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Lost to the West
Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization. When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianity alive. Streams of wealth flowed into Constantinople, making possible unprecedented wonders of art and architecture. And the emperors who ruled Byzantium enacted a saga of political intrigue and conquest as astonishing as anything in recorded history. Lost to the West is replete with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands.
The Normans
"Lars Brownworth’s The Normans is like a gallop through the Middle Ages on a fast warhorse. It is rare to find an author who takes on a subject so broad and so complex, while delivering a book that is both fast-paced and readable." Bill Yenne, author of Julius Caesar: Lessons in Leadership from the Great Conqueror "An evocative journey through the colourful and dangerous world of early medieval Europe" Jonathan Harris, author of Byzantium and the Crusades There is much more to the Norman story than the Battle of Hastings. These descendants of the Vikings who settled in France, England, and Italy - but were not strictly French, English, or Italian - played a large role in creating the moder...
The Sea Wolves
In AD 793 Norse warriors struck the English isle of Lindisfarne and laid waste to it. Wave after wave of Norse ‘sea-wolves’ followed in search of plunder, land, or a glorious death in battle. Much of the British Isles fell before their swords, and the continental capitals of Paris and Aachen were sacked in turn. Turning east, they swept down the uncharted rivers of central Europe, captured Kiev and clashed with mighty Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. But there is more to the Viking story than brute force. They were makers of law - the term itself comes from an Old Norse word - and they introduced a novel form of trial by jury to England. They were also sophisticated m...
Lost to the West
Reveals how the Byzantine Empire endured as Christianity's capital for a long period following the fall of the Roman Empire and shaped the Renaissance in the West.
In Distant Lands
In the late fall of 1095 Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France and set all of Europe into motion. As many as a hundred and fifty thousand people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool’s mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom. Against all odds they succeeded, creating a Christian outpost in the heart of the Islamic world that lasted for the better part of two centuries. Perhaps no other period in history is as misunderstood as the Crusades, and in this fast-paced account, bestselling author Lars Brownworth presents the entire story, from the first clash of Christendom and Islam in the dusty sands of Yarmouk, to the fall of the last crusader state. Along the way he introduces the reader to an exotic world peopled by mighty emperors, doomed Templars, grasping generals, and ambitious peasants. Some of the most famous names of the Middle Ages - Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the legendary Prester John - illuminate this era of splendor, adventure, and faith.
Summary of Lars Brownworth's The Sea Wolves
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Vikings were a mysterious group that traveled to many different places and founded many different settlements. They were a very advanced people, but they also had a very harsh climate that they had to deal with. #2 The Vikings were very modern in many ways. They were very conscious of their appearance, and had excellent hygiene. They carefully groomed themselves and generally bathed at least once a day with a lye-rich soap that both bleached their hair and cut down on lice. #3 The Vikings were a brutal people, and they valued courage and despised weakness. They were capable and independent, and they valued life, glory, and wealth. #4 The Vikings had no word for religion. They had a set of general beliefs with extensive local variations. They saw the universe as one of concentric circles: there were nine worlds, most of them invisible, in three distinct realms. The outermost circle was populated by giants and monsters who circled like wolves in the darkness.
Summary of Lars Brownworth's Lost to the West
Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Roman Empire was in decline by the third century, and the Roman people were becoming increasingly apathetic and enervated. The military, which had once been a source of strength for the empire, fell victim to the sickness of the age. #2 The Roman Empire was beginning to fall apart. The economy was suffering, people were becoming scared, and the government was unable to respond to the many problems that were arising. Diocletian decided to split the empire in half, and gave most of the western areas to Maximian, while keeping the more cultured Greek east for himself. #3 Diocletian was the first emper...
Leo the Wise (Byzantium: Rise of the Macedonians)
In the autumn of 886, the newly crowned emperor Leo VI presided over one of the strangest funerals in Byzantine history. The body of the long dead Michael III was dug up from its modest tomb and transported by imperial barge across the Bosporus. There it was carried in an ornate procession to the Church of the Holy Apostles and reverently laid in a sarcophagus that had once belonged to the 5th century emperor Justin I. It was a remarkable honor for a man who had been known in life as Michael the Drunkard, and the watching courtesans couldn’t fail to miss the point. Rumors had swirled in the capital for years that Michael was Leo’s true father and this seemed to dramatically confirm it. For those who looked a step further the audacity was breathtaking. Justin I had been followed on the throne by his far more brilliant nephew. If Michael now occupied his sarcophagus, than the twenty year old Leo had just proclaimed that he was the new Justinian.
The Devil's Library
“Pugh’s first novel is a magnificent achievement. Let us hope he returns to enthral us with another very soon.” David Dickinson, author of the Powerscourt series The Otiosi? As far as Mathew Longstaff knows, they’re just a group of harmless scholars with an eccentric interest in the works of antiquity. When they ask him to travel east, to recover a lost text from Ivan the Terrible’s private library, he can’t think of anything but the reward – home. A return to England and an end to the long years of exile and warfare. But the Otiosi are on the trail of a greater prize than Longstaff realises – the legendary ‘Devil’s Library’. And they are not alone. Gregorio Spina, the ...
Invasion
"Has anybody done more – done as much – as Frank McLynn in writing intelligent, combative, thoroughly researched and thoroughly readable history?" - The Independent Most people know that Britain was invaded by the Romans, by the Vikings and by the Normans. Many will know about the Spanish Armada, launched by Philip II in 1588 to bring Protestant England to submission. But fewer people know that Philip launched a second armada in 1596 or that invasion plans were drawn up by the French in 1692, 1708, 1743, 1756, 1759, 1796 and 1801, and by the French together with the Spanish in 1779. In 1719, Spanish troops even landed in Scotland. Charles XII and Peter the Great wished to invade Britain ...
