Hawthorn

One of humankind’s oldest companions, the hawthorn tree, is bound up in the memories of every recorded age and the plot lines of cultures all across the Northern Hemisphere. Hawthorn examines the little-recognized political, cultural, and natural history of this ancient spiky plant. Used for thousands of years in the impenetrable living fences that defined the landscapes of Europe, the hawthorn eventually helped feed the class antagonism that led to widespread social upheaval. In the American Midwest, hawthorn-inspired hedges on the prairies made nineteenth-century farming economically rewarding for the first time. Later, in Normandy, mazelike hedgerows bristling with these thorns nearly cost the Allies World War II. Bill Vaughn shines light on the full scope of the tree’s influence over human events. He also explores medicinal uses of the hawthorn, the use of its fruit in the world’s first wine, and the symbolic role its spikes and flowers played in pagan beliefs and Christian iconography. As entertaining as it is illuminating, this book is the first full appreciation of the hawthorn’s abundant connections with humanity.

Poor old Zawanda is in a mess, its economy in meltdown, its people unable to give up their age-old tribal enmities. The news that Britain is to cut off the country?s foreign aid looks like the last straw, until Frederick Zawutu, the intelligent, Cambridge and Sandhurst-educated new president, hits on a daring scheme ? to embark on a game of bluff designed to make the West believe that this penniless Central African nation has somehow acquired a nuclear bomb. Everything goes to plan ? until the English arms dealer Zawutu has set up to unwittingly play the part of the ?supplier? proves to be a little too good at his job?Hawthorn?s Hill is a light-hearted, cleverly-constructed novel about modern Africa, the follies of diplomacy, tribal conflict and the foibles of race and sex.ÿ

A shattered ward. Bloodthirsty undead. Can she conjure an impossible magic before they’re all sent to their doom? Kit Melbourne never imagined raising her baby in a city under siege. After vicious vampires obliterate the protective hex keeping the bloodsuckers at bay, she’s charged with casting an impenetrable barrier. But such a spell has never been cast, and failing could see the fiends send every citizen to their slaughter. Needing time to learn the magic and with her husband away, Kit must rely on a faerie nanny to watch her child. But with the babysitter harboring secrets of her own, trusting her could cost Kit the most precious life of all… Can she save the city and her firstborn before everyone she loves is sucked dry? Hawthorn’s Hex is the sixth book in the spellbinding Kit Melbourne urban fantasy series. If you like kickass heroines, tricky antagonists, and daring powerplays, then you’ll love Kater Cheek’s dark tale. Buy Hawthorn’s Hex to join a high-stakes bid for survival today!

The potential benefits of plants and plant extracts in the treatment and possible prevention of many leading health concerns are historically well known and are becoming more widely studied and recognized within the medical community. It is these studies that led to the first compilation of new research developments, identifying new extracts and uses for plants in disease prevention and treatment. This major comprehensive reference work contains contributions from more than 150 clinical and academic experts covering topics such as treatments of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as well as historical plant use by indigenous people supported by recent scientific studies. Authors review the safety and efficacy of botanical treatments while idenifying the sources, historical supportive data and mechanisms of action for emerging treatments. Written by researchers currently carrying out identification and biomedical testing, this is the most up to date text on the latest research from all over the world. It is an essential resource for health care practitioners and herbalists, as well as researcher, students and professionals in botany and alternative medicine.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Seeing through the eyes of others brings new perspective on the place we call home. In Land of Many Shores, writers share their essays about life in Newfoundland and Labrador from often-neglected viewpoints. In this collection, Indigenous people, cultural minorities, LGBTQ+, people living with mental or physical disabilities and other undervalued and hidden voices are coming to the forefront, with personal, poignant, celebratory and critical visions of the land we live on. From workers in the sex industry to non-Christian faithful, from the descendants of settlers from other lands to the Indigenous people of this land, the variety of experience against the backdrop of Newfoundland and Labrador provides food for thought--and celebration of diversity.