A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages


Martyn Whittock - 2009
    Topics include Roger "the Raker" who drowned in his own sewage, a "merman" imprisoned in Orford Castle, the sufferings of the Jews of Bristol, and more. Each reveals the extraordinary diversity of medieval society. Through these characters and events--and using the latest discoveries and research--the dynamic and engaging panorama of medieval England is revealed.

Slanky: Poems


Mike Doughty - 2002
    Doughty’s poems are at once absurdist and matter-of-fact; the images he conjures are thrown into high relief through cutting wordplay. In a series of prose poems about showbiz, he reimagines Cookie Monster as a burned-out suicide, and cheesy talk-show host Joe Franklin as a cross-dressing witness to the apocalypse. And in “For Charlotte, Unlisted,” he wrenchingly tracks the elusive memory of a faded romance.

Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times


Thomas R. Martin - 1992
    Martin brings alive Greek civilization from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century B.C. Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students and general readers alike. This edition has been updated with new suggested readings and illustrations. "[A] highly accessible, and comprehensive history of Greece and its civilization from prehistory through the collapse of Alexander the Great's empire. ...A highly readable account of ancient Greece, particularly useful as an introductory or review text for the student of the general reader." --Kirkus Reviews "Photographs and maps enhance this solid first lesson about the ancients." --Booklist

Meet Me in London (The St. Claire Sisters Book 1)


Jennifer Youngblood - 2019
    He might just be the one thing she’s always wanted … Audrey St. Claire has been video-chatting with the man of her dreams—William Evans, a well-spoken Brit who’s so cultured and sophisticated that he could give Mr. Darcy a run for his money. Longing to meet William in person, Audrey uses her savings to book a tour of England. The plan is for William to meet her there. Things spiral downward when William is a no-show. Then, there’s the strange guy who shares her cab and seems way too interested in Audrey and her life. Not to mention Zane Woods, her ruggedly handsome fellow tour member who gets great delight in annoying the heck out of her. Audrey’s skin prickles with the feeling of being watched and there’s still no sign of William! As Zane starts to work his way into Audrey’s affections, she begins to question her feelings for William. A near-tragic experience throws more uncertainty into the mix, leaving Audrey questioning if she should choose the dream she always wanted or the unexpected reality that took her by surprise?

The Lifers' Club


Francis Pryor - 2014
    Most of the sites he dug were ahead of industrial development or new housing estates, gravel quarries, roads, etc. The people who did the work were down-to-earth. Some were students, others were professional diggers – but they all knew what they wanted from life and were prepared to work long hours, for very low pay. In the seventies to nineties, Alan and his colleagues lived in abandoned houses or camped out on the edges of industrial estates. They were always covered in mud, were deeply suntanned and drunk (or stoned) on their days off. They were feared by respectable citizens. They were known as Circuit Diggers because they worked the 'circuit', moving from one excavation to another, as new sites were opened, right across Britain.Like others on the circuit, Alan Cadbury is obsessive: he won’t let problems lie, even when he’s slumped drunk in a lonely bedsit, somewhere in the Fens. But there’s another side to him, too: he enjoyes solving mysteries. In the late ‘90s he helped to give a forensic archaeology course and there met Richard Lane, now a senior detective in the Leicestershire force. DCI Lane helps him tackle new cases. But this is his first big one: it involves an 'honour killing', which happened eight years ago in Leicester. Most of the action takes place in the Fens, where Alan has lived all his life. It’s a dark tale of past wrong-doing and modern criminality – on a very large scale. And it’s not without violence and rapid action. Alan’s life may be harsh and at times unpleasant, but it’s not likely to be very long, either.

Rebellion Is the Circle of a Lover's Hands/Rebelió


Martín Espada - 1990
    Poems in English and Spanish that discuss what it means to be Puerto Rican in the United States today.

The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek


Barry Cunliffe - 2001
    Renowned archaeologist Barry Cunliffe here re-creates Pytheas's unprecedented journey, which occurred almost 300 years before Julius Caesar landed in Britain. Beginning with an invaluable pocket history of early Mediterranean civilization, Cunliffe illuminates what Pytheas would have seen and experienced—the route he likely took to reach Brittany, then Britain, Iceland, and Denmark; and evidence of the ancient cultures he would have encountered on shore. The discoveries Pytheas made would reverberate throughout the civilized world for years to come, and in recounting his extraordinary voyage, Cunliffe chronicles an essential chapter in the history of civilization.

Origins


Richard E. Leakey - 1977
    Discusses the evolution of prehistoric ape-like creatures into human beings, theorizing that the key to this transformation was the ability to share & cooperate in a social context.

