Barbarossa history cataclysm

Buy Operation Barbarossa - The History of a Cataclysm (Hardcover) for R664.00

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 6 - 13 working days 'Never before had the world seen four such giants co-existing. Sometimes friends, more often enemies, always rivals, these four men together held Europe in the hollow of their hands.' Four great princes - Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain and Suleiman the Magnificent - were born within a single decade. Each looms large in his country's history and, in this book, John Julius Norwich broadens the scope and shows how, against the rich background of the Renaissance and destruction of the Reformation, their wary obsession with one another laid the foundations for modern Europe. Individually, each man could hardly have been more different -- from the scandals of Henry's six wives to Charles's monasticism - but, together, they dominated the world stage. From the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a pageant of jousting, feasting and general carousing so lavish that it nearly bankrupted both France and England, to Suleiman's celebratory pyramid of 2,000 human heads (including those of seven Hungarian bishops) after the battle of Mohacs; from Anne Boleyn's six-fingered hand (a potential sign of witchcraft) that had the pious nervously crossing themselves to the real story of the Maltese falcon, Four Princes is history at its vivid, entertaining best. With a cast list that extends from Leonardo da Vinci to Barbarossa, and from Joanna the Mad to le roi grand-nez, John Julius Norwich offers the perfect guide to the most colourful century the world has ever known and brings the past to unforgettable life. Features Summary The colourful story of the four very different men who created our modern world: Henry VIII, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain and Suleiman the Magnificent: popular history at its best from John Julius Norwich Author John Julius Norwich Publisher John Murray Publishers Ltd Release date 20161020 Pages 288 ISBN 1-4736-3295-1 ISBN 13 978-1-4736-3295-0

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days 'Never before had the world seen four such giants co-existing. Sometimes friends, more often enemies, always rivals, these four men together held Europe in the hollow of their hands.' Four great princes - Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain and Suleiman the Magnificent - were born within a single decade. Each looms large in his country's history and, in this book, John Julius Norwich broadens the scope and shows how, against the rich background of the Renaissance and destruction of the Reformation, their wary obsession with one another laid the foundations for modern Europe. Individually, each man could hardly have been more different -- from the scandals of Henry's six wives to Charles's monasticism - but, together, they dominated the world stage. From the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a pageant of jousting, feasting and general carousing so lavish that it nearly bankrupted both France and England, to Suleiman's celebratory pyramid of 2,000 human heads (including those of seven Hungarian bishops) after the battle of Mohacs; from Anne Boleyn's six-fingered hand (a potential sign of witchcraft) that had the pious nervously crossing themselves to the real story of the Maltese falcon, Four Princes is history at its vivid, entertaining best. With a cast list that extends from Leonardo da Vinci to Barbarossa, and from Joanna the Mad to le roi grand-nez, John Julius Norwich offers the perfect guide to the most colourful century the world has ever known and brings the past to unforgettable life. Features Summary The colourful story of the four very different men who created our modern world: Henry VIII, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain and Suleiman the Magnificent: popular history at its best from John Julius Norwich Author John Julius Norwich Publisher John Murray Publishers Ltd Release date 20170713 Pages 288 ISBN 1-4736-3298-6 ISBN 13 978-1-4736-3298-1

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 15 working days Enigmatic and multi-layered, "Islanders" is about finding one's own hard-won truth. A young man's indelible memories of the struggle to find intimacy--formative experiences like the ebb and flow of friendships, love, and ordinary workaday life--are viewed through a lens of nostalgic longing and hard-eyed realism as he attempts to come to terms with the past. Set during the cataclysm of the last years of the war in Vietnam, in a landscape that shifts between the bleak fishing towns of the Atlantic coast to the ruined cities of the Northeast, "Islanders" explores the classic theme of identity's intricate relationship to place. Features Summary Seen through the prism of personal history, an evocative, unsettling view of a world falling apart. Author Ammiel Alcalay Publisher City Lights Books Release date 20100318 Pages 96 ISBN 0-87286-506-1 ISBN 13 978-0-87286-506-8

(This title is available on demand: expected date of dispatch will be 7-10 working days once ordered) 1919. The eyes of the world are on the city of Paris where diplomats, politicians, spies and opportunists have gathered to discuss the fate of Germany in the aftermath of the cataclysm that was the First World War. In such circumstances, the last thing the British diplomatic community need is the untimely death of one of their delegation. So when Sir Henry Maxted falls from the roof of his mistress' apartment block in mysterious circumstances, their first instinct is to sanitize any unexplained aspects to his death. But his son ex Royal Flying Corps ace, James 'Max' Maxted, has other ideas. He resolves to get to the bottom of Sir Henry's death - even if it does mean disturbing the impression of harmonious calm which the negotiating teams have worked so hard to maintain. In a city where nations are jostling for position at the crossroads of history and stakes are very high, it is difficult to tell who is a friend and who is a foe. And Max will soon discover how much he needs friends... Format:Paperback Pages:432

Eco returns to the Middle Ages with Baudolino - a wondrous, provocative, beguiling tale of history, myth, and invention. It is April, 1204, and Constantinople, the splendid capital of the Byzantine Empire, is being sacked and burned by the knights of the fourth Crusade. Amid the carnage and confusion, one Baudolino saves a Byzantine historian and high court official from certain death at the hands of the crusading warriors, and proceeds to tell his own fantastical story. Born a simple peasant in northern Italy, Baudolino has two major gifts - a talent for learning foreign languages and skill in telling lies. One day, when still a boy, he met a foreign commander in the woods, charming him with his quick wit and lively mind. The commander - who proves to be the emperor Frederick Barbarossa - adopts Baudolino and sends him to the university in Paris, where he makes a number of fearless, adventurous friends. Spurred on by myths and their own reveries, this merry band sets out in search of Prester John, a legendary priest-king who was said to rule over a vast kingdom in the East - a phantasmagorical land of strange creatures with eyes on their shoulders and mouths on their stomachs, of eunuchs, unicorns, and lovely maidens. As always with Eco, this abundant novel includes dazzling digressions, outrageous tricks, pages of extraordinary feeling and poetry, and vicarious reflections on our postmodern age. Baudolino is an utterly marvellous tale by the inimitable author of THE NAME OF THE ROSE.