Great Westerns

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.

If in the year 1411 you had been able to circumnavigate the globe, you would have been most impressed by the dazzling civilizations of the Orient. The Forbidden City was under construction in Ming Beijing; in the Near East, the Ottomans were closing in on Constantinople. By contrast, England would have struck you as a miserable backwater ravaged by plague, bad sanitation and incessant war. The other quarrelsome kingdoms of Western Europe - Aragon, Castile, France, Portugal and Scotland - would have seemed little better.

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.

England in the Age of Chivalry … and Awful Diseases covers the events, personages, and ideas most commonly known as “medieval.” This includes Geoffrey Chaucer, the peasants revolt, the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Great Famine of 1315, the Black Death, and the 100 Years War. Central to this time is King Edward III, who started the 100 Years War and defined the concept of chivalry, including England’s order of the garter. His legacy continues to shape our view of England’s history and is crucial in understanding the development of Europe.

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.

At the dawn of the 19th century, the great powers of Western Europe treated the United States like a disobedient child. America's complaints were ignored, until President James Madison declared a second war on Great Britain. British forces would descend on the United States, but America rallied and survived. With stunning detail on land and naval battles, the role Native Americans played in the hostilities, and the larger backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, this is the story of the turning points of this strange conflict, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner".

Be careful of what you wish for. The Aranea Society’s iron grip over Branson University leaves nothing to chance. But the elite secret society makes a grave mistake when they invite the wrong student to join their inner circle. A South Dakota loner, Opal Ward, is no ordinary recruit, and her acceptance sets in motion a chain of events the cabal can’t control. After a member is brutally murdered, Opal uncovers the society's sinister ties to manipulate the government and refuses to fall in line.

Many people know about the Mali Empire and its famous ruler, Mansa Musa. But did you know there was a major empire that came before it? Medieval African history tends to get ignored in favor of medieval European history. However, there is so much rich history to uncover, especially in the region of West Africa. The Ghana Empire is considered one of the greatest empires in African history. There was an abundance of gold in the region, and the Ghana Empire was a powerful trading partner. Advancements were made in administration, allowing it to become a dominant power in the region.

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.

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 ...

Greater Than a Tourist - Athens Greece, by Eleni Panagiotopoulou, gives you the inside scoop on Athens. This audiobook will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

On his way to pick up supplies for the mine, Lorne Merritt discovers a pretty young woman alone and looking lost. Addie Shea came to Dakota Territory to live with her father, a prospector, but he’d been killed by a claim jumper. Knowing it’s not safe for her to be on her own in Deadwood, he befriends her, but then the attempts on her life begin. Who is doing this, and what can Lorne do to help keep her safe?

The cowboy is an iconic figure in American culture. With his hat, boots, and trusty horse, the cowboy rides in at a moment of crisis to intervene against the forces of evil. In the 20th century, the cowboy of the Wild West took center stage in the realm of popular literature.

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.

In 1765, as the Stamp Act riled eastern seaports, frontiersmen clashed with the British Empire over another issue: Indian relations. When British officials launched a diplomatic expedition into the American interior to open trade with the Indian warrior Pontiac, the Black Boys formed to stop it and led an uprising that threatened the future of Britain's empire. Clashing with traders, diplomats, Native warriors, and imperious British officials, the Black Boys evolved into an organized political movement that resisted the Crown years before the Declaration of Independence.

“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 ...

A short story satire for our times Young Billy Hoeksma, future governor of Michigan, is age six. He skips away from school one day in the early 1970s, urged on to steal a Playboy magazine. Young Billy heads off to the drug store in the wrong direction. He gets lost. When Billy is reported missing by embarrassed school authorities, his wealthy father, the rising right-wing business and political figure William "Will" Hoeksma, Sr., fears the boy’s been kidnapped. He orders his private security team – headed by the enigmatic Vietnam veteran Wilbur Tuttle – to find his son. And so the ...

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.

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.

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 ...