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. ...

In 1215 the Barons of England forced King John to sign a revolutionary document which would change the political landscape of Britain & beyond for the next 800 years. Magna Carta was the forerunner of the Constitution that limited the powers of the crown & its echoes can be found in the seventeenth century Civil Wars the struggles for American Independence the work of Thomas Paine & in the bedrock of all contemporary liberal nations. As civil liberties & the rule of law are increasingly under question as part of the War on Terror it has never been more essential to return to the original document signed at Runnymede in June 1215. Leading medieval historian Geoffrey Hindley retells the story of events leading up to the conference & looks at the document itself showing how it has resonated over centuries & throughout the world. ...

From a leading expert in Japanese history this is one of the first full histories of the art & culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan & would have a powerful influence on the history & culture of the country from the next 500 years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in the 17th & 18th centuries & how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world. ...

From the arrival of Henry Tudor & his army at Milford in 1485 to the death of the great Queen Elizabeth I in 1603 this was an astonishingly eventful & contradictory age. All the strands of Tudor life are gathered in a rich tapestry
- London & the country costumes furniture & food travel medicine sports & pastimes grand tournaments & the great flowering of English drama juxtaposed with the stultifying narrowness of peasant life terrible roads a vast underclass the harsh treatment of heretics & traitors & the misery of the Plague.
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From the Fury of the Northmen deliver us O Lord. Between the eighth & eleventh centuries the Vikings surged from their Scandinavian homeland to trade raid & invade along the coasts of Europe. Their influence & expeditions extended from Newfoundland to Baghdad their battles were as far-flung as Africa & the Arctic. But were they great seafarers or desperate outcasts noble heathens or oafish pirates the last pagans or the first of the modern Europeans? This concise study puts medieval chronicles Norse sagas & Muslim accounts alongside more recent research into ritual magic genetic profiling & climatology. It

Includes:: biographical sketches of some of the most famous Vikings from Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olaf & King Canute to Leif the Lucky. It explains why the Danish king Harald Bluetooth lent his name to a twenty-first century wireless technology; which future saint laughed as she buried foreign ambassadors alive; why so many Icelandic settlers had Irish names; & how the last Viking colony was destroyed by English raiders. Extending beyond the traditional Viking age of most books A Brief History of the Vikings" places sudden Scandinavian population movement in a wider historical context. It presents a balanced appraisal of these infamous sea kings explaining both their swift expansion & its supposed halt. Supposed because ultimately the Vikings didnt disappear: they turned into us."

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In this colorful new history of Venice Elizabeth Horodowich one of the leading experts on Venice tells the story of the place from its ancient origins & its early days as a multicultural trading city where Christians Jews & Muslims lived together at the crossroads between East & West. She explores the often overlooked role of Venice alongside Florence & Rome as one of the principal Renaissance capitals. Now as the resident population falls & the number of tourists grows as brash new advertisements disfigure the ancient buildings she looks at the threat from the rising water level & the future of one of the great wonders of the world. ...

In his startling & singular new short story collection David Foster Wallace nudges at the boundaries of fiction with inimitable wit & seductive intelligence. Among the stories are The Depressed Person a dazzling & blackly humorous portrayal of a womans mental state; Adult World which reveals a womans agonised consideration of her confusing sexual relationship with her husband; & Brief Interviews with Hideous Men a dark hilarious series of portraits of men whose fear of women renders them grotesque. Wallaces stories present a world where the bizarre & the banal are interwoven & where hideous men appear in many different guises. Thought-provoking & playful this collection confirms David Foster Wallace as one of the most imaginative young writers around. Wallace delights in leftfield observation mining the ironic the surprising & the illuminating from every situation. His new collection will delight his growing number of fans & provide a perfect introduction for new readers. ...

Learning about social work theory is a bit like hot air ballooning
- its about looking at the world from above & going on a voyage
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In the course of a long & successful career as a journalist & author Paul Johnson has known popes presidents prime ministers painters poets playwrights even the foul-mouthed publican Muriel Belcher who ran the legendary Colony Club. Harking back to the scandalously anecdotal 17th century book by John Aubrey on the celebrities of his times Brief Lives" is the distilled essence of Johnsons experience of a complex variety of people who have contributed to our political spiritual & cultural life. He advised Margaret Thatcher counselled Princess Diana had a drawing of him done by Ernest Hemingway & enjoyed the company of John Osborne Arnold Wesker & Harold Pinter at Buckingham Palace. He has been an insider outside observer & universal commentator on the individuals who have changed history formed public taste or simply lightened our lives by their presence." ...

This book contains sharp & enjoyable new portraits of the English kings & queens. Hunchbacked Richard III the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I the grieving widow Victoria & the romantic who gave up his throne for love Edward VIII
- often the colourful kings & queens of England seem like mere caricature while less familiar rulers like William IV or Henry VI have faded into the shadows of history. Carolly Erickson s sensitive & revealing portrayals bring new life to the big names & light up some of our most neglected but intriguing royals. Here is the puny Charles I nervous tense & socially awkward the frail slight Richard II melancholic & sad the homosexual James I with his handsome favourites & the stuttering William II. Every monarch from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II is covered. Award winning historian Erickson tells the human stories with her characteristic blend of authenticity engaging style & psychological insight.
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