Other books that might interest you

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  On His Majesty's Service - How...

  Julian Francis Godolphin

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  The commonly held belief that the king or queen is a mere ornament of the constitution could not be further from reality. The turbulent past decade has tested the British constitution like never before, and Brexit, the illegal proroguing of Parliament and the near death of Boris Johnson while in office have demonstrated the often misunderstood but crucial role the sovereign plays in ensuring stability in our political system.
  The king or queen holds a unique set of powers that enable them to act as the defender of our constitution, a duty they perform not through the active use of power but by constitutional authority. The mere threat of action by the sovereign is often all that is needed to get the political machine back on track and avoid crisis.
  Taking us on a fascinating journey through centuries of British political history, focusing on the monarch's powers to appoint and dismiss a Prime Minister, grant a dissolution of Parliament and refuse assent to legislation, On His Majesty's Service examines how past monarchs have avoided constitutional crisis and reveals the hidden hand of the monarchy in the smooth running of the state, shattering the accepted political truism that the king reigns but does not rule.
  These are the king's prerogative powers, and this is their story.

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  The Conquest of Byzantium

  Stefan Zweig

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  The conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by a besieging army of around 80,000 men led by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II ended the Byzantine Empire. The city's defense was in the hands of Emperor Constantine XI, who had 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers at his disposal and, likely, fell during the last storm on the city. The fall of the Byzantine Empire also marked the final rise of the Ottoman Empire to become a major power. The conquest has a high symbolic value in both Turkish and Western European reception; Depending on one's perspective, it is viewed as evidence of imperial greatness or as a beacon of decay and demise. In historiography, the conquest of Constantinople is sometimes cited as one of the events that marked the transition from medieval Europe to modern times.

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  Vikings in the East - From...

  Martyn Whittock

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  In Western Europe, we typically associate Vikings with the storm-tossed waters of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, the deep Scandinavian fjords and the attacks on the monasteries and settlements of north-western Europe. This popular image rarely includes the river systems of Russia and Ukraine, the wide sweep of the Eurasian steppe, the far shores of the Caspian Sea, the incense and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the high walls and towers of the city of Constantinople. Yet for many Viking raiders, traders and settlers, it was the road to the East that beckoned.
  These Viking adventurers founded the Norse–Slavic dynasties of the Rus, which are entangled in the bitterly contested origin myths of Russia and Ukraine. The Rus were the first community in the region to convert to Christianity – in its Eastern Orthodox form – and so they are at the heart of the concept of 'Holy Russia'. Russian rulers have frequently referenced these Norse origins when trying to enhance their power and secure control over the Ukrainian lands, most recently demonstrated by Vladimir Putin as his justification for seizing Crimea and invading Ukraine.
  In this fascinating and timely book, historian Martyn Whittock explores the important but often misunderstood and manipulated role played by the Vikings in the origins of Russian power, the deadly consequences of which we are still living with today.

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  The Love Of Long Ago & Other...

  Marie Corelli

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  A poignant exploration of love, loss, and the passage of time, imbued with a melancholic beauty that mirrors the author’s own reckoning with mortality and the changing tides of literature. 
  This collection of short stories was released just before Corelli’s death, and is unlike any of her other tales. Corelli was the bestselling queen of Victorian romantic fiction, beloved by the public and Queen Victoria herself… but the Great War (WWI) war changed everyone, Corelli included. 
  Gone are the grand romances filled with passion and heartache. In their place are war-torn lives, dangerous naivety, espionage, and the savage gladness that many women felt at their husbands being called to the front. 
  Written in a fractured post-war society, the tales weave together the threads of a bygone era—a time of grand passions and unshakable ideals—with the stark realities of a modern world grappling with disillusionment and grief. Corelli’s signature lyrical prose takes on a deeper, more introspective tone, as her characters navigate the fragile boundaries between memory and reality, hope and despair. Each tale explores an irresolvable conflict, an impossible situation in which one or both players are incapable of reaching across the divide that seperates them.  
  We find a miner in America, upbraiding a missionary for his naivety; a haunting tune that leads the listener across windswept moors on a barren Scottish island; a wealthy American businesswoman, scorning the patriarchy of an English gent; and a monk, hiding an act of shame that fills his every waking moment, desperately trying to find someone to blame other than himself. 
  The Love of Long Ago is a bittersweet farewell from a literary icon, offering readers a glimpse into the soul of an artist who witnessed the end of an era and the dawn of a new, uncertain age. A timeless meditation on love’s enduring power, this novel is both a tribute to the past and a poignant reflection on the fleeting nature of life itself.

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  Toxic Stress - How Stress Is...

  Lawson R. Wulsin

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  Our stress response system is magnificent—it operates beneath our awareness, like an orchestra of organs playing a hidden symphony. When we are healthy, the orchestra plays effortlessly, but what happens when our bodies face chronic stress, and the music slips out of tune? The alarming rise of stress-related conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression, show the price we're paying for our high-pressure living, while global warming, pandemics, and technology have brought new kinds of stress into all our lives. But what can we do about it? Explore the fascinating mysteries of our hidden stress response system with Dr. Wulsin, who uses his decades of experience to show how toxic stress impacts our bodies; he gives us the expert advice and tools needed to prevent toxic stress from taking over. Chapter by chapter, learn to help your body and mind recover from toxic stress.

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  The British Constitution - A...

  Martin Loughlin

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  The British constitution is regarded as unique among the constitutions of the world. What are the main characteristics of Britain's peculiar constitutional arrangements? How has the British constitution altered in response to the changing nature of its state—from England, to Britain, to the United Kingdom? What impact has the UK's developing relations with the European Union caused? 
   
   
   
  These are some of the questions that Martin Loughlin addresses in this Very Short Introduction. As a constitution, it is one that has grown organically in response to changes in the economic, political, and social environment, and which is not contained in a single authoritative text. By considering the nature and authority of the current British constitution, and placing it in the context of others, Loughlin considers how the traditional idea of a constitution came to be retained, what problems have been generated as a result of adapting a traditional approach in a modern political world, looking at what the future prospects for the British constitution are. 
   
   
   
  In this new edition of the Very Short Introduction, Loughlin includes a discussion of the impact of developments over the decade since its first publication, examining Brexit, the Scottish independence referendum of 2014, and the settlement in Northern Ireland.

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