Other books that might interest you

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  Alternative History of Britain...

  Timothy Venning

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  With hindsight, the victory of Parliamentarian forces over the Royalists in the English Civil War may seem inevitable but this outcome was not a foregone conclusion. Timothy Venning explores many of the turning points and discusses how they might so easily have played out differently. 
   
   
   
  What if, for example, Charles I had capitalized on his victory at Edgehill by attacking London without delay? Could this have ended the war in 1642? His actual advance on the capital in 1643 failed but came close to causing a Parliamentarian collapse—how could it have succeeded and what then? Among the many other scenarios, full consideration is given to the role of Ireland (what if Papal meddling had not prevented Irish Catholics aiding Charles?) and Scotland (how might Montrose's Scottish loyalists have neutralized the Covenanters?). The author analyzes the plausible possibilities in each thread, throwing light on the role of chance and underlying factors in the real outcome, as well as what might easily have been different.

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  1922: Scenes from a Turbulent...

  Nick Rennison

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  1922 was a year of great turbulence and upheaval. Its events reverberated throughout the rest of the twentieth century and still affect us today, 100 years later. 
   
  Empires fell. The Ottoman Empire collapsed after more than six centuries. The British Empire had reached its greatest extent but its heyday was over. The Irish Free State was declared and demands for independence in India grew. New nations and new politics came into existence. The Soviet Union was officially created and Mussolini's Italy became the first Fascist state. 
   
  In the USA, Prohibition was at its height. The Hollywood film industry, although rocked by a series of scandals, continued to grow. A new mass medium - radio - was making its presence felt and, in Britain, the BBC was founded. In literature it was the year of peak modernism. Both T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and James Joyce's Ulysses were first published in full. 
   
  In society, already changed by the trauma of war and pandemic, the morals of the past seemed increasingly outmoded; new ways of behaving were making their appearance. The Roaring Twenties had begun to roar and the Jazz Age had arrived. 
   
  1922 also saw the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, the arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, the death of Marcel Proust, the election of a new pope, the release of the first major vampire movie, and the brief imprisonment in Munich of an obscure right-wing demagogue named Adolf Hitler. 
   
  In a sequence of vivid sketches, Nick Rennison conjures up all the drama and diversity of an extraordinary year. 
   
  "Its eclecticism worked brilliantly... tremendous, beguiling." WILLIAM BOYD

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  Allegorical Moments - Call to...

  Lyn Hejinian

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  Allegorical Moments is a set of essays dedicated to rethinking allegory and arguing for its significance as a creative and critical response to sociopolitical, environmental, and existential turmoil affecting the contemporary world. Traditionally, allegorical interpretation was intended to express an orthodoxy and support an ideology. Hejinian attempts to liberate allegory from its dogmatic usages. Presenting modern and contemporary materials ranging from the novel to poetry to painting and cinema to activist poetry of the Occupy movement, each essay in the book "begins again" with different materials and from different perspectives. Hejinian's generative scholarship looks back to experimental modernism and forward into a future for a vital, wayward poetry resistant to the crushing global effects of neoliberalism.

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  The Transplantable Roots of...

  Susan Karen Burton

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  Since the first 'Welch' sailor set foot on Japanese shores in the seventeenth century to the present-day presence of high-tech Japanese companies in the Valleys, Wales and Japan are two nations with deeply entwined roots.
  
  Captured in this groundbreaking book is a chorus of modern-day Welsh migrants to Japan. There is Catharine who, in 1965, followed her Japanese husband to an 'out of kilter' house in the seaside town of Zushi; Jac, the 'capitalist ski bum', who guides tourists through the bear-infested wilds of snowy Hokkaidō, while on a volcanic island in the Seto Inland Sea, Simon clears jungle vines to develop his vegan farm.
  
  There are also actors, writers, teachers, an ex-bouncer turned martial artist, a filmmaker, a games localiser, and many more. There are even Japanese fans who promote Welsh culture in their homeland. Together they form a polyphonic group portrait based on oral-history techniques, mixing travel writing, character study and reportage, while proving an ear for natural speech.
  
  Fresh, engaging, with a strong sense of space and place, but above all, a knack for crafting a life story, this volume of documentary literature presents universal themes of work, adventure, reinvention and survival. Here are people discovering and negotiating the land, the life and the culture of Japan, and putting down 'transplantable roots'.
  
  INCLUDES 45 B&W IMAGES

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  How to Become a Public Speaker

  William Pittenger

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  How to Become a Public Speaker by William Pittenger is a comprehensive guide designed to equip aspiring speakers with the necessary tools to communicate effectively and persuasively. Written in an engaging and instructive style, the book explores the fundamental principles of oratory, from organizing thoughts with clarity to delivering speeches with confidence and passion.
   
  Pittenger debunks the myth that great speakers are simply born with talent, asserting that eloquence is a skill that can be cultivated through proper training and practice. He outlines various methods of speech delivery, discusses the importance of imagination and emotion in oratory, and provides practical exercises to enhance vocal strength and articulation. The book also addresses common obstacles such as stage fright and unstructured discourse, offering strategies to overcome these challenges.
   
  For those engaged in public speaking—whether as lecturers, debaters, politicians, clergy, or business professionals—this book remains a timeless and essential resource in the art of persuasive communication.

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  365 Days of Positive...

  Shanae Maya

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  Imagine this book as a special friend to you—the best of friends. That friend who would never talk behind your back, who motivates you when you need it most, who understands you, and who encourages you to always give your best without ever judging, even when everything seems to be going wrong.As a Black woman, I have faced many challenges throughout my life, and thanks to these challenges, I've learned to stay focused and positive when things get tough. I learned that the words we say to ourselves have immense power over our lives and actions.For this very reason, I want to share with you more than 1000 incredibly effective positive affirmations—written specifically for black women—that have the power to positively impact every area of your life. This is possible by dedicating just a few minutes of your time each day.Here's what you will find inside:•	What positive affirmations really are.•	How to get the most out of them.•	The power of visualization.•	Over 1000 of the most effective positive affirmations divided by chapters on: 1) Happiness, 2) Good Relationships, 3) Career & Success, 4) Self-Esteem.The benefits you will receive:•	Boost your motivation and self-esteem.•	Find inner peace from a chaotic world.•	Overcome all your insecurities.•	Replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones.•	Find unconditional love and success.•	Start living your best life.•	And so much more!You have the power to make your own dreams come true, and you are capable of more than you know. Believe in yourself and take the action to make it happen.

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