Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Tamerlane: The Life and Legacy...

  Editors Charles River

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  Though history is usually written by the victors, the lack of a particularly strong writing tradition from the Mongols ensured that history was largely written by those who they vanquished. Because of this, their portrayal in the West and the Middle East has been extraordinarily (and in many ways unfairly) negative for centuries, at least until recent revisions to the historical record. The Mongols have long been depicted as wild horse-archers galloping out of the dawn to rape, pillage, murder and enslave, but the Mongol army was a highly sophisticated, minutely organized and incredibly adaptive and innovative institution, as witnessed by the fact that it was successful in conquering enemies who employed completely different weaponry and different styles of fighting, from Chinese armored infantry to Middle Eastern camel cavalry and Western knights and men-at-arms. Likewise, the infrastructure and administrative corps which governed the empire, though largely borrowed from the Chinese, was inventive, practical, and extraordinarily modern and efficient. This was no fly-by-night enterprise but a sophisticated, complex, and extremely well-oiled machine.  
  	Aside from Genghis and his grandson Kublai Khan, the most famous Mongol conqueror was Tamerlane, who dominated Eurasia in the 14th century. He was known by the name Timur in Asia, while the Europeans used the name Tamerlane, which came from the Persian Timur-i-Leng, meaning “Timur the Lame.” This was intended to be an insult referring to crippling injuries he received to his right leg and arm as a young man, probably from arrows, but clearly his injuries did not prevent him from spending much of his lifetime in the saddle. Tamerlane came from a Turkicized Mongol tribe, the Barlas, which had several constituent sub-clans. A number of original Mongol tribes had migrated west, where the majority of the population was Turkish, and over time, the Mongols blended with the Turks.

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  Oscar Wilde - Quotes Poems and...

  Kelly Mass

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  Oscar Wilde was a wild one. His statements were bold, his career was successful, and his tongue was sharp. Not only did he disturb the common narrative of the nuclear family, the Catholic church, and the idea of patriotism, but he also blew many people away with his defense of his principles, his criticism on the state, philosophies on life itself, and more. 
  Being open about being a homosexual in a time when it was unaccepted and even illegal, his life ended in imprisonment and exile. Yet, despite his orientation and his controversial preferences, his prose and poetry did not suffer. His travels through Europe taught him many fascinating lessons, which he expressed in his acting, his writing, and his conversations. 
  Learn more about why Oscar Wilde has been quoted often, referred to in deep literature, and noted in the history of arts and authorship as an exceptional figure.

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  Under an August Moon

  Dr. James A. Douglas

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  Humans often gravitate toward toxicity, dazed by love and familiarity. This blind compliance traps them, demonstrating how easily attachment can obscure clarity and affix them to unhealthy environments. James Douglas's book Under an August Moon is a coarse and intimate memoir that outlines the severe undermining of a toxic relationship. Beginning with the heartache of personal loss and moving through the rough stages of an abusive marriage, Douglas incorporates a story that is as emotionally engrossing as it is brutally honest. Furthermore, the book grasps the sophistications of love, betrayal, and self-discovery in a setting of small-town life and societal intimidations. One quality that makes this account distinctive is its analysis of the psychological toll of manipulation and gaslighting. Here, Douglas shares the subtle early warning signs that many overlook, presenting a stimulating consideration of how easily love can morph into control. His unrestrained narrative urges readers into the emotional delicacies of his journey—from moments of transient happiness to the suffocating hold of abuse. Fundamentally, this book attests to stability and the intrepidity required to reframe one's identity. Douglas's journey proposes hope to anyone entangled in the shadows of toxic relationships, illustrating that freedom, though messy, is always within reach.

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  Ink Sketches for Wellness -...

  Susan Montgomery

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  Noisy eyeballs, fatigue, brain fog, digestive distress... symptoms and conditions that no one can see. 
  Do chronic health conditions have you living in a dark place? 
  The poems within tell a story of anger, struggle, sadness, and hope. 
  Susan paints a picture of her life with chronic medical conditions and invisible disabilities that will take you on a wild journey. Dark humor, creative rhyming, repetition, and rhythm are combined to create expressive verses. 
  Imagine being able to "fix" yourself with twine or silly putty. Picture what your confused brain looks like with bandages and scuff marks. Laughter and silliness have helped Susan get through some of her most difficult times. She explores everything from her rare ear condition to her autoimmune disease. 
  It is her hope that readers will see that humor can be found in the darkest of places, situations, and feelings. She shows that even with challenges and struggles, it is possible to find a path to wellness, whatever that may look like…You may just have to sketch your way there.

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  The End Is the Beginning - A...

  Jill Bialosky

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  Jill Bialosky, the poet behind the “tender, absorbing, and deeply moving memoir” (Entertainment Weekly) History of a Suicide, returns with a lyrical portrait of her mother’s life, told in reverse order from burial to birth. 
    
  When Iris Yvonne Bialosky died in an assisted care facility on March 29, 2020, it unleashed a torrent of emotions in her daughter, Jill Bialosky. Grief, of course, but also guilt, confusion, and doubt, all of which were compounded by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic which made it impossible for Jill to be with her mother as she was dying and to attend her mother’s funeral. 
    
  Now, with a poet’s eye for detail and a novelist’s flair for storytelling, Jill presents a profoundly moving elegy unlike any other. Starting with her mother’s end and the physical/cognitive decline that led her to a care home, The End Is the Beginning explores Iris’s battle with depression, the tragedy of a daughter’s suicide, a failed second marriage, the death of her beloved first husband only five years into their young marriage, her joyful teenage years, and the trauma of losing her own mother at just eight years old. Compounding her challenges of raising four daughters without a livelihood or partner, Iris’s life coincided with an age of unstoppable social change and reinvention, when the roles of wife and mother she was raised to inhabit ceased to be the guarantors of stability and happiness. 
    
  As we see Iris become younger and younger, we learn how we are all the sum of our experiences. Iris becomes a multi-dimensional, fascinating woman. We come to understand her difficulties and shortcomings, her neediness and her generosity, her pride and her despair. The End Is the Beginning is not just a family memoir, it is a brave and compassionate celebration of a woman’s life and death and a window into a daughter’s inextricable bond to her mother. 
    
  “Exquisitely written … [Bialosky] expresses deeply poignant feelings and insights … spellbinding.”—Booklist

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  The Second Coming of Napoleon -...

  Marcus Draysun

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  The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, is widely regarded as one of history’s most decisive conflicts. It marked the end of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign and the beginning of a new European order. However, had the battle played out differently—had Napoleon emerged victorious—France and the world would have been set on an entirely new course. 
  A French victory at Waterloo was not an impossibility. Napoleon, despite being outnumbered, was still a military genius who had orchestrated countless triumphs before. His strategy depended on dividing and defeating the Anglo-Allied and Prussian forces separately before they could fully unite. For much of the battle, the French had the upper hand, with their artillery hammering British lines and their cavalry sowing chaos among enemy ranks. 
  One key turning point was the delayed arrival of Marshal Grouchy and his troops. Had Grouchy pursued and effectively neutralized the Prussian forces under Blücher, Napoleon would have been able to concentrate his full strength on Wellington’s forces, likely forcing them into retreat. With the British lines collapsing and no reinforcements arriving, the battlefield could have been transformed from a site of French defeat into one of Napoleon’s most remarkable victories.

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