48 pages ofillustrations, 16 in color. Maps.

    Invaders threatened on all fronties, but they grew to respect and fear the name of Belisarius, the Emperor Justinian's greatest general. With this book Robert Graves again demonstrates his command of a vast historical subject, creating a startling and vivid picture of a decadent era.

    The name evokes grandeur and exoticism - gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium - long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium - what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.Bringing the latest scholarship to a general audience in accessible prose, Herrin focuses each short chapter around a representative theme, event, monument, or historical figure, and examines it within the full sweep of Byzantine history - from the foundation of Constantinople, the magnificent capital city built by Constantine the Great, to its capture by the Ottoman Turks.She argues that Byzantium's crucial role as the eastern defender of Christendom against Muslim expansion during the early Middle Ages made Europe - and the modern Western world - possible. Herrin captivates us with her discussions of all facets of Byzantine culture and society. She walks us through the complex ceremonies of the imperial court. She describes the transcendent beauty and power of the church of Hagia Sophia, as well as chariot races, monastic spirituality, diplomacy, and literature. She reveals the fascinating worlds of military usurpers and ascetics, eunuchs and courtesans, and artisans who fashioned the silks, icons, ivories, and mosaics so readily associated with Byzantine art.An innovative history written by one of our foremost scholars, Byzantium reveals this great civilization's rise to military and cultural supremacy, its spectacular destruction by the Fourth Crusade, and its revival and final conquest in 1453.

    It was a time of assassinations and civil war, of armies so out of control that they had no qualms about occupying the city of Rome, and of ambitious men who ruthlessly seized power only to have it wrenched from their grasps. In 69 AD, Gwyn Morgan offers a fresh look at this period, based on two considerations to which insufficient attention has been paid in the past. First, that we need to unravel rather than cherry-pick between the conflicting accounts of Tacitus, Plutarch and Suetonius, our three main sources of information. And second, that the role of the armies, as distinct from that of their commanders, has too often been exaggerated. The result is a remarkably accurate and insightful narrative history, filled with colorful portraits of the leading participants and new insights into the nature of the Roman military. A strikingly vivid account of ancient Rome, 69 AD is an original and compelling account of one of the best known but perhaps least understood periods in all Roman history. It will engage and enlighten all readers with a love for the tumultuous soap opera that was Roman political life.

     During a single historic weekend (September 12-14, 2008) the fate of Lehman Brothers was sealed, Merrill Lynch barely survived, and AIG became a ward of the federal government. Top CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo spent the entire weekend taking frantic phone calls from the most powerful players on Wall Street and in Washington, as they toiled to keep the economy from complete collapse. Those CEOs and dozens of other sources gave Bartiromo behind-the-scenes details unavailable to other members of the media, of the crisis and its aftermath. Now she draws on her high-level network to provide an eyewitness account of the biggest events of the financial crisis including at length interviews with former treasury secretary Henry Paulson, former AIG chairman Hank Greenberg, former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, among many others. Writing with both authority and dramatic flair, Bartiromo weaves a thrilling narrative that will make news. She also tackles the big questions: how did an unmatched period of market euphoria and growth turn sour, catapulting the economy into a dangerous slide? And in the long run, how will the near-catastrophe really change Wall Street?

    The heart of Stock Smarts is to break it down to its simplest form and inspire employees, professionals and business people to participate and make money in the market.This book is to encourage every Filipino to profit from stocks and forge their way to financial freedom.

    Shilling explains in clear language and compelling logic why the world economy will struggle for several more years and what investors can do to protect and grow their wealth in the difficult times ahead. The investment strategies that worked for last 25 years will not work in the next 10 years. Shilling advises readers to avoid broad exposure to stocks, real estate, and commodities and to focus on high-quality bonds, high-dividend stocks, and consumer staple and food stocks. Written by one of today's best forecasters of economic trends-twice voted by Institutional Investor as Wall Street's top economist Clearly explains what to invest in, what to avoid, and how to cope with a deflationary, slow-growth economy Demonstrates how Shilling has been consistently right about major economic trends since he began forecasting in the early 1980s Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this timely guide lays out a convincing case for why investors need to be prepared for a long period of weak growth and deflation-not inflation-and what you can do to prosper in the difficult times ahead.

