Editorial: e-artnow
Andrew Lang, the author of this book, considers Scotland's history outside the country's ties with England. Lang stresses that the British and Scottish cultures have more differences than those of Britain and America. He gives a detailed and thorough analysis of Scottish history, making this book an exhaustive source of information.
The following topics will be addressed in this book about Great Britain and its history: 1 Horatio Nelson 2 The British Raj 3 The Cathars 4 The Great Fire of London 5 Ghosts of Scotland 6 Scottish History 7 Wars of Scottish Independence 8 William WallaceVer libro
He pulled off what some deem the crime of the century: skyjacking a commercial jetliner, collecting a ransom of $200,000, parachuting off the aft stairs of the Boeing 727 into the night, and simply disappearing. Since November 1971, “D. B. Cooper”—no one knows his real name or identity—has become a figure of enduring fascination and obsession. The FBI pursued him for over forty years, before closing the case and leaving it unsolved. Unsolved, perhaps, but much admired. D. B. Cooper’s exploit over the skies of the American Northwest has inspired books, films, and endless speculation. What’s less known is that it inspired imitators. None were more daring than the hijacker of American Flight 119. After commandeering the flight from St. Louis with a machine gun and collecting $502,500 in ransom, he parachuted out over Indiana. Unlike Cooper, he was tracked down. In The Hijacking of American Flight 119, John Wigger explores the wave of hijackings that swept over commercial flights between 1961 and 1972. One hijacker ran across the ramp in Reno, Nevada, with a pillowcase over his head, gun in hand, to seize a United Airlines flight. Another collected a large ransom in Washington, D.C., before jumping over Honduras. Yet another rode a bicycle across the tarmac with a rifle strapped to the handlebars. Motivations involved an admixture of ideology, greed, derring-do, and a desperate need to be noticed. What they had in common was that their exploits transfixed the nation’s attention, bringing about a transformation in airline security that remains with us still. With its focus on the parachute hijackers, Wigger’s book gathers together the stories of this period of daring criminality and recounts them in gripping fashion, showing their effect on the public, the media, and law enforcement. Using never-before-published interviews and first-hand accounts, he brings to life one of the most chaotic and fascinating periods in American aviation history.Ver libro
The Problems of Philosophy is a 1912 book by Bertrand Russell, in which the author attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy. Focusing on problems he believes will provoke positive and constructive discussion, Russell concentrates on knowledge rather than metaphysics: If it is uncertain that external objects exist, how can we then have knowledge of them but by probability. There is no reason to doubt the existence of external objects simply because of sense data.Ver libro
The Roman Senate, one of the most enduring institutions in ancient history, traces its origins to the very foundation of Rome. Emerging during the early monarchy period, the Senate originally functioned as an advisory body to the king. According to Roman tradition, the Senate was established by Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, who appointed one hundred of the most distinguished men, known as "patres," to serve as the initial senators. These men and their descendants formed the aristocratic class, later known as the patricians. The formation of the Senate marked the beginning of a political structure that would shape Roman governance for centuries. The early Senate's primary role was to offer counsel to the king on matters of state. While its authority was limited under the monarchy, the Senate's influence grew as it represented the city’s elite and carried the weight of collective wisdom. Senators held their positions for life, symbolizing stability and continuity within the Roman state. The Senate's name itself, derived from the Latin word "senex" (meaning old man), emphasized the value placed on experience and elder leadership. During this period, the Senate did not possess legislative or executive power but acted as a stabilizing force, guiding the monarch through complex political and military decisions. The transition from monarchy to republic in the late 6th century BCE marked a significant turning point for the Senate’s role. After the fall of the last Roman king, Tarquin the Proud, the Senate became more central to governance. The expulsion of the monarchy led to the establishment of the Roman Republic, where power was distributed more broadly among elected magistrates. The Senate, now composed mainly of patricians, gained considerable influence as a body that advised the newly formed consuls.Ver libro
Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media. Narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranean walls and sarcophagi of pyramids at Saqqara from the end of the Fifth Dynasty, and throughout the Sixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, and into the Eighth Dynasty of the First Intermediate Period. The oldest of the texts have been dated to c. 2400–2300 BC. Unlike the later Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead, the Pyramid Texts were reserved only for the pharaoh and were not illustrated. The use and occurrence of Pyramid Texts changed between the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt. During the Old Kingdom (2686 BCE – 2181 BCE), Pyramid Texts could be found in the pyramids of kings as well as three queens, named Wedjebten, Neith, and Iput. During the Middle Kingdom (2055 BCE – 1650 BCE), Pyramid Texts were not written in the pyramids of the pharaohs, but the traditions of the pyramid spells continued to be practiced. In the New Kingdom (1550 BCE – 1070 BCE), Pyramid Texts were found on tombs of officials.Ver libro
Demosthenes (384-322 BCE) is regarded as one of the greatest orators of Classical times. This view has persisted through the centuries even though his rousing speeches warning of the dangers of Macedonian expansion - firstly guided by Philip II and then Alexander the Great - failed to stem the course of continued military success. A contemporary of Plato and Aristotle, it is said that Demosthenes undertook arduous measures to cure himself of a stammer by speaking with pebbles in his mouth and perfecting breath control. Starting as a speech writer, he made his mark at an unusually young age (for the time), delivering his first major public speech at the age of 30, advising Athens to build its naval fleet as a defence against the Persians. In fact, it was the ambition of Philip of Macedon that would prove the principal threat. This was recognised by Demosthenes, as shown by the main speeches included in this collection. In the 'Three Olynthiac Orations', Demosthenes outlined the tactics of Philip’s aggression towards Olynthus, an ally of Athens. He urged support for the smaller state, but his words went unheeded until it was too late. Demosthenes’s increasingly unrestrained language - at one point he calls Philip ‘a barbarian’ - did not endear him to the Macedonian regime. The 'Olynthiac Orations' are followed by the 'Three Philippics', which chart further military activity by the aforementioned Philip. In between the second and third 'Philippics' comes ‘On the Peace’: a speech given during a short diplomatic space engineered by Philip, but which Demosthenes clearly highlighted as an armistice rather than anything permanent. This ‘Philip’ section ends with ‘The Oration on the Letter'. Philip sent a letter to Athens, which implied that war, again, was imminent. Demosthenes responded with characteristic boldness. The final speech on this recording is ‘On the Crown’, addressing a very different matter. The Athenian statesman Ctesiphon proposed that Demosthenes should be honoured with the ‘golden crown’ for his service to the city. This was opposed by Aeschines, a long-standing enemy of Demosthenes in Athenian politics. In the court case that followed (330 BCE), Demosthenes successfully defended Ctesiphon in a speech later described as ‘the greatest speech of the greatest orator in the world'. Each of the orations in this collection is preceded with an introduction setting the scene, and outlining the context in which they were delivered. This also gives a concise picture of Athens at this difficult point in its history. Eight years later, when in danger of being captured and imprisoned by the young Alexander who was angered by decades of eloquent and unrestrained opposition, Demosthenes committed suicide. All the speeches are prefaced by the historical setting. Translations by Arthur Wallace Pickard and Charles Rann Kennedy.Ver libro
