Focusing on twelfth-century Arab aristocrat Usama ibn Munqidh?s Book of Contemplation but also including extracts from The Book of the Staff and Kernels of Refinement, this volume offers a strikingly human portrayal of I slamic perspectives on day-to-day existence, warfare, and the curious European invaders.

    Central to the story is Alvar, earl of Mercia. Having helped King Edgar to secure the throne, amid great unrest he must fight to clear the queen’s name, bring the country back from the brink of civil war, and stabilise the monarchy for Edgar’s son, Æthelred the Unready. He does this at great personal cost, and his enemies will stop at little: Abbot Dunstan, banished, recalled, and in no mood to forgive. Bishop Oswald, the ambitious foreigner who will let nothing stand in his way. They must not discover Alvar’s secret love for the wife of his deputy, whilst Alvar must keep her safe, and serve and protect the queen, who is in love with him and who harbours a dark secret of her own… Honoured with an IndieBRAG medallion and a Discovering Diamonds Special Award, this book has also been chosen as a Chill Books honouree and Book of the Month. “Ms Whitehead knows her stuff - A must-read for anyone interested in the early Anglo-Saxon period” – Helen Hollick

    It was a battle that led to his death and marked the end of an era in which Europe had been dominated by the threat of Scandinavian forces. Despite England's triumph, it also played a crucial part in fatally weakening the English army immediately prior to the Norman Conquest, changing the course of history. Taken from the Heimskringla - Snorri Sturluson's complete account of Norway from prehistoric times to 1177 - this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great Norse warrior-king.

    Bloch dared to do this and was successful; therein lies the enduring achievement of Feudal Society."—Charles Garside, Yale Review

    It is the earliest and thus the most valuable biography of St. Benedict.

    For the first time contemporary accounts of the fighting between Muslim and Christian have been translated into English, and the Western reader can learn 'the other side' of the Holy War.Seventeen authors are represented in the extracts in this work, which have been drawn from various types of historical writings. The excerpts are taken firstly from the general histories of the Muslim world, then from chronicles of cities, regions and their dynasties, and finally from biographies or records of the deeds of certain persons. The Arab histories of the Crusades compare favorably with their Christian counterparts in their rich accumulation of material and chronological information. Another of their merits is their faithful characterization, which they practiced in the brief but illuminating sketches of enemy leaders: Baldwin II's shrewdness, Richard Coeur de Lion's prowess in war, the indomitable energy of Conrad of Motferrat, Frederick II's diplomacy. The chronicles are generous, naturally, with their praises of the great champions of the Muslim resistance, especially of Saladin, who towers above all the other leaders in heroic stature. Although, this book gives a sweeping and stimulating view of the Crusades seen through Arab eyes.

    This volume includes Ignatius' (1491-1556) complete Autobiography, complete Spiritual Exercises, selections from the Constitution of the Society of Jesus and some of Ignatius' nearly 7,000 letters.

    Growing up, she was the “bad kid” who could never measure up to her bear-shifter brother Corey -- and now she’s in debt to the mob. So the last thing she expects is for Corey’s matchmaking program to pair her up with Fate Mountain’s handsome, hunky chief of police! Detective Bear Gauge Stockwell is a detective working to infiltrate a drug ring. He’s eager to find his mate, and has just gotten a match on the human-shifter mating website started by one of the shifters on Fate Mountain. But before he can meet her, he gains access to the criminal gang and has to go undercover. Under lock and key ... Cadet Bear Rosa Reyes’ little sister has disappeared -- and no matter what the police say, Rosa knows she didn’t run away. She sets off to find her, but when the trail runs cold, instinct leads her to Fate Mountain. Uncertain of her next steps, she registers for a human-shifter dating website to pass the time, only to receive an almost-instant message from a man saying she’s his mate! Tech Bear Lifelong techies Raven and Damien have been online video-game friends for years. When Damien asks Raven to sign up for a shifter-human dating website, she learns that the man she’s been crushing on all this time is her fated mate -- and the cop whose database she’s been hacking in search of her long-lost mother. Deputy Bear When her boyfriend betrays her, Harper Brown leaves his cheating ways behind and starts a new life on Fate Mountain. Living in her grandfather's rustic hunting cabin and working as a bank teller is a lot better than being miserable. Until her new boss turns up dead -- and the man investigating her is the same one she's been matched with by a human-shifter dating site. Lion's Halloween Baby Ever since serving in the military, Lion Shifter Rowan Tark has searched for a place to call home. When he steps off his motorcycle in Fate Mountain, right before Halloween, the first thing he does is sign up for the local dating website that matches male shifters with curvy human women. Cowboy Bear's Christmas Surprise His mate has collided with his life -- but her past is a blank and her future is in danger. Can he save her? Connor Milton has given up looking for his mate after years of searching. But when a woman crashes her car into a tree on his ranch not long before Christmas, he’s certain he’s finally found her. There’s one big problem--she doesn’t know who she is.

