The Story of Don John of Austria

Luis Coloma

Sinossi

There was no school in Getafe that afternoon; the sun had stricken down Sancha Apelza, the master's wife, while working on the farm of the Comunero, and she was to receive the last sacraments that night. The children from Leganés were coming back to the village, playing as usual by the way at Moors and Christians. Jeromín always insisted on this, and never would play at Comuneros, or at being Padilla, Adelentado or Bishop Acuña, all recent and popular heroes. He said it was enough for him to be Jeromín and to pretend to cut off the heads of Moors. He entrenched himself in the Canon's well as if it were a castle on a rock, and Pedro Verde defended the orchard of Maricuernos opposite, declaring it to be the Vega of Granada. Jeromín gave the word "Santiago," and from both sides, like bullets from an arquebus, came lumps of soft earth. At this inopportune moment, while the battle was raging along the road from Madrid bordering the orchard of Maricuernos, four mules appeared, harnessed in pairs with long traces to what seemed to be a little wooden house, with two tiny windows and four big wheels. A man was riding the foremost mule on the off side, and another was seated on the roof of the house, guiding the mules with a long stick. Through one of the windows a very fat man with grey moustaches and a pointed beard, could be seen, sitting inside. Four well-armed horsemen and two baggage-mules escorted the unwieldy vehicle. The children were frightened at the sight of this extraordinary machine, such as they had never seen before, but curiosity overcame their fear and they all grouped themselves, very silent, in the orchard of Maricuernos to see it pass closer. The boys' terror increased when they realised that the heavy machine was halting in front of them, and the fat gentleman, putting his head out of window, was asking them very politely whether the Emperor's former guitar-player, Francis Massy, who had married Ana de Medina, a native of the village, still lived there.

Disponibile da: 31/12/2023.

Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

Sound N’ Fury - Rock N’ Roll...

Alan Niven

Most rock ’n’ roll books are a bore. They all have the same narrative arc and are aimed at the dwindling following that now follows an artist that has long passed their AARP date. 
		 
Sound N’ Fury does not have a story arc. It is a collection of anecdotes, like a record comprised of various tracks — each one has its point and purpose. Alan Niven, who guided Guns N’ Roses from the gutter of Los Angeles to Wembley Stadium, shares stories from his remarkable life as a manager with an immediacy delivered by an extraordinary recall of dialogue. Readers will encounter not just Guns N’ Roses (who have sold almost 10 million tickets to their shows) but The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Clarence Clemons, Whitesnake, Elton John, and others who came from humble origins and experienced fame known only to few. Small-town minds collided with worldwide adulation, expectations, and demands. The results are amusing, affirming, and, predictably, disastrous. Keep in mind that rock ’n’ roll is God’s occupation for the unemployable.
		 
Written with a crisp and fluid style, the magnificence and idiocy of the music world will dance off the pages and engross even those who are not rock fans.

Mostra libro

Twelve Years a Slave

Solomon Northup

"They can take your freedom, but they cannot take your identity."

In 1841, Solomon Northup was a professional violinist and family man living in Saratoga Springs, New York. After being lured to Washington D.C. with the promise of work, he was drugged, shackled, and stripped of his name. For the next twelve years, he was passed from master to master in the bayous of Louisiana, enduring the sadistic cruelty of men like Edwin Epps while witnessing the quiet heroism of his fellow enslaved people. Twelve Years a Slave is a visceral, unflinching look at the "peculiar institution" through the eyes of a man who knew both the dignity of liberty and the agony of the lash. It remains a foundational text of American history and a testament to the endurance of the human spirit.

The Mechanics of Oppression: Northup provides a meticulous, almost journalistic description of the economics and daily operations of the slave trade. He details the cultivation of cotton and sugar, the social hierarchies of the plantation, and the psychological warfare used to keep human beings in subjection.

A Quest for Justice: The narrative is propelled by Northup's secret attempts to communicate with his family in the North. His eventual rescue is a heart-stopping moment of tension and triumph, highlighting the legal and social complexities of a divided nation where a man's status as "property" or "person" could depend entirely on the color of his skin and the geography of his location.

Why It Is a Vital Classic: While many narratives were edited to suit political agendas, Northup's account is praised for its stark realism and descriptive power. It provides names, dates, and locations that were later verified by historians, making it one of the most credible and devastating indictments of slavery ever written.

Bear witness to the truth. Purchase "Twelve Years a Slave" today.

Mostra libro

The Boy Who Survived Auschwitz

Adriana Lerman

Levi Lerman was a cheerful and lively boy from the town of Ostrowiec. He was only fourteen years old when his life took an unimaginable turn with the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when the Nazi forces invaded Poland and occupied his hometown.
Over a painful six-year period, Levi endured a harsh life in the Ostrowiec ghetto, suffered devastating losses, performed exhausting forced labor, and survived countless transfers to concentration camps, including the extermination camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In the middle of this torment, a single light guided him through the darkness: his unbreakable determination to live and to protect his father—a strength that helped him survive against all odds.

Mostra libro