyranny of material
discomfort and political oppression. For Adams, the shared
inspiration that binds this generation together is the cult of
Prometheus, the titan of ancient Greek mythology who stole fire
from Zeus to give to mortal man, and who became a potent symbol of
political and personal liberation from the mid-18th century
onwards. Whether writing about Davy's invention of the miner's
safety lamp, the scandalous private life of the Prince Regent, the
death of Shelley or J.M.W. Turner's use of colour, Adams's
narrative is pacy, characterful, and rich in anecdote, quotation
and memorable character sketch. Like John Martin himself, he has
created a sprawling and brightly coloured canvas on an epic scale.
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