Other books that might interest you

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  Hamilcar Barca: The Life and...

  Editors Charles River

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  Carthage was one of the great ancient civilizations, and at its peak, the wealthy Carthaginian empire dominated the Mediterranean against the likes of Greece and Rome, with commercial enterprises and influence stretching from Spain to Turkey. In fact, at several points in history it had a very real chance of replacing the fledgling Roman empire or the failing Greek poleis (city-states) altogether as master of the Mediterranean. Although Carthage by far preferred to exert economic pressure and influence before resorting to direct military power (and even went so far as to rely primarily on mercenary armies paid with its vast wealth for much of its history, it nonetheless produced a number of outstanding generals, from the likes of Hanno Magnus to, of course, the great bogeyman of Roman nightmares himself: Hannibal.  
  	Certain foreign policy decisions led to continuing enmity between Carthage and the burgeoning power of Rome, and what followed was a series of wars which turned from a battle for Mediterranean hegemony into an all-out struggle for survival. Although the Romans gained the upper hand in the wake of the First Punic War, the Carthaginians brought the Romans to their knees for over a decade during the Second Punic War. Of course, they were led in Italy by the legendary Hannibal Barca, who maintained his army near Rome for nearly 15 years, but never attempted to march on Rome.  
  	One overlooked figure in the Punic Wars is Hamilcar Barca, who is now best remembered for being Hannibal’s father. However, before Hannibal marched out of Spain, it was Hamilcar who had positioned forces there, and he was already a significant historical figure in his own right. Indeed, had it not been for his death, his legacy likely would have been more important than that of his illustrious son, who is now remembered as one of history’s greatest generals. 

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  Bare Knuckle Boxing - The Truth...

  Stu Armstrong

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  "Bare Knuckle Boxing - The Truth, The Blood & The Tears" by Stu Armstrong is a raw and unfiltered look into the gritty world of bare-knuckle boxing, a sport that has exploded in popularity in recent years. Armstrong, having worked directly within the sport, offers readers an insider's view of its controversies, including dirty tricks and hidden secrets that have long remained out of public view. 
  Bare-knuckle boxing, often considered the purest form of pugilism, strips away the gloves and the formalities of traditional boxing, leaving behind an intense and primal combat experience. Armstrong aims to lift the veil on the sport's inner workings, revealing both the brutal reality and the passion that fuels its fighters. 
  This book is poised to challenge perceptions and present the sport in a light that is both brutally honest and potentially shocking. If you're ready for the raw truth behind the blood and tears of bare-knuckle boxing, this is the book that delivers.

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  Aristocratic Education - From...

  Stephen Leacock

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  Stephen P H Butler Leacock FRSC was born on the 30th December 1869 in Swanmore, near Southampton, England, the third of eleven children. 
  The family emigrated to Canada in 1876 to live on a 100-acre farm in Sutton, Ontario.  There Leacock was home-schooled and later enrolled into the elite private school Upper Canada College in Toronto.  Academically he was very strong and enrolled at the University of Toronto to study languages and literature.  He left there after his alcoholic father abandoned the family and finances were too stretched to continue his attendance.  He now enrolled in a three-month course at Strathroy Collegiate Institute to become a qualified high school teacher and with it a regular income. 
  Leacock published humorous articles in many Canadian and US magazines but his real passion was economics and political theory.  In 1899 he enrolled for postgraduate studies at the University of Chicago and earned his PhD in 1903. 
  His marriage to Beatrix Hamilton produced a single child 15 years later.  Over time father and son developed a love-hate relationship, partially caused by his son’s diminutive stature of only four feet.  
  He accepted a post at McGill University and kept it until he retired in 1936.  His work ‘Elements of Political Science’, was adopted as a standard textbook for two decades and was also his most profitable.  He now also began public speaking and lecturing.  
  In 1910, he privately printed some articles as ‘Literary Lapses’.  It was then released by a recognised publisher, and he became a commercially successful writer.  His collections of light-hearted whimsy, parody, nonsense, and satire were now frequently published along with biographies and several award-winning volumes on Canada. 
  Politically Leacock was a difficult creature.  He opposed women’s right to vote, was a champion of Empire but advocated social welfare legislation and wealth redistribution, but he often caused friction with his racist views. 
  Leacock has been forgotten as an economist, but it’s often said that in 1911 more people had heard of him than had heard of Canada.  For the decade after 1915 Leacock was the most popular humorist in the English-speaking world. 
  Stephen Leacock died on 28th March 1944 of throat cancer in Toronto, Canada.  He was 74.

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  The Trillion Dollar Conman - The...

  Ben Robinson

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  Based on the hit BBC 5Live podcast series, The Trillion Dollar Conman is an audacious tale of an international fraud that is stranger than fiction. 
   
  In 2009, Notts County FC were on the brink of bankruptcy when they were taken over by a mysterious company supposedly backed by the Bahraini royal family. The club was promised millions of pounds worth of investment and a list of marquee players, including Sol Campbell and Kasper Schmeichel were signed, in a recruitment drive led by former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, who was appointed to take the club all the way to the Premier League. 
   
  However, within weeks, as the bills began to pile up, the dream came tumbling down as it transpired that the club, the players and the fans had been tricked by a convicted fraudster called Russell King. 
  The world's oldest professional football club found itself at the centre of one of the most outlandish frauds in sporting and world history, which spanned the globe from Nottingham to North Korea, involving fake sheikhs, fast cars, broken promises and a trail of destruction.

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  Politics Power and Principle -...

  Ismail Serageldin

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  I am one of the many admirers of Shakespeare's genius. I have even written a book about his unique ability to remain relevant to our contemporary concerns. The work was titled The Modernity of Shakespeare1 and it was very well received, and even earned a very laudatory foreword by W ole Soyinka, Nobel laureate in Literature, and professor of English literature. So it is no surprise that when I founded the New Library of Alexandria in Egypt, I also organized an annual Shakespeare event - usually organized on the 23rd of April if at all possible - in which many eminent literary critics participated. And as we focused on the plays rather than the long poems or the sonnets, some actors and occasionally cinematographers also participated. Students from the departments of English in many universities across Egypt, also invariably participated.
  At that annual event I usually presented a special lecture on Shakespeare. This went on for almost 15 years.

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  Black and Neurodiverse: "The...

  Oluseyitan Ojedokun

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  Insight into the life of a Neurodiverse Black girl from the Midlands, as she embarks on her journey through the UK school system. This book unveils and highlights the unique experiences of neurodiverse people of colour and the many challenges they face. In this book, 24-year-old, British-Nigerian, Oluseyitan Ojedokun gives an account of her struggles through school. She shares the many dreams and goals she had, despite the feeling of constant dismay.

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