To many he was a god. To others he was a monster. The truth is even more extraordinary. As a boy Alexander dreamed of matching the heroic feats of Achilles. At eighteen he led the Macedonian cavalry to a stunning victory against the Greeks. By twenty-five he had crushed the Persians in three monumental battles & was the master of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Men began to call him a god. But behind the legend was another more complex story. Narrated by his boyhood friend Ptolemy this is the story of Alexander as you have never heard it before: raw intimate thrilling
- a story of extraordinary daring & unimaginable endurance; of wanton destruction & murderous intrigue
- the epic tragedy of a man who aimed to be more than human.

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In 1961 Scotlands biggest bus company W Alexander & Sons of Falkirk was divided into three separate businesses. A new Midland company took over what had been the southern area of the business & retained Alexanders blue livery & its Falkirk head office. It operated local services to the north & east of Glasgow & in Stirling Falkirk Alloa Perth & Oban. It also operated inter-urban services throughout this area & to Edinburgh & Dundee. Operations in Fife passed to a new Fife company with local services throughout the region & long-distance services to Glasgow. The Fife company had around 500 buses & adopted a new livery of Ayres red. It established its head office in Kirkcaldy. Alexanders northern region became the new Northern company. Its operations covered the east of Scotland from Dundee to the Moray Firth. As well as a comprehensive network of services throughout the area it had limited local operations in Dundee & Aberdeen & ran long-distance services south to Glasgow & east to Inverness. For the following 24 years the three companies operating territories remained largely unchanged. Each of them acquired many of the small number of independent bus operators in their areas as the 1960s progressed. The Scottish Bus Group was reorganised in June 1985 & this affected two of the Alexander companies. Midland lost its Glasgow area operations to a new company Kelvin while its operations in Perthshire went to another new company Strathtay. Northern lost its operations in & around Tayside to the new Strathtay business reducing the Northern fleet from 320 to 250 buses. Fife was unaffected by the changes. They were privatised in 1990-91 when Midland was sold to GRT Holdings & continues today as part of First Group. Northern & Fife were sold to Stagecoach which would later also acquire Strathtay. This book outlines the Alexander story in its early years then examines the effect of the split in the company in 1961 & the following years up to privatisation. It also

Includes:: a postscript looking briefly at the vehicles inherited by Stagecoach & First & at the former Alexander operations as they are today. Alongside various colour photographs the book will also features tables showing a summary by vehicle type of the three fleets in 1961 1985 & at the time of privatisation & a map copied from a 1960s timetable to illustrate the extent of the three companies operating areas.

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Non stop adventure & death defying chases in Will Adam's outstanding debut novel. It's 318 BC in the deserts of Libya & Alexander the Great is buried as only a God should be placed in a golden Sarcophagus in a catacomb of chambers each packed with diamonds rubies & gold. This was how he should have remained but time waits for no-one. 2007 & underwater archaeologist Daniel Knox has been on the trail of Alexander's Gold ever since he can remember. When a tomb is uncovered on the construction site of a new hotel Daniel believes he has found the clue to what he has been working towards for years. But the discovery has alerted two of the most dangerous men in the world & Daniel is now a marked man. ...

Alexander Mc Queen (1969-2010) was one of the most influential imaginative & inspirational designers at the turn of the millennium. His fashions both challenged & expanded the conventional parameters of clothing beyond utility to a compelling expression of culture politics & identity. Focusing on the most iconic & acclaimed designs of his prolific career this stunning book examines Mc Queen's inimitable technical virtuosity & its subversion of traditional tailoring & dressmaking practices. This book also focuses on the highly sophisticated narrative structures found in Mc Queen's collections & in his astonishing & extravagant runway presentations which suggested the most avant-garde installation & performance art. Intended as an assessment of Alexander Mc Queen's entire career this book

Includes:: in-depth studies of six collections that illustrate & encapsulate thematic chapters as well as an interview with Sarah Burton the new creative director of Alexander Mc Queen who had been the designer's right-hand design aide since 1996.

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Packed with breathtaking photographs this tribute to Alexander Mc Queen (1969-2010) celebrates the incredible creations of an iconic imaginative & inspirational fashion designer whose work turned heads & hearts all over the world. He was a major fashion figure famous throughout the world especially the US (where he is a celebrity-favourite with clients including Sarah Jessica Parker Penelope Cruz & Nicole Kidman) & Japan. Mc Queens dramatic designs also been worn by celebrities including Bjork Lady Gaga & Rihanna met with critical acclaim & earned him the British Designer of the Year award four times. This book is a must-have for fashion lovers everywhere. ...