    A well-crafted ingenious mystery, tightly plotted, compelling and contemporary, this could well be Michael Ridpath's best novel yet.' - Stav Sherez, author of the Carrigan & Miller series November 1983: Three hundred feet beneath the Atlantic, US submarine Lieutenant Bill Guth and his fellow officers suddenly receive the order they've long-dreaded - to launch their nuclear missiles in a retaliatory strike against the USSR. But in the unexpected chaos that follows, one person on board lies dead... Norfolk, England, November 2019: Bill is celebrating Thanksgiving with his four daughters and his English son-in-law when they are interrupted by a historian who turns up unannounced to ask about a near-apocalyptic incident back in 1983. And the death that prevented it. Bill smiles but does not respond – the details are classified – and the historian leaves, unenlightened. That night, the historian is brutally murdered in the local pub. Bill and his family are thrown under suspicion. What happened all those years ago? Just how much is Bill to blame for events in the past, and indeed the present? As the layers of history reveal themselves, it becomes clear there is a killer at work who will stop at nothing to keep the secrets of 1983 where they belong... 'Deadly state secrets and deadlier family secrets - perfectly crafted, scrupulously researched Launch Code weaves an ingeniously dark and tangled web that will keep you gripped and guessing to the very end. Ridpath is one of the best thriller writers around.' - Craig Russell, author of The Devil Aspect

    It's a simple plan - he's a simple man - except for the forces of the Random, a man called Joseph Kaye, and a cockroach that doesn't exist. Sci-fi comedy.

    Not for long. By 1919, White Russians were fighting the Bolsheviks (Reds) for control of their country, and Winston Churchill (then Minister for War) wanted to see Communism 'strangled in its cradle'. So a volunteer R.A.F. squadron, flying Sopwith Camels and DH9 bombers, went there to duff up the Reds. 'There's a splendid little war going on,' a British staff officer told them. 'You'll like it.' Looked like fun. But the war was neither splendid nor little. It was big and it was brutal, a grim conflict of attrition, marked by cruelty, betrayal and corruption. Before it ended, the squadron wished that both sides would lose. If that was a joke, nobody was laughing. "A Splendid Little War" tests the pilots' gallows humour in a world of armoured trains and elegant barons, gruesome religious sects and anarchist guerrillas, unreliable allies and pitiless enemies. The comedy of this war, if it exists, is very bleak. Derek Robinson is at once our finest living comic novelist and a master of military fiction. Biggles was never like this.

    Just hits of good, solid positivity. Their cartoon illustrations are ever-so-cute, and they come in a sweet sliding gift box with lift-out ribbon.FEATURES Conceived and written by Suzi Barrett Contained in sturdy box with tray and lifting ribbon perfect for gifting SPECIFICATIONS 50 cards, plus instruction card

    Memory invents unbidden.’The 1950s were not grey. In Jonathan Meades’s detailed, petit-point memoir they are luridly polychromatic. They were peopled by embittered grotesques, bogus majors, vicious spinsters, reckless bohos, pompous boors, suicides. Death went dogging everywhere. Salisbury, where he was brought up, had two industries: God and the Cold War, both of which provided a cast of adults for the child to scrutinise – desiccated God-botherers on the one hand, gung-ho chemical warriors on the other. The title is grossly inaccurate. This book is, rather, a portrait of a disappeared provincial England, a time and place unpeeled with gruesome relish.

    Why is sport so profoundly important to us? In a journey from the Olympic Games in Athens to the World Cup finals in Germany - via the Ashes, the Ryder Cup and Wimbledon - Simon Barnes ponders such matters as the intellectual genius of Wayne Rooney, the mythic nature of Steve Redgrave and the making of Andrew Flintoff.

    From walking along the deserted beaches in South Harris to whale-watching in Mull - inspired by dozens of photos - the 24-page, full-colour introduction highlights all the ''things-not-to-miss''. In addition, there are two, brand-new, 4-page, full-colour inserts: ''Wildlife'' and ''Food & Drink''. The guide includes listings of all the top hotels, guesthouses and the best places to eat and sample the local whiskies. There is plenty of practical advice for exploring the great ''Scottish'' outdoors, from bagging munros to skiing on The Cairngorm mountains. The guide comes complete with maps and plans for the entire region.