Showing results by narrator "Julian Elfer" in All Categories

In the hallowed halls of Oxford’s Merlin College, the most talented - and highest born - sons of the Kingdom of Britain are taught the intricacies of magickal theory. But what dazzles can also destroy, as Gray Marshall is about to discover.… Gray’s deep talent for magick has won him a place at Merlin College. But when he accompanies four fellow students on a mysterious midnight errand that ends in disaster and death, he is sent away in disgrace - and without a trace of his power.

In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Berry offers a balanced and nuanced view of this seminal thinker, embedding his fierce defense of free trade, competition, and assault on special interests in contemporary European history, politics, and philosophy. As Berry explores, Smith was more than an economist. In addition to his two major works he also wrote a pioneering study of the history of astronomy as an illustration of the motivations that drive humans to seek answers to questions.

For the first time, the real inside story of Bitcoin is laid bare—a story with greed, power, and betrayal at its heart. With firsthand interviews with the man most likely to be Bitcoin’s inventor and those who have fought with him to ensure Bitcoin fulfills its positive and potentially world-changing purpose, Hero / Villain: Satoshi: The Man Who Built Bitcoin serves as an important book in the context of a world where cryptocurrency is in turmoil.

Jomier has reached the age of retirement, his children are grown up and his wife, after having an affair, has left him. Embittered and humiliated, he lives alone in London, mourning the disintegration of his marriage as he broods about the past and the present. When he falls for Judith, things begin to improve. Yet he still cannot escape his old habits and it is only when his daughter falls ill that he begins to reassess his feelings toward those he loves and his ability to forgive.

In The Most Human Right, Eric Heinze explains why global human rights systems have failed. International organizations constantly report on how governments manage human goods, such as fair trials, humane conditions of detention, healthcare, or housing. But to appease autocratic regimes, experts have ignored the primacy of free speech. Heinze argues that goods become rights only when citizens can claim them publicly and fearlessly: free speech is the fundamental right, without which the very concept of a “right” makes no sense. 

After being called up for National Service in July 1960, twenty-year-old Chas Hall joined the RAF and signed on to extend his time for an extra three years becoming a regular serviceman. He got his first foreign posting in late 1961 to Christmas Island. It was on this island, that Chas encountered the horrors of nuclear testing. In an operation codenamed "Brigadoon" by the British government and "Dominic" by the Americans, Chas experienced twenty-five atmospheric nuclear tests.

Driven by prophetic dreams, the Viking warrior Shef has become the One King, the undisputed ruler of the North. Now he must face the reborn power of the Holy Roman Empire. Rome threatens Shef's fearsome Viking navy with a new invention of unparalleled destruction: Greek fire. Unable to defend his fleet against this awesome weapon, Shef travels East in search of new wisdom. His quest leads him to the lavish court of the Muslim Caliph and, ultimately, to the secret hiding place of the Holy Grail.

A craftsman, visionary, and warrior, Shef has risen from slavery to become king of a mighty Viking nation. But his growing kingdom menaces all of Europe, and he has made many powerful enemies. Chief among his enemies are the Knights of the Lance, a fanatical order of soldiers sworn to bring Shef down, no matter what the cost.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was perhaps the most dramatic single event of the Cold War and a major turning point in history. Though it ended unsuccessfully, the spontaneous uprising of Hungarians against their country's Communist party and the Soviet occupation forces in the wake of Stalin's death demonstrated to the world at large the failure of Communism. 

Being a good lover isn't easy. With more freedom, knowledge, and body awareness, today's woman knows better than to settle for predictable, performance-based sex. Tantric Secrets for Men offers everything a man needs to know in order to satisfy a woman's physical, emotional, and spiritual yearnings. Employing the ancient secrets of physical ecstasy, men learn to transform rote sex into passionate lovemaking, pleasure into ecstasy, and partnership into union.

Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished British, French, German, Danish, and Czech archival sources, Spying on the Reich tells the story of Germany and its rearmament in the 1920s and 1930s; its relations with foreign governments and their intelligence services; and the relations and rivalries between Western governments, seen through the prism of the cooperation, or lack of it, between their spy agencies.

Olivia Martin's afterlife was more dangerous and confusing than her life ever was. She thought she was ready to come back, to forget about Holden and to let go of the rage consuming her. Fulfilling her destiny as a guardian was all that mattered - the past could stay hidden in the crevices of her mind. However, when guardians are murdered and the evidence points toward jinn, she has to do something. To save anyone's future, Olivia will have to confront the one person from her past she is terrified to see.

The Unquiet Englishman braids the narratives of Greene's extraordinary life. It portrays a man who was traumatized as an adolescent and later suffered a mental illness that brought him to the point of suicide on several occasions; it tells the story of a restless traveler and unfailing advocate for human rights exploring troubled places around the world, a man who struggled to believe in God and found himself described as a great Catholic writer; it reveals a private life in which love almost always ended in ruin, alongside a larger story of politicians, battlefields, and spies.

 In The Inconvenient Journalist, Dusko Doder, writing with his spouse and journalistic partner Louise Branson, describes how one February night crystalized the values and personal risks that shaped his life. The frigid Moscow night in question was in 1984, and Washington Post correspondent Doder reported signs that Soviet leader Yuri Andropov had died.

When Mari's dad passes away unexpectedly, she inherits his home and business. It's the only way she can learn about his life - especially why he abandoned her when she was three and never came back. Owen Sullivan lives and works on Elderflower Island, a close-knit community in London where it’s impossible to keep a secret. It turns out, however, that Charlie Forsythe kept his daughter a secret from everyone for nearly 30 years. Will Mari and Owen be able to grab hold of their fresh start? Or will their pasts cast a dark shadow over their chance at a brilliant future in London?

 Albemarle Street: Portraits, Personalities and Presentations at The Royal institution is a lively and compelling personal selection of the remarkable personalities and achievements of some of the extraordinary scientists and individuals who, during the 19th and 20th centuries, worked or lectured at 21 Albemarle Street in Mayfair, central London. John Meurig Thomas offers a unique and valuable insight into the history of this prestigious address, having himself lived and worked at the Royal Institution for some 20 years. 

In Not with My Daughter!, Terry Vaughan gives dads vital information on how to decode the gestures, facial expressions, and verbal statements of all prospective boyfriends. With two daughters of his own rapidly coming of age, Vaughan realized he couldn't water-board every new boyfriend who came through his door. He came up with strategy that all dads can use to effectively "interview" and accurately assess the new men in their daughters' lives

Michael Korda brings his acclaimed storytelling talents to the life of Ulysses S. Grant - a man who ended the Civil War, served two terms as president, and wrote one of the most successful military memoirs in American literature. Ulysses S. Grant was the first officer since George Washington to become a four-star general in the US Army, and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. In this succinct and vivid biography, Michael Korda offers a dramatic reconsideration of the man, his life, and his presidency.

Born in the two decades prior to World War I, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel became among the most recognized and successful military leaders of the twentieth century. However, as acclaimed military historian Lloyd Clark reveals in his penetrating and insightful braided chronicle of their lives, they charted very different, often interrupted, paths to their ultimate leadership positions commanding hundreds of thousands of troops during World War II and celebrated as heroes in the United States, Britain, and Germany.

Three cell phones ring in an opulent London suite. The calls go unanswered, because their recipients are dead. Earlier that night, four old friends and lovers meet for a reunion dinner. Miko and Robert haven't seen each other in 10 years; Miko hates Robert for the money he's made with shady ethics. Unbeknownst to Miko, his wife, Veera, also slept with Robert the last time everyone was together. Robert's young trophy wife, Elise, has no old grudges to bear, but will be swept up in the murderous fray.