A Pocket Essential Short History Of The Victorian Era

It began with the horse-drawn carriage and ended with the aeroplane, an era, beginning in the 1830s and ending with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, that saw the British Empire – the largest the world had seen – dominate the world. British ingenuity in the fields of technological development and the heavy industry of its Industrial Revolution led to Britain being dubbed ‘the workshop of the world’ while its Royal Navy policed the world’s oceans helping to create what has become known as a ‘Pax Britannica’. A Short History of the Victorian Era details the sweeping social and economic changes that took place during this period but also examines the events of the time and the lives of the eminent Victorians who contributed so much to British success - men and women such as Florence Nightingale, Isombard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Charles Darwin. A Short History of the Victorian Era is the story of the greatest period in British history, a period that still resonates in today’s Britain. Praise for Gordon Kerr 'Factual and even-handed, Kerr presents a fair-minded introduction of basic Chinese history' - Booklist 'Thoroughly rewarding' - Travelmag 'Informative, fascinating and extremely well-researched...Gordon Kerr's book is a mini masterpiece' - ABC Brisbane

From popular fiction such as The Hobbit and Game of Thrones to the universality of the English language, the continuing influence of the Anglo-Saxons can be found throughout the world. But who were the Anglo-Saxons and where did they come from? A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons traces the fascinating history of this era and its people, from the early migration of European tribal groups such as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes who mainly travelled to Britain after the end of Roman rule in 410, to the dramatic end of the Anglo-Saxon period following the victory of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This short history explores the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, Afred the Great's defence of his realm from the Vikings and the final Norman Conquest. Also included are the compelling discoveries of Anglo-Saxon relics in modern times and many other gems. A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons provides an indispensable introduction to everything you need to know about the Anglo-Saxon period.

According to Apsley Cherry-Garrard, one of the men who went to Antarctica with Captain Scott, 'Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time that has ever been devised. ' Despite this there has never been a shortage of volunteers willing to endure the bad times in pursuit of the glory that polar exploration sometimes brings. Nick Rennison's compelling book tells the memorable stories of the men and women who have risked their lives by entering the white wastelands of the Arctic and the Antarctic, from the compelling tales of Scott, Shacklet on and Amundsen, to lesser known heroes such as Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary. A Short History of Polar Exploration also looks at the hold that the polar regions have often had on the imaginations of artists and writers in the last two hundred years examining the pain tings, films and literature that they have inspired.

Having conquered the world's taste buds and established itself as a staple in our daily lives, coffee has mirrored the moods and movements of society for centuries - yet, how much do we know about its history? In his riveting new book, A Short History of Coffee, Gordon Kerr investigates the fascinating history behind the global obsession with coffee, from its Ethiopian origins, the legends, myths, geographical locations and somewhat eccentric characters that have helped make it the staple that it is today. Proliferating high streets, towns and cities across Europe, coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years, and has succeeded in creating new and exciting hubs of commerce, news and debate, where deals could be done and revolution could be incited. Yet, despite coffee's very modern role, its origins stretch back to the days of intrepid travellers and merchants, who told tales of this new and exotic beverage that uplifted and enlivened the drinker. Following the growth in popularity through to the 21st century explosion of coffee shop culture, A Short History of Coffee lifts the Styrofoam lid on both the business of coffee, as well as the pleasures that it brings its drinkers. Gordon Kerr masterfully balances an exploration of the history of this iconic beverage, whilst also delving into the frothy brew of business, politics, and money that accompanies it. Praise for Gordon Kerr 'Informative, fascinating and extremely well-researched...Gordon Kerr's book is a mini masterpiece' - Rob Minshull, ABC Brisbane on A Short History of the Vietnam War 'Factual and even-handed, Kerr presents a fair-minded introduction of basic Chinese history' - Booklist on A Short History of China 'Thoroughly rewarding' - Travelmag on A Short History of the Middle East

Often alchemy is seen as an example of medieval gullibility and the alchemists as a collection of eccentrics and superstitious fools. In this Pocket Essential Sean Martin shows that nothing could be further from the truth. It is important to see the search for the philosopher's stone and the attempts to turn base metal into gold as metaphors for the relation of man to nature and man to God as much as seriously held beliefs. Alchemy had a self-consistent outlook on the natural world and man's place in it. Alchemists like Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus were amongst the greatest minds of their time and the history of alchemy is both the history of a spiritual search and the history of a slowly developing scientific method. Sir Isaac Newton devoted as much time to his alchemical studies as he did to his mathematical ones. This book traces the history of alchemy from ancient times to the 20th century, highlighting the interest of modern thinkers like Jung in the subject, and in the process covers a major, if neglected area of Western thought.

Capital punishment was abolished for murder in Great Britain in 1969, but remained as the punishment for high treason until as recently as 1998, demonstrating how seriously we take the crime of betraying your country. But even with the threat of the noose hanging over them, many still chose the path of treachery during the cataclysmic events of last century. British Traitors examines the lives and motivations of a number of the perpetrators of this most heinous of crimes, following the footsteps of Fascist traitors such as William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) and John Amery to the gallows, investigating what drove men such as Wilfred Macartney and John Herbert King to betray their country during the war to end all wars and delving into the mysterious web of espionage and subterfuge surrounding the Cambridge Spy Ring that spied for the Soviet Union from the nineteen-thirties until the early nineteen-fifties. People commit treason for many reasons - some seek adventure, some seek reward, some are motivated by political philosophy, while others are sucked into it by their own foolishness. British Traitors provides a fascinating look at the lives and impulses of those who chose to betray their country.

Sigmund Freud was one of the giants of 20th century thought. His ideas have been hugely influential not only in psychology but in all the social sciences and the arts. Even those who have never read a word of his writings are familiar with his concepts of the id, the ego, the Oedipus complex and the workings of the unconscious mind.This looks at Freud's life from his birth in the small Moravian town of Freiburg in 1856 to his death in Hampstead in 1939. Each of Freud's major works is summarised and his central ideas explored. Controversies over his methods and practices are examined. Did he, as some critics have alleged, turn his back on evidence of genuine child abuse in 1890s Vienna and prefer instead to ascribe it to fantasy and wish fulfilment? What were the reasons behind his terrible quarrel with Carl Gustav Jung? Does his 'talking cure' of psychoanalysis actually work? The essential information about Freud's enormously productive life and career is all here.

Every day thousands of people worldwide consult Roget's Thesaurus. How many stop to consider why that endlessly useful reference book is so called? Of those who know that it owes its name to the man who first devised it, how many know anything more about him? Yet Peter Mark Roget was one of the most remarkable men of the nineteenth century and he achieved much in his long life. He did not even begin the great work of classification which bears his name until he was 70. Before that, the polymathic Roget had already made his own contributions to knowledge in a dozen different fields from optics and anatomy to mathematics and education. He would probably have been surprised that his posthumous reputation rests on his thesaurus. No doubt he would have expected that it would be his involvement in the foundation of the University of London that would be his lasting legacy. Or his books on magnetism, galvanism and physiology. Or his scientific papers on persistence of vision, with their later impact on the development of motion pictures. Or his association with major thinkers such as the computer pioneer Charles Babbage and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The range of his interests was astonishing and, for sixty years, he was at the centre of the intellectual revolution of his times. Nick Rennison's biography reveals the full story of Roget's involvement with the great issues and the great personalities of the nineteenth century and recounts the forgotten life behind one of the most famous of all reference books.