The story of the ancient Greeks is one of the most improbable success stories in world history. A small group of people inhabiting a country poor in resources & divided into hundreds of quarreling states created one of the most remarkable civilizations. Comprehensive & balanced A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics Society & Culture Second Edition is a shorter version of the authors' highly successful Ancient Greece: A Political Social & Cultural History Second Edition (OUP 2008). Four leading authorities on the classical world offer a lively & up-to-date account of Greek civilization & history in all its complexity & variety covering the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era & integrating the most recent research in archaeology comparative anthropology & social history. They show how the early Greeks borrowed from their neighbors but eventually developed a distinctive culture all their own one that was marked by astonishing creativity versatility & resilience. The authors go on to trace the complex & surprising evolution of Greek civilization to its eventual dissolution as it merged with a variety of other cultures. Using physical evidence from archaeology the written testimony of literary texts & inscriptions & anthropological models based on comparative studies this compact volume provides an account of the Greek world that is thoughtful & sophisticated yet accessible to students & general readers with little or no knowledge of Greece. Ideal for courses in Greek Civilization & Ancient Greek History A Brief History of Ancient Greece Second Edition offers a revised art program featuring more than 125 illustrations & 17 original maps along with a new 8-page full color photo insert. Numerous document boxes" provide primary source material & updated suggested readings provide students with additional resources. Also new to this edition key terms have been boldfaced at their first appearance & listed at the end of the chapter; each one is defined in the expanded glossary. & for the first time a Companion Website for students will accompany the text." ...

From the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 to the execution of Charles I after the Civil Wars of 1642-48 England was transformed by two Dynasties. Firstly the Tudors who won the crown on the battlefield & changed both the nature of kingship but also the nation itself. England became a Protestant nation & began to establishment itself as a trading power; facing down impossible odds it defeated its enemies on land & sea. Yet after a century Elizabeth I died with no heir & the crown was passed to the Stuarts who were keen to remould the kingdom in their own image. Leading Historian Ronald Hutton brilliantly recreates the political landscape over this early modern period & shows how the modern nation was forged in these anxious transformative years. Combining skilful pen portraits of the leading figures culture economics & accounts of everyday life he reveals insights in this key era in our nation's story. This the second book in the four volume Brief History of Britain" which brings together some of the leading historians to tell our nation's story from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the present-day. Combining the latest research with accessible & entertaining story telling it is the ideal introduction for students & general readers." ...

From the Great Exhibition to the Credit Crunch
- the transformation of Britain from the worlds greatest nation to the present day.
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Henry VIII changed the course of English life more completely than any monarch since the Conquest. In the portraits of Holbein Henry Tudor stands proud as one of the most powerful figures in renaissance Europe. But is the portrait just a bluff? In his new book Derek Wilson explores the myths behind the image of the Tudor Lion. He was the monarch that delivered the Reformation to England yet Luther called him A fool a liar & a damnable rotten worm. As a young man he gained a reputation as an intellectual & fair prince yet he ruled the nation like a tyrant. He treated his subjects as cruelly as he treated his wives. Based on a wealth of new material & a life times knowledge of the subject Derek Wilson exposes a new portrait of a much misunderstood King. Praise for Derek Wilsons previous works: The Uncrowned Kings of England": Stimulating & authorative
- John Guy. Masterly. [ Wilson] has a deep understanding of...characters reaching out accross the centuries
- " Sunday Times". " Hans Holbein: Portrait of an Unknown Man": Fascinating
- Sarah Bradford " Daily Telegraph". Highly readable... The most accurate & vivid portrayal to date
- Alison Weir."



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Space is big. Really big. You just wont believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean you may think its a long way down the street to the chemist but thats just peanuts to space.
- Douglas Adams Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy". We human beings have trouble with infinity
- yet infinity is a surprisingly human subject. Philosophers & mathematicians have gone mad contemplating its nature & complexity
- yet it is a concept routinely used by schoolchildren. Exploring the infinite is a journey into paradox. Here is a quantity that turns arithmetic on its head making it feasible that 1 = 0. Here is a concept that enables us to cram as many extra guests as we like into an already full hotel. Most bizarrely of all it is quite easy to show that there must be something bigger than infinity
- when it surely should be the biggest thing that could possibly be. Brian Clegg takes us on a fascinating tour of that borderland between the extremely large & the ultimate that takes us from Archimedes counting the grains of sand that would fill the universe to the latest theories on the physical reality of the infinite. Full of unexpected delights whether St Augustine contemplating the nature of creation Newton & Leibniz battling over ownership of calculus or Cantor struggling to publicise his vision of the transfinite infinitys fascination is in the way it brings together the everyday & the extraordinary prosaic daily life & the esoteric. Whether your interest in infinity is mathematical philosophical spiritual or just plain curious this accessible book offers a stimulating & entertaining read."



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Starting AD 400 (around the time of their invasion of England) & running through to the 1100s (the Aftermath) historian Geoffrey Hindley shows the Anglo-Saxons as formative in the history not only of England but also of Europe. The society inspired by the warrior world of the Old English poem Beowulf" saw England become the worlds first nation state & Europes first country to conduct affairs in its own language & Bede & Boniface of Wessex establish the dating convention we still use today. Including all the latest research this is a fascinating assessment of a vital historical period." ...

The English Civil War is one of the most hotly contested areas of English History & John Miller is one of the experts on the period. Amid dramatic accounts of the key battles & confrontations Miller explores what triggered the initial conflict between crown & parliament & how this was played out in England Scotland & Ireland in the lead-up to war. As the war developed personalities & innovations on the battlefield became increasingly important culminating in the rise of Oliver Cromwell & the radical New Model Army. The wars changed the political social religious & intellectual landscape of the country for ever. Using a lifetimes knowledge & study on the period John Miller brings this extraordinary turning point in British history to life. ...

Religion politics & fear: how England was transformed by the Tudors. The English Reformation was a unique turning point in English history. Derek Wilson retells the story of how the Tudor monarchs transformed English religion & why it still matters today. Recent scholarly research has undermined the traditional view of the Reformation as an event that occurred solely amongst the elite. Wilson now shows that although the transformation was political & had a huge impact on English identity on Englands relationships with its European neighbours & on the foundations of its empire it was essentially a revolution from the ground up. By 1600 in just eighty years England had become a radically different nation in which family work & politics as well as religion were dramatically altered. Praise for Derek Wilson: Stimulating & authoritative." (John Guy). " Masterly. [ Wilson] has a deep understanding of.. .characters reaching out across the centuries." (" Sunday Times")." ...

For over a hundred years England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. France was a large unwieldy kingdom England was small & poor but for the most part she dominated the war sacking towns & castles & winning battles
- including such glorious victories as Crecy Poitiers & Agincourt but then the English run of success began to fail & in four short years she lost Normandy & finally her last stronghold in Guyenne. The protagonists of the Hundred Year War are among the most colourful in European history: for the English Edward III the Black Prince & Henry V later immortalized by Shakespeare; for the French the splendid but inept John II who died a prisoner in London Charles V who very nearly overcame England & the enigmatic Charles VII who did at last drive the English out. Desmond Sewards account traces the changes that led to Frances final victory & brings to life all the intrigue & colour of the last chivalric combats as they gave way to a more brutal modern warfare.
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Much has been written about the Knights Templar in recent years. A leading specialist in the history of this legendary medieval order now writes a full account of the Knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon to give them their full title bringing the latest findings to a general audience. Putting many of the myths finally to rest Nicholson recounts a new history of these storm troopers of the papacy founded during the crusades but who got so rich & influential that they challenged the power of kings. ...