Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Islamic Invasions of Europe The:...

  Charles River Editors

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  The history of the Spanish Peninsula is closely bound to that of the Moors. The term “Spain” was not in wide use until the region was united by the monarchs of Aragon and Castile, and the Moors called the lands they ruled in the Iberian Peninsula Al-Andalus, traditionally thought to be an Arabic transliteration of Vandal, the Germanic tribe which briefly ruled the region in the early fifth century. The English name Andalusia derives from the Spanish Andalucia, which is still used by Spain to name its southern region. 
  	Not surprisingly, three religions attempting to coexist during medieval times resulted in nearly incessant conflicts, marked by high taxation, disparate societies, rigid cultural controls, and systemic violence. Despite the odds, these three religions managed to live in a state of quasi-acceptance and peace in most of the major cities in the Iberian Peninsula like Cordoba and Tolaydough, with sporadic warfare occurring on the borders between Al-Andalus and the Christian kingdoms near the Pyrenees Mountains. Muslims, Christians, and Jews would attempt to reorganize their societies several times over the centuries through warfare, always with Jews on the lower rungs and Christians and Muslims fighting it out above them.  
  	The end of the Byzantine Empire had a profound effect not only on the Middle East but Europe as well. Constantinople had played a crucial part in the Crusades, and the fall of the Byzantines meant that the Ottomans now shared a border with Europe. The Islamic empire was viewed as a threat by the predominantly Christian continent to their west, and it took little time for different European nations to start clashing with the powerful Turks. In fact, the Ottomans would clash with Russians, Austrians, Venetians, Polish, and more before collapsing as a result of World War I, when they were part of the Central Powers. 

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  The Sniper - The Untold Story of...

  Jim Lindsay, Chuck Mawhinney

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  Jim Lindsay's The Sniper reveals, for the first time ever, the full story of the deadliest sniper in Marine Corps history, Chuck Mawhinney, who served in the Vietnam war at age 18—written with his full cooperation and participation.Charles "Chuck" Mawhinney is a United States Marine who holds the Corps' record for the most confirmed sniper kills (and the second most of any US service member in history), having recorded 103 confirmed kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War. He was also the youngest—killing the enemy as a teenager.In 1967, at the age of 18, Mawhinney joined the Marines and began his assent from recruit to the Marine Corps’ deadliest sniper. During his tours—in one of the most dangerous war zones of Vietnam—his character and charisma helped him deal with life and death in a hell hole with other young men a long way from home.After Vietnam, Mawhinney married and settled into his post-war life, raised a family, and was content that no one knew of his accomplishments in war. Then in 1991 he was startled and dismayed when outed by a fellow Marine sniper, Joseph Ward, who spoke of Mawhinney’s number of kills in his book, Dear Mom. Newspapers picked up the story and Mawhinney’s life changed forever. The notoriety troubled him at first, but then he accepted the fame and used the opportunity to train service men and lawmen in the art of long-distance shooting.At last, Chuck's full story is told, including his heroic exploits in battle and the terrible toll that taking a life exerts on a human being.A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

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  Pandemic Panic - How Canadian...

  Joanna Baron, Christine Van Geyn

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  In October 2022, the economist Emily Oster wrote a plea for a “pandemic amnesty.” After detailing various ill-conceived public health policies throughout the pandemic, Oster concluded that “The standard saying is that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. But dwelling on the mistakes of history can lead to a repetitive doom loop as well.” She reasoned that many admittedly poor, public health decisions were made in an information vacuum and that the salubrious thing to do going forward would be to forgive and forget.
  		 
  Oster was concerned about the fraying social fabric because of polarizing online discourse and urged the need to move forward. However, our anecdotal experience has shown a second common response to pandemic mishaps—going blank entirely on what occurred during the pandemic. We have observed a phenomenon of the surreal, sometimes inane, often unprecedented and unusual public health measures taken over the roughly three-year pandemic period being a “memory hole,” where the mind completely fogs over. Many times in the course of writing this book, we have messaged one another upon unearthing one public policy absurdity upon another: the City of Toronto taping off cherry blossoms, Quebec requiring unvaccinated people to be chaperoned in plexiglass carts through the essential aisles of big-box stores.
  		 
