Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Clubland: How the working men’s...

  Pete Brown

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  The untold story of a British institution 
  ‘Brilliant.’ Alan Johnson 
  ‘Compelling.’ David Kynaston 
  ‘The beer drinkers’ Bill Bryson.’ Times Literary Supplement 
  Ferment Magazine’s Best Beer Book of the Year 
  Pete Brown is a convivial guide on this journey through the intoxicating history of the working men’s clubs. From the movement’s founding by teetotaller social reformer the Reverend Henry Solly to the booze-soaked mid-century heyday, when more than 7 million Brits were members, this warm-hearted and entertaining book reveals how and why the clubs became the cornerstone of Britain’s social life – offering much more than cheap Federation Bitter and chicken in a basket. 
  Often dismissed as relics of a bygone age – bastions of bigotry and racism – Brown reminds us that long before the days of Phoenix Nights, 3,000-seat venues routinely played host to stars like Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong, and the Bee Gees, offering entertainment for all the family, and close to home at that. Britain’s best-known comedians made reputations through a thick miasma of smoke, from Sunniside to Skegness. For a young man growing up in the pit town of Barnsley this was a radiant wonderland that transformed those who entered. 
  Brown explores the clubs’ role in defining masculinity, community and class identity for generations of men in Britain’s industrial towns. They were, at their best, a vehicle for social mobility and self-improvement, run as cooperatives for working people by working people: an informal, community-owned pre-cursor to the Welfare State. 
  As the movement approaches its 160th anniversary, this exuberant book brings to life the thrills and the spills of a cultural phenomenon that might still be rescued from irrelevance. 
  Pete Brown's Clubland is a cultural exploration of the British institution, weaving humour and criticism into the narrative. The book delves into the popular topic of beverages, specifically alcoholic ones, and their role in shaping regional and ethnic identities. 
  For fans of Adrian Tierney-Jones (London Local Pubs), Albert Jack (The Old Dog and Duck), David Kynaston (A Northern Wind), Marc Morris (Castles), and Christopher Mcdougall (Born to Run). 
  HarperCollins 2022

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  A Shadowing of Angels

  W T Delaney

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  A Shadowing of Angels is now available as an audiobook from Author's Republic. The book unfolds in the murky and dangerous world of covert intelligence collection and the 'Circuit; the name given by private military contractors to UK-based security companies. Set in 2016 this adrenaline-fueled spy-based adventure novel highlights the ongoing struggle against the evil of the Islamic State. Samantha Holloway is a highly trained intelligence operative and special forces officer working on the Circuit when an American hostage is snatched by ISIS in Iraq. Sam's team is contracted to launch a search and rescue mission.  The search starts in London starts amongst radical Islamist organisations and reaches its climax in the very heart of darkness- the Iraqi town of Mosul, then under the demonic control of Daesh.  A Shadowing of Angels is the first book of the Sam Holloway Trilogy. All three interlinked novels are all based against a factual historical backdrop. The writer had drawn on his own experiences of working as an intelligence officer in both Iraq and Afghanistan to craft the story. The narrator was there with him.***** Brilliant, Delaney's background nails the authenticity once again...'***** A cracking listen that had me hooked to the end...'***** Realistic that races off the page. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Brad Thor.'***** Wow!! What a cracking book!!!***** This is essentially a ‘rattling good yarn’, a highly topical good vs evil adventure story, fast-paced and packed with incident, that grips the reader’s attention from the start through to the tense and violent climax.***** Gives a great insight into the world of intelligence-based operations in one of the world’s most dangerous places. Moves at breakneck speed from the UK to the Middle East, ***** A real page-turner!***** Delaney is a tour de force! I literally couldn't put this book down. He makes the complex murky world of counterintelligence infinitely entertaining. Loved it!

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  The Tainos - Rise and Decline of...