    in this USA Today bestselling series.MINEA sleepy town in southwest Virginia wakes up to a nightmare of untimely deaths.Not safe at home in Boston, science teacher Kate Hamilton seeks refuge in the small Virginia town where she was born and raised.Scarborough is no longer the bucolic village that she remembered. Pleasantries are only skin deep as big city issues and the politics of the world roil just under the surface.A string of untimely deaths has the whole town grieving. Only Kate thinks something nefarious is afoot.Can Kate convince the local police that coincidences like these are only found in fiction?Kate is determined to solve the puzzle and save lives, especially her own.YOURSNo Good Deed Goes UnpunishedScience teacher Kate Hamilton is hiding out in the small Virginia town where she was born and raised.Her marriage is in tatters. Her future uncertain. Kate begins the new semester at Boonestown High teaching their new STEM CSI classes.An object collected as "evidence" during a class project serves as a distraction for Kate. It's an expensive accessory for a town where their only manufacturing plant has been shuttered.Good deeds can be deadly.OURSOurs is but to do or die.Kate is moving to Washington D.C. to be closer to her disabled SEAL husband.Her marriage is held together by a thread. Her baby is due very soon…too soon.Kate begins the new semester at William Howard Taft High teaching their new criminal justice classes with her neighbor Detective Dave Murphy.Her student find an injured vet. Kate delivers first aid.An object passed from victim to good Samaritan, a class of teens who don’t like to be told “no”, this all seems too familiar to Kate.Good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes.Grab your copy to join in the case and solve these mysteries!The Kate Hamilton Mysteries novellas can be read as a standalones, as part of the series, or as part of the Iniquus World.

    Dave is her constant companion since that fateful time, moving to Allentown just days after Kendra went missing. Marie is happy to forget the past but the past won't let her forget it. A mysterious package, a series of threats, and the return of her one true love Chris make it impossible to leave behind. A transient man remains in jail for killing Kendra but with the new threats, the case is opened again.Are the detectives able to weave their ways through a small town's lifetime of lies and deceit to find the real killer before he strikes again?

    Winfyre Ridge. Away from the horrors, wars, and darkness. A place to live free and prosper. To start over. If you can get there. WOLF's WAGER Reagan Grace fled from a city laid to waste. She’s trying to get what’s left of her family to that mountain haven by any means necessary. But after a thousand-mile trek, the last thing she expected was a chance encounter with a bored alpha shifter. One who claims her by a toss of the dice. Luke “Swift” Swiftlore could smell the secrets on Reagan a mile away. Hell only knows what risk he’s taking in letting this pretty refugee in. Now he has to keep her close and see if he can get her to cop to what she is. Good thing he’s a creative badboy. BLACK BEAR's DUE Laia Llary has been looking for her cousin Tristan for months. But when she gets to Winfyre, does she find him? No. She only finds trouble. A brawl, a black eye and a bear shifter. Exactly in that order. Garrett “Rett” Deacon knows he should throw Laia out on her ass, but he owes her cousin. With no alternative, he claims her as punishment. At least now he can both train and keep an eye on her. Although it’s hard to say who hates it more. TIGER's PREY Sierra the Sphinx is the best scout money can buy. She might even be a match for Tristan “Trickster” Llary of the Northbane. Except she didn’t stick around long enough after swindling him to find out. Too bad, the Tiger Alpha was a hell of a kisser. Only Sierra might have made a mistake. She didn’t bank on Tristan coming after her. The one and only night Tristan decides to kick back, he gets robbed. Now he’s hot on Sierra’s tail for three reasons. One, to get his possessions back. Two, because Sierra doesn’t realize what kind of danger she’s in – both from him and those that would kill for what she has. Three – he can’t get her out of his head. ICE BEAR's BID Kallen “Kal” Deacon is the second-in-command at Winfyre. The Northbane shifter would give his life to keep it safe. Or to protect its most important secret. So, he’s not happy when he’s sent to scout the southern border. He’s even less happy when he comes upon a black-market auction. Kal knows he should leave it alone but one demure and bumbling beauty changes his mind. Iris has no idea what to make of the surly Ice Bear shifter dragging her back to Winfyre. While he’s terrifying and powerful, she’s not afraid. She’s drawn to him. DRAGON's OATH Alexander "Xander" Bane understands he is now the reason Winfyre exists. His presence alone keeps most threats at bay. Something he takes no pride in – as its leader, he does what has to be done and that's the end of it. Even if it means he has to be alone for the rest of his life, his shifted form must remain a secret. A secret found out by accident by Tiani Elkhadi, who spies the dragon in the woods. After nearly years of precautions, Xander has no idea what he should do. As icy as his heart has become, he can’t bring himself to kill her in cold blood. With no other choice, he claims her. Only Xander has no idea he’s playing into enemy hands. That Tiani was sent there to destroy Winfyre from the inside. To make it an example. To start a new war. NOTE: This boxset contains ALL five books of the Northbane Shifters series.

