Easter Rising: A History From Beginning to End


Hourly History - 2016
    The revolutionary movement faced many problems from the beginning, including splintered leadership, disorganized support, opposition from moderate supporters of home rule, and prepared retaliation from the British. Inside you will read about... ✓ Background of the Easter Rebellion ✓ Planning the Easter Rising ✓ The Easter Rising Begins ✓ The Easter Rising, Days Two and Three ✓ The Easter Rising, Days Four and Five, and the Easter Rising Across Ireland ✓ The Easter Rising Comes to an End on Saturday ✓ Aftermath of the Easter Rising Even though the rebels did not achieve their ultimate goal of Irish independence, they were successful, because they rallied many more of their countrymen to the cause of independence. The legacy of their bravery and love of country inspired generations of Irish men and women, and helped lead to independence. This is the story of what led to the uprising, the events of the rising, and its impact.

A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar - A Contribution to the History of India


Robert Sewell - 1900
    He did extensive work on the history of the Vijayanagara Empire, particularly the fall of Hampi, the empire's capital. He translated The Vijayanagar Empire as Seen by Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz - described as an eyewitness account of Portuguese travellers to India in the 16th century and report on the Vijayanagar Empire. His other works include: Analytical History of India (1870), Eclipses of the Moon in India (1878), Antiquarian Remains in Presidency of Madras (1882), A Sketch of the Dynasties of S. India (1883), South Indian Chronological Tables (1889) and The Indian Calendar (with S. B. Dikshit) (1896).

The Vikings


Frank R. Donovan - 1964
    From island bases near the deltas of major rivers, they used the waterways to scour the countryside, looting and burning towns, plundering merchant shipments, and stripping churches and monasteries of their gold, silver, and jeweled treasures.The Norsemen eventually penetrated all of England and Scotland, founded cities in Ireland, gained a powerful province in France, controlled Frisia and the modern Netherlands, and raided lands around Spain, passing into the Mediterranean to attack Italy and North Africa. They established the first Russian kingdom, challenged Constantinople, and provided a personal guard for the Byzantine emperor. They settled Iceland, where they developed Europe's first republic, founded two colonies on Greenland, and explored parts of North America five centuries before Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas. Then, like the abrupt end of a summer thunderstorm, their adventures ceased.Here is their dramatic story.

To Timbuktu for a Haircut: A Journey through West Africa


Rick Antonson - 2008
    But to many it is a vaguely recognizable name – a flippant tag for “the most remote place on earth.” With this fabled city as his goal, author Rick Antonson began a month-long trek. His initial plan? To get a haircut. Aided by an adventuresome spirit, Rick endures a forty-five hour train ride, a swindling travel agent, “Third World, three-lane” roads, rivers, and a flat deck ferry boat before finally reaching Timbuktu. Rick narrates the history of this elusive destination through the teachings of his Malian guide Zak, and encounters with stranded tourists, a camel owner, a riverboat captain, and the people who call Timbuktu home.Antonson’s eloquence and quiet wit highlight the city’s myths—the centuries old capital and traveler’s dream—as well as its realities: A city gripped by poverty, where historic treasures lie close to the sands of destruction. Indeed, some 700,000 ancient manuscripts remain there, endangered. Both a travelogue and a history of a place long forgotten, To Timbuktu for a Haircut emerges as a plea to preserve the past and open cultural dialogues on a global scale.The second edition of this important book outlines the volatile political situations in Timbuktu following the spring 2012 military coup in Mali and the subsequent capture of the city by Islamic extremists. Literally, it is a race against time to save the city’s irreplaceable artifacts, mosques, and monuments, and to understand why Timbuktu’s past is essential to the future of Africa.