  Irving Rouse

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  Drawing on archeological and ethno-historical evidence, Irving Rouse sketches a picture of the Tainos—the first people Columbus encountered when he arrived in the Americas—as they existed during the time of Columbus, contrasting their customs with those of their neighbors. He then moves backward in time to the ancestors of the Tainos—two successive groups who settled the West Indies and who are known to archeologists as the Saladoid peoples and the Ostionoid peoples. By reconstructing the development of these groups and studying their interaction with other groups during the centuries before Columbus, Rouse shows precisely who the Tainos were. He vividly recounts Columbus's four voyages, the events of the European contact, and the early Spanish views of the Tainos, particularly their art and religion. The narration shows that the Tainos did not long survive the advent of Columbus. Weakened by forced labor, malnutrition, and diseases introduced by the foreigners, and dispersed by migration and intermarriage, they ceased to exist as a separate population group. 
   
   
   
  As Rouse discusses the Tainos' contributions to the Spaniards—from Indian corn, tobacco, and rubber balls to art, artifacts, and new words—we realize that their effect on Western civilization, brief through their contact, was an important and lasting one.

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  History of Finland: A...

  Captivating History

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  Finnish culture is centuries old, yet Finland itself has only been an independent nation for just over one hundred years.  
  Finland’s history is an interesting subject filled with misconceptions. Would you be surprised to learn that the Finns, for the most part, were not Vikings? Or that Finland is not part of Scandinavia? The Finns are not even related to their closest neighbors: Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. 
  This book pulls back the curtain so you can get a better look at Finland’s history. Its history is exciting, even without the Vikings, and its proximity to Russia is something that is still talked about in the news today. 
  In 2022, moves were made for the nation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland has entered a new phase of its history. But wouldn’t you like to learn about its past? 
  In this book, you’ll learn the following:The ancient Finnish did not worship the famous Norse gods like Thor and Odin.The national poem of Finland, the Kalevala, explores the ancient Finnish creation myth and the gods and heroes of Finland’s distant past.The history of Finland and Sweden are intertwined; Finland was part of Sweden for five hundred years!Finland was also part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1917.The Finns fought a heroic struggle against the Russians in 1939/40, which inspired the world and inspires Finns today.The Finn who commanded Finland’s armies during that struggle, Marshal Mannerheim, was of Swedish/German descent and did not speak Finnish particularly well. Yet, in 2004, he was voted the “greatest Finn of all time.”Finnish is one of the most unique languages in the world.And much, much more! 
  So, what are you waiting for? Click the “add to cart” button to begin learning about Finland today!

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  Areopagitica

  John Milton

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  John Milton is renowned for his poetry, yet during most of his lifetime he was best known as a writer of prose, both celebrated and denounced for his fiery polemics in an era of religious and political controversy, radical pamphleteering and civil war. This annotated edition of his major English prose writings includes Milton's tractates in favour of divorce, on progressive education, in defence of the execution of Charles I and the new Republican state, and Areopagitica, his famous attack on censorship and call for a free press. Rhetorical, powerful, heterodox, these are monuments to the ideals of liberty and free speech from a master of English prose.

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  Hidden Mercy - AIDS Catholics...

  Michael J. O'Loughlin

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  The 1980s and 1990s, the height of the AIDS crisis in the United States, was decades ago now, and many of the stories from this time remain hidden: A Catholic nun from a small Midwestern town packs up her life to move to New York City, where she throws herself into a community under assault from HIV and AIDS. A young priest sees himself in the many gay men dying from AIDS and grapples with how best to respond, eventually coming out as gay and putting his own career on the line. A gay Catholic with HIV loses his partner to AIDS and then flees the church, focusing his energy on his own health rather than fight an institution seemingly rejecting him. 
   
   
   
  Set against the backdrop of the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the late twentieth century and the Catholic Church's crackdown on gay and lesbian activists, journalist Michael O'Loughlin searches out the untold stories of those who didn't look away, who at great personal cost chose compassion. 
   
   
   
  This is one journalist's—gay and Catholic himself—compelling picture of those quiet heroes who responded to human suffering when so much of society told them to look away. These pure acts of compassion and mercy offer us hope and inspiration as we continue to confront existential questions about what it means to be Americans, Christians, and human beings responding to those most in need.

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