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‘The author brings together a wealth of information which has, until now, only been available in highly specialized academic journals and scholarly books’ – David Nicolle 'An astonishing array of themes and characters’ – John Man The Mamluks were, at one distinct point in history, the greatest body of fighting men in the world and the quintessence of the mounted warrior – reaching near perfection in their skill with the bow, lance and sword. Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military endeavour: the Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of World Dominion, Tamerlane the Scourge of God and the rise of the...
“A fascinating history . . . The Medieval conflict between Christians and Muslims has many similarities to the Middle East today.”—Firetrench The Ismaili Assassins were an underground group of political killers who were ready to kill Christians and Muslims alike with complete disregard for their own lives. Under the powerful control of an enigmatic grand master, these devoted murderers often slayed their victims in public, cultivating their terrifying reputation. They assumed disguises and their weapon of choice was a dagger. The dagger was blessed by the grand master and killing with it was a holy and sanctified act; poison or other methods of murder were forbidden to the followers of...
"Without Simon Waterson's help and guidance, I literally wouldn't have made it through fifteen years of playing James Bond ... It's been an honor working with him." —Daniel Craig _________________________ Simon Waterson's job is to turn actors into athletes. Now you can learn how to transform your fitness and wellbeing with the film industry's most in-demand trainer. Simon's client list reads like a who's who of A-list actors. He has transformed Daniel Craig into the formidable James Bond for five blockbuster films, shaped Chris Evans into superhero Captain America, trained Chris Pratt for Guardians of the Galaxy and prepared actors such as Thandiwe Newton and John Boyega for the recent St...
“A very readable account of the protracted and ultimately unsuccessful efforts of the Song, Xia, and Jin dynasties to defend China from the Mongols.”—StrategyPage Defending Heaven brings together, for the first time in one volume, the complete histories of the wars the Jin, Song, Xia, and Ming dynasties fought against the Mongols. Lasting nearly two centuries, these wars, fought to defend Chinese civilization against a brutal and unrelenting foe, pitted personal heroics against the inexorable Mongol war machine and involved every part of the Chinese state. The resistance of the Chinese dynasties to the Khans is a complex and rich story of shifting alliances and political scheming, vast...
In 1071 Muslim Turks crushed the Byzantine Emperor's Anatolian army at Manzikert. The Crusades, the West's response to this catastrophe, are well known as are the names of the European nobles who fought in them. The names and deeds of many of the Crusaders' opponents in the Holy Land are often unfamiliar to Western readers.
The real Dracula was far from Bram Stoker's well-mannered aristocrat. Better known as Vlad the Impaler, he was named for his favoured execution method: running a spear through his victim's lower body, then standing them upright so it skewered their vital organs. In a world ruled by petty tyrants and constantly at war, the young Dracula was held hostage by the Turks while his father was assassinated and his brother was buried alive. Finally released, Dracula conducted an almighty purge, surrounding his palace with noblemen impaled on stakes. Then he turned his attention to military campaigns against the Turks and Bulgars to consolidate his power. Yet to Romanians and the Pope he was a hero and liberator, fighting to protect his kingdom and countrymen from invasion in a complex and treacherous time. And, as an initiate in the Order of the Dragon, Dracula also played a vital (if not entirely noble) part in the fight against the Ottoman war machine. In this full account of Vlad Dracula, James Waterson details the good and the bad of this warlord prince, offering a fascinating insight into the violent end of the Middle Ages.
Darren Waterston's somber but sexy paintings layer curvy, organic forms over strong colors in alluring riffs on the language of landscape. As abstract works with a visceral physicality, they evoke a sense of place without geographic reference. Their night-sky blues, mist grays and blood reds are dotted with disorienting arrays of starry pinpoints, bubbles, ripples and rays. Perhaps because his work could offer a window to anywhere--deep space, your backyard, or your synapses--it works at any scale. His most recent mural project, "Was and Is Not and Is to Come, " for the San Jose Contemporary Art Center, was his largest to date, expanding over 150 feet and taking two weeks to execute. Waterston has exhibited internationally, is included in permanent collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the de Young Museum, and has been covered in "ArtNews, Art in America, GQ, ," the "Los Angeles Times" and the "New York Times."
For half a millennium, throughout almost the entire medieval period, the Catholic church sanctioned military campaigns against what it perceived as its enemies. The rise of Islam and its spread across large parts of the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and even the peripheries of Europe, saw Muslim warriors seize the Holy Land, occupy Jerusalem, and threaten Constantinople. In response, Pope Urban II advocated a crusade to retake the Holy Land - the first of nine military campaigns that stretched over the succeeding 200 years. Other, lesser-known crusades were subsequently mounted with the aim of Christianizing the more remote regions of northern and north-eastern Europe, as well as against ...
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THE STORY: CHINGLISH is a hilarious comedy about the challenges of doing business in a country whose language--and underlying cultural assumptions--can be worlds apart from those of the West. The play tells the adventures of Daniel, an American busin