The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts


Israel Finkelstein - 2001
    They argue that crucial evidence (or a telling lack of evidence) at digs in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon suggests that many of the most famous stories in the Bible—the wanderings of the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, and David and Solomon’s vast empire—reflect the world of the later authors rather than actual historical facts. Challenging the fundamentalist readings of the scriptures and marshaling the latest archaeological evidence to support its new vision of ancient Israel, The Bible Unearthed offers a fascinating and controversial perspective on when and why the Bible was written and why it possesses such great spiritual and emotional power today.

Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia


Peter Hopkirk - 1980
    Along it travelled precious cargoes of silk, gold and ivory, as well as revolutionary new ideas. Its oasis towns blossomed into thriving centres of Buddhist art and learning. In time it began to decline. The traffic slowed, the merchants left and finally its towns vanished beneath the desert sands to be forgotten for a thousand years. But legends grew up of lost cities filled with treasures and guarded by demons. In the early years of the last century foreign explorers began to investigate these legends, and very soon an international race began for the art treasures of the Silk Road. Huge wall paintings, sculptures and priceless manuscripts were carried away, literally by the ton, and are today scattered through the museums of a dozen countries. Peter Hopkirk tells the story of the intrepid men who, at great personal risk, led these long-range archaeological raids, incurring the undying wrath of the Chinese.

Neanderthal


John Darnton - 1996
    Now, enter the world of Neanderthal...The expedition of the century...uncovers the find of the millennium...Neanderthal.In the remote mountains of central Asia, an eminent Harvard archeologist discovers something extraordinary. He sends a cryptic message to two colleagues. But then, he disappears.Matt Mattison and Susan Arnot-- once lovers, now academic rivals-- are going where few humans have ever walked, looking for a relic band of creatures that have existed for over 40,000 years, that possess powers man can only imagine, and that are about to change the face of civilization forever.

Things We Surrender


Heidi Hostetter - 2018
     At least that’s what Joanna Rutledge Reed thought. At eighteen, she left her family’s ancestral home in Charleston, South Carolina, despite promising to stay. For years, she did whatever she wanted, barely giving her family back home a second thought. But a string of bad decisions results in heartbreak, forcing her to return, her life in tatters. While her wayward sister traveled the world, Marcy remained in Charleston, caring for her aging grandmother and managing the family business. She's got problems of her own that no one seems to notice or care about. When Joanna arrives unexpectedly, Marcy bristles at the intrusion, suspicious of her sister’s motives. As Joanna picks up the threads of her old life, she discovers things are not what they appear to be. Painful memories and hidden secrets resurface, leading Joanna to question everything she thought she knew about her family. When her life begins to crash around her again, she needs her sister more than ever. Set against the rich tapestry of Charleston, South Carolina, three generations of strong Southern women share a history and not-quite-forgotten secrets. Will the bonds they forged years ago be strong enough to give them a second chance at being a family?

The Millionaire Plan


Karen King - 2013
    Her parents are nearly bankrupt and being forced to sell their family home, a beautiful Tudor house that has been in the family for generations, thanks to Amber's ex-fiance persuading them to invest in his dodgy shares. Armed with a self-help book and a ten-point plan, she sets off to hook herself a rich husband. On a millionaire's yacht, she meets the drop-dead gorgeous Jed Curtess. The attraction between them is sizzling. It's a shame that he is only a hired hand. Can Amber ignore her heart and follow her plan?

Reflections


Anita Stansfield - 2002
    My personal struggles and insights are not necessarily any more profound than those of any other women, but I believe they illustrate typical patterns of opposition and trial that we can all relate to and learn from at some level. While many of my thoughts in this book are related to my experiences as a mother, my hope is that each thought I have to offer will contain a tidbit of value for every woman who might read it - old or young, married or single, with children or without. No matter our differences in personality, opportunities, or challenges, we're all women. We all have tender hearts, strong spirits, and a desire to do the best we can with what we have to work with. We're all daughters of God. We're all trying to get the same place. And we're all struggling in one way or another." Having sold over 1,000,000 books, author Anita Stansfield is one of the most widely read women in the Church. This tender gift book offers an upclose look at the woman behind the best-selling novels, and the priceless lessons she has learned along the way.

Searching for the Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World


John Man - 2017
    Equal to men in battle, legends claimed they cut off their right breasts to improve their archery skills and routinely killed their male children to purify their ranks.For centuries people believed in their existence and attempted to trace their origins. Artists and poets celebrated their battles and wrote of Amazonia. Spanish explorers, carrying these tales to South America, thought they lived in the forests of the world’s greatest river, and named it after them. In the absence of evidence, we eventually reasoned away their existence, concluding that these powerful, sexually liberated female soldiers must have been the fantastical invention of Greek myth and storytelling. Until now.Following decades of new research and a series of groundbreaking archeological discoveries, we now know these powerful warrior queens did indeed exist. In Searching for the Amazons, John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia—from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China—to discover the truth about the truth about these women whose legend has resonated over the centuries.