No Return


Brett Battles - 2012
    A TV cameraman who grew up in a small town just miles away can see what is going to happen next. Frantically, Wes Stewart races to the downed jet and tries to save the pilot’s life. When the plane explodes, Wes escapes without harm—and plunges into a murderous conspiracy.It’s been fifteen years since Wes has been back to the desolate land of his childhood. Now he finds himself up against the U.S. military, the local police, and someone who is tracking his every move. In the moments he spent with the dying pilot, Wes discovered something that could get him killed. But while he tries to untangle a web of lies and secrets surrounding the crash, another danger is stalking him. And this one he will never see coming.

The Friar of Carcassonne: Revolt Against the Inquisition in the Last Days of the Cathars


Stephen O'Shea - 2011
    That crusade almost wiped out the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians whose beliefs threatened the authority of the Catholic Church. But decades of harrowing repression-enforced by the ruthless Pope Boniface VIII , the Machiavellian French King Philip the Fair of France, and the pitiless grand inquisitor of Toulouse, Bernard Gui (the villain in The Name of the Rose)-had bred resentment. In the city of Carcassonne, anger at the abuses of the Inquisition reached a boiling point and a great orator and fearless rebel emerged to unite the resistance among Cathar and Catholic alike. The people rose up, led by the charismatic Franciscan friar Bernard Délicieux and for a time reclaimed control of their lives and communities. Having written the acclaimed chronicle of the Cathars The Perfect Heresy , Stephen O'Shea returns to the medieval world to chronicle a rare and remarkable story of personal courage and principle standing up to power, amidst the last vestiges of the endlessly fascinating Cathar world.Praise for The Perfect Heresy :"At once a cautionary tale about the corruption of temporal power...and an accounting of the power of faith ...It is also just a darn good read."-Baltimore Sun "An accessible, readable history with lessons ...that were not learned by broad humanity until it saw 20th-century tyrants applying the goals and methods of the Inquisition on a universal scale."-New York Times

The Isles of the Blest


Morgan Llywelyn - 1989
    Willingly, he lets himself become intoxicated by the surreal beauty of a fairy-woman who offers to take him to a far away, forbidden land where all his desires will be fulfilled. He welcomes the opportunity to be away from the gruesome war that has consumed his life for so long, but what price will the warrior pay to be in a land void of death, loss and pain? Does the pleasure of the company of the stunning stranger outweigh the price he must pay to remain in The Isles of the Blest?

Coromandel Sea Change


Rumer Godden - 1991
    Patna Hall is as beautiful and timeless as India itself, ruled over firmly and wise by proprietor Auntie Sanni. For Mary it feels strangely like home.In a week that will change the young couple's destiny, election fever grips the Southern Indian state and Mary falls under the spell of the people, the country - and Krishnan, godlike candidate for the Root and Flower party . . .

Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676


T.H. Breen - 1980
    Concentrating on the lives of blacks who achieved freedom, this book describes how, against formidable odds, they amassed property, established plantations, acquired dependent labourers, and lived for several generations as free and independent members of Virginia society.

Ghost in the Canteen


Jen Rasmussen - 2014
    And it turns out that resting in peace isn't really a thing.

1688: A Global History


John E. Wills Jr. - 2001
    Wills's masterful history ushers us into the worlds of 1688, from the suicidal exaltation of Russian Old Believers to the ravishing voice of the haiku poet Basho. Witness the splendor of the Chinese imperial court as the Kangxi emperor publicly mourns the death of his grandmother and shrewdly consolidates his power. Join the great caravans of Muslims on their annual pilgrimage from Damascus and Cairo to Mecca. Walk the pungent streets of Amsterdam and enter the Rasp House, where vagrants, beggars, and petty criminals labored to produce powdered brazilwood for the dyeworks. Through these stories and many others, Wills paints a detailed picture of how the global connections of power, money, and belief were beginning to lend the world its modern form. "A vivid picture of life in 1688...filled with terrifying violence, frightening diseases...comfortingly familiar human kindnesses...and the intellectual achievements of Leibniz, Locke, and Newton."—Publishers Weekly