Alexander Mc Queen: Evolution is the story of the designers thirty-five runway shows & the genius behind them. From Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims his 1992 graduate collection to Platos Atlantis the last show before his death in 2010 Lee Alexander Mc Queen was as celebrated for the meticulous craftsmanship & stunning originality of his designs as he was notorious for his theatrical
- & often controversial
- runway shows. Taking his inspiration from sources as diverse as his own Scottish ancestry Alfred Hitchcock movies & Yoruba mythology Mc Queen brought together exquisite tailoring & avant-garde performance art. Combining gripping narrative & vivid photography with"es from the designer & those who knew him best this book brings each of the designers runway shows to life including a look at the pieces & inspiration behind Angels & Demons the show he was working on before his untimely death. This is the definitive immersive account of a unique career & a fitting tribute to the enfant terrible of British fashion.

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This title deals with ancient Greece & the rise of Macedonia the campaigns of Alexander & his mighty empire. This stirring history of the age of Alexander examines the dramatic life & times of one of the worlds most remarkable men & the growth of his immense empire. It explores the military strategies of Alexanders armies including the arms & armour troops & training ships & war machines crucial to their campaigns. It

Includes:: detailed coverage of every significant battle from Alexanders early commands to the final campaigns & analysis of his greatest opponents. It offers an authoritative account of military & political strategy & power seen through the lives of some of the worlds greatest soldiers from Alexander to Hadrian. Alexanders brief reign is placed in context through analysis of the rise of Macedonia & the disintegration of his immense empire after his death. This title is packed with over 250 beautiful photographs & illustrations sourced from contemporary artefacts & great artists as well as detailed maps & battleplans. One of the worlds greatest generals & commanders Alexander is a near-legendary figure. He dominates classical history as the general & king whose military brilliance & instiable desire for conquest led him to conquer half the known world. This book opens with the rise of Macedonia followed by an account of Alexanders astonishing military progress & the lasting significance of his vast empire. Over 250 illustrations of the key events from Granicus to Gaugamela place the historical action in context. Our knowledge of the ancient world is increased with this expert & insightful guide to one of the most significant periods in world history.

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From award-winning historian Robin Lane Fox Alexander the Great" searches through the mass of conflicting evidence & legend to focus on Alexander as a man of his own time. Tough resolute fearless Alexander was a born warrior & ruler of passionate ambition who understood the intense adventure of conquest & of the unknown. When he died in 323 BC aged thirty-two his vast empire comprised more than two million square miles spanning from Greece to India. His achievements were unparalleled
- he had excelled as leader to his men founded eighteen new cities & stamped the face of Greek culture on the ancient East. The myth he created is as potent today as it was in the ancient world. Combining historical scholarship & acute psychological insight " Alexander the Great" brings this colossal figure vividly to life. " So enjoyable & well-written... Foxs book became my main guide through Alexanders amazing story". (Oliver Stone director of " Alexander"). "I do not know which to admire most his vast erudition or his imaginative grasp of so remote & complicated a period & such a complex personality". (Cyril Connolly " Sunday Times"). " An achievement of Alexandrian proportions". (" New Statesman"). Robin Lane Fox was the main historical advisor to Oliver Stone on his film " Alexander" & took part in many of its most dramatic re-enactments. His books include " The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece & Rome" " The Unauthorised Version: Truth & Fiction in the Bible" " Travelling Heroes: Greeks & their Myths in the Epic Age of Homer" & " Pagans & Christians in the Mediterranean World from the Second Century AD to the Conversion of Constantine"."
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' He was a man like no other man has ever been' So Arrian sums up the career of Alexander the Great of Macedon (356-323 BC) who in twelve years that changed the world led his army in conquest of a vast empire extending from the Danube to the rivers of the Punjab from Egypt to Uzbekistan & died in Babylon at the age of 32 with further ambitions unfulfilled. Arrian (c. 86-161 AD) a Greek man of letters who had experience of military command & of the highest political office in both Rome & Athens set out to write the definitive account of Alexander's life & campaigns published as the Anabasis & its later companion piece the Indica. His work is now our prime & most detailed extant source for the history of Alexander & it is a dramatic story fast-moving like its main subject & told with great narrative skill. Arrian admired Alexander & was fascinated by him but was also alive to his faults: he presents a compelling account of an exceptional leader brilliant ruthless passionate & complex. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more. ...

At eighteen Alexander had conquered mainland Greece was crowned King of Macedonia at twenty & by twenty-six he had made himself master of the once mighty Persian Empire. By the time of his death aged only thirty-three in 323BCE he was ruler of the known world & was being worshipped as a god by the Greeks both at Babylon where he died & further west among the Greek cities of the Asiatic seaboard. The fruit of a lifetime's scholarship & meticulous research this is an outstanding biography of one of the most remarkable rulers in history. 'A hugely impressive portrait of a towering but enigmatic figure' Saul David Sunday Telegraph 'A revealing often enthralling search.. .[a] restless exhilarating book' Observer ' Fascinating...blends all the pleasures of Hollywood epic with those of a subtle & deeply intriguing detective tale' Tom Holland author of Rubicon ' Alexander the Great provides an endless fount both of amazement & of speculation. This gripping book examines the legends as well as the life. Most interestingly it invites the reader to participate in the difficult task of separating the fact from the fiction' Norman Davies ...