    150 and c. 750, came to differ from "Classical civilization."These centuries, as the author demonstrates, were the era in which the most deeply rooted of ancient institutions disappeared for all time. By 476 the Roman empire had vanished from western Europe; by 655 the Persian empire had vanished from the Near East.Peter Brown, Professor of History at Princeton University, examines these changes and men's reactions to them, but his account shows that the period was also one of outstanding new beginnings and defines the far-reaching impact both of Christianity on Europe and of Islam on the Near East. The result is a lucid answer to a crucial question in world history; how the exceptionally homogeneous Mediterranean world of c. 200 became divided into the three mutually estranged societies of the Middle Ages: Catholic Western Europe, Byzantium and Islam. We still live with the results of these contrasts.

    With a gift for performing, Theodora became an actress in burlesque theater as a young woman. By all accounts, fans of her bawdy act were legion, and she leveraged her popularity in whatever way she could. She eventually caught the attention of Justinian, who was no doubt charmed as much by her beauty as by her cunning.Justinian and Theodora ruled the empire together from their rich and bustling seat of power in Constantinople, making decisions and strategic maneuvers regarding the fate of their kingdom that would reverberate for years to come: they waged battles against the Goths and Vandals, quelled nationalist unrest in Egypt and the Middle East, and suppressed a rebellion at their doorstep by mercilessly slaughtering 30,000 in Constantinople's stadium. Theodora's wisdom and counsel to the emperor saved Justinian's empire -- and their place in history -- time and time again.Hailed by European reviewers as "Book of the Year" upon its publication in Italian, Paolo Cesaretti's book gives the reader a balanced portrait of an intriguing figure who, in the face of those who tried to defame her, rose from the ranks of the poor to build an empire at the side of her ambitious husband.

    

    Behind the vast panorama of the pagan Roman empire, the reader discovers the intimate daily lives of citizens and slaves--from concepts of manhood and sexuality to marriage and the family, the roles of women, chastity and contraception, techniques of childbirth, homosexuality, religion, the meaning of virtue, and the separation of private and public spaces.The emergence of Christianity in the West and the triumph of Christian morality with its emphasis on abstinence, celibacy, and austerity is startlingly contrasted with the profane and undisciplined private life of the Byzantine Empire. Using illuminating motifs, the authors weave a rich, colorful fabric ornamented with the results of new research and the broad interpretations that only masters of the subject can provide.

    Patrick Barron, carrying a woman’s lifeless body into the woods, he was terrified. When Dr. Barron admitted to it and started explaining why it was necessary, Jason’s life would never be the same. Dr. Barron recounts the brutal murder of his wife and the secret world he uncovered trying to bring her killer to justice—a world filled with monsters wearing human faces, cults, and even stranger things… The Outsiders: Book One tells the story of Dr. Barron and his grandson, but it also contains a number of other interconnected stories spanning decades and worlds beyond this one. This is the definitive entry point into The Outsiders universe—a place where nothing is what it seems and depending on who you ask, the heroes may be the biggest monsters of them all.