Great Westerns

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages - and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. Acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than 40 of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.

From two veteran historians comes an intelligent and spirited history of Charles II's dissolute life and surprising legacy. To refer to the private life of Charles II is to abuse the adjective. His personal life was anything but private. His amorous liaisons were largely conducted in royal palaces surrounded by friends, courtiers, and literally hundreds of servants and soldiers. Gossip radiated throughout the kingdom.

When you hear about one of the biggest scandals in modern home office history, it piques your interest. The Windrush Scandal is an example of the mentality of a bygone era in operation at the top levels of the UK government. Citizens of the British Commonwealth were invited to stay in the UK indefinitely between the end of the 1940s and the start of the 1970s in an attempt to bolster the UK labor market. Many people took up the invitation, upending their lives in an attempt to create a better life in their mother country.

These four novels remain classics 100 years after they were published. They not only shaped the literature of the 20th century, but they altered our views of life and reality—and what can and cannot be written about. These novels—all written a century ago—remain gripping and unforgettable. These audio versions bring their powerful narratives vividly to life for the modern listener.

Private Ben Leeman, MM, is typical of so many unknown British Tommies who unhesitatingly answered the call to arms when Britain was in peril. Where Ben’s story differs from most, is that when he enlisted in the 15th (Bantam) Battalion, Notts and Derby Regiment, The Sherwood Foresters, he was just 15 years old. A Century of Silence tells Ben’s story from a happy childhood in Grimsby, through his enlistment and training in 1915, and his desperate fight for survival in the trenches of the Somme and the killing fields of Flanders.

For more than half a century, a shared love of canals and narrowboats has been inseparable from the marriage of Timothy West and Prunella Scales. The two iconic actors have spent many of the happiest days of their life together enjoying the calming pleasures of watching land and nature unfold before them at four miles an hour.

Commentating Greats pays affectionate tribute to the lives and careers of the most popular and influential sports commentators to appear on British television and radio in the last 80 years. As well as charting the development of the art of commentary from the very first trial broadcasts, Nicolas Sellens’ rigorously researched collection of 42 potted biographies delves into the dramas, controversies, clashes of ego and technical blow-ups that make sports commentating such a uniquely exhilarating profession. A highly enjoyable catalogue of both bon-mot and gaffe, this lavishly illustrated ...

American Indians remain familiar as icons, yet poorly understood as historical agents. In this ambitious book that ranges across Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and eastern California (a region known as the Great Basin), Ned Blackhawk places Native peoples squarely at the center of a dynamic and complex story as he chronicles two centuries of Indian and imperial history that profoundly shaped the American West.

From the Teutoburg Forest to Hastings, from Hengist and Horsa to Hereward the Wake, from ancient Germania to Roman Britain, from Germanic Gods to Christianity, discover the epic true story of how the English people and England itself came to be. Who were their Gods, legends, monsters and heroes? What were their customs, folklore, and traditions? See Beowulf in a new light, analysed and detailed like never before. Learn of Woden, the leader of the Wild Hunt, the forbearer of Father Christmas. Discover Woden's elite warriors, the Harii, Wolf-Coats and Berserkers. Through figures such as ...

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than a Tourist Key West Florida USA gives you the inside scoop on Key West. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

The Bayeux Tapestry is the world's most famous textile: an exquisite 230-foot-long embroidered panorama depicting the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is also one of history's most mysterious and compelling works of art. This haunting stitched account of the battle that redrew the map of medieval Europe has inspired dreams of theft, waves of nationalism, visions of limitless power, and esthetic rapture.

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than a Tourist - Lot-Et-Garonne, South-West France by Chrissie Stephen offers the inside scoop on the Aquitaine region of southwest France.

The Persians triumph at Marathon and proceed to conquer Greece. Hannibal annihilates the Roman army at Zama, paving the way for a magnificent Carthaginian empire that dominates the Western Mediterranean for centuries. The Spanish Armada obliterates the forces of Queen Elizabeth I, who is taken captive and sent to Spain, while a Spanish-occupied England endures a brutal second Counter-Reformation. This book delves into the alternative outcomes of a dozen of the most pivotal battles in Western history, examining the cultural and political forces that shaped their aftermath—often more ...

John Lackland was born to King Henry II and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitane in December, 1166; he was the youngest of five sons. However, he unexpectedly became the favored heir to his father after a failed rebellion by his older brothers in 1173. He became king in 1199, though his reign was tumultuous and short. After a brief peace with Phillip II of France, war broke out again in 1202 and King John lost most of his holdings on the continent. This led to conflict upon his return from battle. Buffeted from all sides, King John was pushed in 1215 to sign the Magna Carta.

“The Great Quartzsite, Arizona SNIPE Hunt” is a mostly-true and 100% historically accurate account of the infamous SNIPE hunt of 2010. One November afternoon, prospector Peyton Gibbs discovers the unmistakable tracks of a SNIPE in the remote desert outside of Quartzsite, Arizona. (A SNIPE is a psychopathic creature of killing who loves to hunt, kill, and barbeque humans. A SNIPE’s business is striking fear into the hearts of the most hardened criminals, curdling milk, terrifying children, and making soda go flat.) The SNIPE Group holds an all-state lottery to have a “Once In A ...

Harold Lamb's superb story-telling and clear, sharp scholarship are focused on Peter the Great, his gigantic labors to raise Russia in one generation to cultural equality with Europe, and his efforts to mold and shape a sprawling empire. At the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648, the city of Moscow had extended its sway eastward through the Asiatic continent. People began to ask, "Will the city control the continent?" or "Will the continent control the city?" These were crucial questions...questions that continue to bedevil Russians to this day.

Are you intrigued by the monumental path Christianity carved through history? This masterful narrative weaves through 1,600 years of history, from Christianity’s origins in the 1st century AD to the transformative Counter-Reformation in 1700.

It's 2026, and Rally is thirteen years old. The long, hot Louisiana summer looms before him like a face-melting stretch of blacktop, and the country is talking civil war while his adoptive family acts more vicious than ever. Rally spends his days wondering about his dead father's people, the Woolsacks of West Florida, who long ago led a failed rebellion to carve their own state from the swamp and sugar-sand of the coast.

Greater Than a Tourist - Málaga, Spain by Zsuzsanna Udvarhelyi offers some unique insider tips in Malaga and surroundings. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination

The 21st century has seen a rise in the global middle class that brings an unprecedented convergence of interests and perceptions, cultures and values. Kishore Mahbubani is optimistic. We are creating a new global civilization. Eighty-eight percent of the world's population outside the West is rising to Western living standards, and sharing Western aspirations. Yet Mahbubani, one of the most perceptive global commentators, also warns that a new global order needs new policies and attitudes.