Beyond the Great River


Zoe Saadia - 2014
    Their frowns followed her like a cloud, but she didn't care. Other girls may have worked happily, danced beautifully, or sewn themselves pretty dresses, but they could not climb or run or swim as well as she did, the silly, giggly, empty-headed creatures that they were. The entire village may have been frowning at her, but when she spotted the enemy forces camping under the Sacred Hill, they had no choice but to listen. Okwaho knew they were being watched. Whether by spirits or a wandering local, he could not ignore the feeling of the wary, frightened, hate-filled eyes staring out of the forest, burning his skin. But of course! Of course, the local woods distrusted them. He and his people were invaders, not coming to trade or engage in other peaceful dealings, but to raid these settlements. The enemies from the lands of the rising sun were bad, evil, impossible to understand. And yet… And yet, when the urge to prove himself lent him enough words to convince the leader of their party to send him and his friend on the mission of scouting the suspected hill, he could not have imagined what consequences this deviation from the well-planned road would lead them all into, the attackers and defenders alike.

The Empty World


D.E. Stevenson - 1936
     An electrical storm stands between Jane and London. When a spectacular surge of lightning illuminates the clouds below them and the airliner is knocked off course, Jane turns to the dashing, intelligent Sir Richard Barton in the next seat. As dawn breaks, Jane realises there are no lights on the ground and the radio is jammed. When the airliner is safely landed on a deserted airfield they find cars abandoned and a mysterious lack of people on the deathly silent streets of Glasgow. Believing she will be safe in the arms of Sir Richard, it’s not until he is mysteriously taken ill that Jane questions her love... The Silent World is a touching yet thrilling sci-fi romance classic from D.E. Stevenson, perfect for fans of Stephen King and Lois McMaster Bujold. Praise for The Empty World: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Apocalyptic fiction by D. E. Stevenson. What more could I ask?' - Library Thing ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Like a 1936 Stephen King' - Goodreads reviewer D. E. Stevenson was born in Edinburgh. Her father was a first cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson. She was educated privately and travelled widely in France and Italy with her parents. She married a major in the Highland Light Infantry and moved with the regiment from place to place gaining valuable experience of life and people.

How to Live on Mars: A Trusty Guidebook to Surviving and Thriving on the Red Planet


Robert Zubrin - 2008
    But why speculate about the possibilities when you can get the real scientific scoop from someone who’s been happily living and working there for years? Straight from the not-so-distant future, this intrepid pioneer’s tips for physical, financial, and social survival on the Red Planet cover:• How to get to Mars (Cycling spacecraft offer cheap rides, but the smell is not for everyone.)• Choosing a spacesuit (The old-fashioned but reliable pneumatic Neil Armstrong style versus the sleek new—but anatomically unforgiving—elastic “skinsuit.”)• Selecting a habitat (Just like on Earth: location, location, location.)• Finding a job that pays well and doesn’t kill you (This is not a metaphor on Mars.)• How to meet the opposite sex (Master more than forty Mars-centric pickup lines.)With more than twenty original illustrations by Michael Carroll, Robert Murray, and other renowned space artists, How to Live on Mars seamlessly blends humor and real science, and is a practical and exhilarating guide to life on our first extraterrestrial home.

The Sculpted Ship


K.M. O'Brien - 2016
    She goes shopping for a cheap, practical freighter, but she ends up buying a rare, beautiful, but crippled luxury ship. Getting it into space will take more than her technical skills. She'll have to go way outside her comfort zone to brave the dangers of safaris, formal dinners, a rude professor, and worst of all, a fashion designer. She may even have to make some friends... and enemies. "The Sculpted Ship" is set on the outskirts of an interstellar empire where FTL travel is commonplace but intelligent robots are rare and expensive. Though the Iris Empire has stood for a thousand years, a talented individual can find plenty of opportunity. But the nobility of this empire guards its privileges jealously.