  We are not psychologists, but no doubt there is an evolutionary benefit to allowing a collective trauma to dissolve into the slip-stream: it is unproductive to dwell on how we got by and how our government coped in real-time. Our memories are warped, first, by the “primacy effect” our tendency to remember “firsts” exemplified by people universally naming George Washington when asked to recall former U.S. presidents. Most people have a crystal clear memory of the moment their plague year started in earnest; for us and many others; it was March 11, 2020, the day the NBA suspended games for the rest of the season.

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  Horace - A Very Short Introduction

  Llewelyn Morgan

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  Horace was one of the greatest poets during the reign of Augustus and is seen as mark of cultural sophistication since this time. This Very Short Introduction examines how Horace's poetry has exerted enormous influence but argues that it is best understood within the traditions of ancient literature. 
   
   
   
  Llewellyn Morgan guides the listener through the dizzying vagaries of Horace's biography, which reflects the political and social instability of the period. His poetry, and the life he artfully constructs and presents to us in it, engages both with the greatest crisis that Rome had ever faced, and its resolution by the first Emperor. Horace is Rome's laureate, and through him we experience the anxieties and triumphs of his age. For posterity, Horace has served for a model of the good life, a promoter of enlightened retirement, but has also exemplified poetic artistry, and is the most creative manipulator of the Latin language, even among his remarkable contemporaries.

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  The Glorious Revolution -...

  Nova Ashford

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  The Glorious Revolution of 1688 was not an event that occurred overnight; it was the culmination of years of political, religious, and social tensions in England. By the late 17th century, England was experiencing a period of instability and growing unrest, especially regarding the power of the monarchy versus the authority of Parliament. King James II, who ascended the throne in 1685, was a deeply polarizing figure. His reign would ignite the political crisis that eventually led to what would become known as the Glorious Revolution—a bloodless overthrow of the monarchy that profoundly reshaped English government and society. 
  James II, a devout Catholic, introduced policies that alarmed the predominantly Protestant English population. He sought to expand royal power at the expense of Parliament, leading to widespread fear of a return to Catholicism and absolute monarchy, similar to the reigns of his predecessors. His attempts to grant religious tolerance to Catholics and appoint them to high government and military positions created a rift between him and Parliament, which was largely controlled by Protestants. Moreover, his apparent disregard for the Protestant majority's concerns about his intentions deepened the divide between the monarchy and the English people. 
  At the same time, the political landscape of England was undergoing significant changes. The Whigs and Tories, the two major political factions of the time, were increasingly at odds over issues of religion and royal power. The Whigs, with their preference for constitutional monarchy and limited royal power, were particularly opposed to James II’s policies. They sought to preserve the Protestant faith and limit the king’s ability to impose his will without Parliament’s consent. On the other hand, the Tories, while still supportive of the monarchy, became increasingly wary of James's actions and the possibility of his dynastic line establishing a Catholic monarchy in England.

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  Outsourcing Duty - The Moral...

  Bradley J. Strawser, Michael J....

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  Are contemporary soldiers exploited by the state and society that they defend? More specifically, have America's professional service members disproportionately carried the moral weight of America's war-fighting decisions since the inception of an all-volunteer force? In this volume, Michael J. Robillard and Bradley J. Strawser examine the question of whether and how American soldiers have been exploited in this way. 
   
   
   
  Robillard and Strawser offer an original theory of "moral exploitation"—the notion that persons or groups can be wrongfully exploited by being made to shoulder an excessive amount of moral weight. They make the case that this exploitation accurately describes the relationship between the United States and the members of its military, and offer an in-depth analysis of some of the exploitative and misleading elements of present-day military recruitment, the moral burdens soldiers often bear, and the stifling effect that a "Thank You for Your Service" and "I support the troops" culture has had on serious public engagement about America's ongoing wars. Robillard and Strawser offer a critique of the pernicious divide between military members and the civilians who direct them. They conclude by arguing for several normative and prudential prescriptions to help close this ever-widening fissure between the US and its military, and within the US itself.

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