Amazon.com ReviewIt speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that "in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the best on the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressing peasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities of contemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, they waged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all the wastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for the extraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in the hundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars may disagree with his interpretations. From Publishers WeeklyUsing only secondary sources, Manchester plunges readers into the medieval mind-set in a captivating, marvelously vivid popular history that humanizes the tumultuous span from the Dark Ages to the dawn of the Renaissance. He delineates an age when invisible spirits infested the air, when tolerance was seen as treachery and "a mafia of profane popes desecrated Christianity." Besides re-creating the arduous lives of ordinary people, the Wesleyan professor of history peoples his tapestry with such figures as Leonardo, Machiavelli, Lucrezia Borgia, Erasmus, Luther, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Manchester ( The Arms of Krupp ) devotes much attention to Magellan, whose globe-straddling voyage shattered Christendom's implicit belief in Europe as the center of the universe. His portrayal of the Middle Ages as a time when the strong and the shrewd flourished, while the imaginative, the cerebral and the unfortunate suffered, rings true. Illustrations. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 135
A stunning new translation of Mahmoud Darwish's intertwining poetic narrative, presenting a profound portrait of the Palestinian people, the human condition, and Darwish's own hopes and dreams Since Mahmoud Darwish's death, his poetic writings continue to be read by an audience in awe. This is a collection of autobiographical poetry designed to give an insight into the wider human condition. Darwish explores the meaning of life, identity, and the impact of exile. Hailed as the most important Arab poet of the modern day, Darwish's voice has come to represent a generation and the Palestinian people in the midst of the tense political situation in the Middle East. While Darwish explored themes of lost Eden, exile, and life after death, he resisted classification as a spokesperson for the Palestinian cause, and refused to use his art for purely political ends. Darwish's was a nomadic existence, much of it spent in international exile, and these experiences lent his... Views: 133
When we last encountered Donovan Creed, former CIA assassin and free lance killer, he had successfully stolen billions of dollars from the world's most lethal criminals. Now all he wants is a quiet, romantic vacation with the very sexy Rachel—no fire ants, bi-polar girlfriends, rabid squirrels, accident prone homicidal maniacs, hailstorms, hairless cats, gangs, faith healers, or pirates. Views: 131
Years in the making—the definitive biography of the legendary black activist.Of the great figure in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world.Manning Marable's new biography of Malcolm is a stunning achievement. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux... Views: 127
When Buddy Pancake and his buddies stumble across the Wish List website, they jokingly post their “impossible” wishes. Imagine their surprise when the wishes start coming true! But Buddy and his pals neglected to read the fine print and now must pay the price for the wishes they’ve been granted. Wish List is a compelling, nail-biting, laugh-out-loud thriller. Product DescriptionBe careful what you wish for! When Buddy Pancake and his drinking buddies stumble across the Wish List website, they jokingly post their "impossible" wishes. Imagine their surprise when, one by one, the wishes start coming true! But Buddy and his pals neglected to read the fine print explaining the price they must pay for the wishes they've been granted. Wish list is a compelling, nail-biting, laugh-out-loud thriller in the tradition of Saving Rachel. About the AuthorJohn Locke is the international best-selling author of Saving Rachel, Wish List, Lethal People, Lethal Experiment, and Now & Then. All five books are on the Amazon/Kindle Best Seller's List. His latest book, Follow the Stone, was released in February, 2011, and became a Top 10 Western in the space of three days. He lives in Kentucky, where he is working on his sixth Donovan Creed novel, A Girl Like You. Every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, a John Locke novel is downloaded somewhere in the world. Views: 126
"Liberals seem to have hit upon a reverse Christ story as their belief system. He suffered and died for our sins; liberals make the rest of us suffer for sins we didn't commit."Who are the victims here? To hear liberals tell it, you'd think they do nothing but suffer at the hands of ruthless entities like the "Republican Attack Machine" and Fox News.Really?It's just another instance of the Big Lie, of course, told so often that some people have actually started to believe it. In Guilty, Ann Coulter explodes this myth to reveal that when it comes to bullying, no one outdoes the Left. Citing case after case, ranging from the hilariously absurd to the shockingly vicious, Coulter dissects these so-called victims who are invariably the oppressors. For instance:-Single mothers: Getting pregnant isn't like catching the flu. There are volitional acts involved--someone else explain it to Dennis Kucinich. By this purposeful act, single mothers... Views: 123
"Maybe the question isn't what happened to Alan Dershowitz. Maybe it's what happened to everyone else."—PoliticoNew York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz, one of America's most respected legal scholars, shows—with evidence—that he is entirely innocent of the sexual misconduct accusations against him, while suggesting a roadmap for how such allegations should truly be handled in a just society. Alan Dershowitz has been called "one of the most prominent and consistent defenders of civil liberties in America" by Politico and "the nation's most peripatetic civil liberties lawyer and one of its most distinguished defenders of individual rights" by Newsweek. Yet he has come under intense criticism for applying those same principles, and his famed "shoe-on-the-other-foot test," to those accused of sexual misconduct, including his former client Jeffrey Epstein and, now—after being accused by one of Epstein's... Views: 120
Product DescriptionWhat if the best morning of your life suddenly turned into your worst nightmare? Sam Case is about to find out. Saving Rachel is the story of what happens when killers force a man to choose between his wife and his mistress...and the one he rejects must die. But wait--all is not as it appears to be. In fact, nothing is what it appears to be!Saving Rachel is a scary, funny, roller coaster ride through hell, with twists, and turns that will slap your face and suck you in! About the AuthorDuring John Locke's career journey from rock and roll singer-to door-to-door salesman-to the creation of several multi-million dollar companies, he has encountered a wellspring of bizarre people from which to craft his unique characters. He is the author of three novels and two nonfiction books. He lives in Kentucky. Views: 115
