'A feminist fairy-tale... A wondrously intricate book, and a witty attack on the patriarchy, this is an instant classic.' Observer From the author who brought you The Encyclopedia of Early Earth comes another Epic Tale of Derring-Do. Prepare to be dazzled once more by the overwhelming power of stories and see Love prevail in the face of Terrible Adversity! You will read of betrayal, loyalty, madness, bad husbands, lovers both faithful and unfaithful, wise old crones, moons who come out of the sky, musical instruments that won't stay quiet, friends and brothers and fathers and mothers and above all, many, many sisters.
In 101 World Heroes, bestselling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore presents his personal selection of the 100 most heroic figures from the pages of world history. Emperors and queens, soldiers and statesmen, religious leaders and philosophers rub shoulders with composers and poets, scientists and explorers, artists and storytellers from three millennia. All are united not just by what they did in their own lifetimes, but also by the enduring legacy they have bequeathed to the sum of human experience and achievement. The central spine of the book consists of a series of narrative entries recording the lives and legacies of the 101 heroes and heroines. Each entry is accompanied by a brief essay opening a window on the times in which he or she lived. Thus the life of Egypt's greatest pharaoh, Ramses II, is accompanied by an essay looking at the gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt, while the entry for Admiral Horatio Nelson explores the tactics and gunnery of a ship-of-the-line. The book is illustrated throughout with maps, diagrams, paintings and photographs, and an appendix celebrates a further 100 individual deeds of heroism with a special claim to immortality. The heroes include: Ramses the Great Leonardo da Vinci Albert Einstein King Solomon Elizabeth I of England Winston Churchill The Buddha Tokugawa Ieyasu M. K. Gandhi Aristotle William Shakespeare F.D. Roosevelt Alexander the Great Thomas Jefferson David Ben Gurion Hannibal Voltaire George Orwell Jesus Napoleon Bonaparte Elvis Presley Marcus Aurelius Horatio Nelson J. F. Kennedy Mohammed Duke of Wellington John Paul II Charlemagne Abraham Lincoln Nelson Mandela Leo Tolstoy Charles Darwin
A study of heroism in the myths of the world - an exploration of all the elements common to the great stories that have helped people make sense of their lives from the earliest times. It takes in Greek Apollo, Maori and Jewish rites, the Buddha, Wotan, and the bothers Grimm's Frog-King.
Fourteen-year-old Jason Walker is transported to a strange world called Lyrian, where he joins Rachel and a few rebels to piece together the Word that can destroy the malicious wizard emperor, Surroth.
Meet young men with grand goals in these profiles of forty-six movers and shakers who made their mark before they turned twenty. This engaging and thought-provoking collection of influential stories provides forty-six illustrated examples of strong, independent male role models, all of whom first impacted the world as teenagers or younger. This updated and expanded edition of Boys Who Rocked the World encompases a variety of achievements, interests, and backgrounds, from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Steve Jobs to Crazy Horse and Stephen King—each with his own incredible story of how he created life-changing opportunities for himself and the world. Personal aspirations from today’s young men are interspersed throughout the book, which also includes profiles of teenagers who are rocking the world right now—boys like John Collinson, the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits, and Alec Loorz, who founded the nonprofit organization Kids vs. Global Warming. It’s never too soon to start making a difference, and this empowering collection of accomplished young men makes for ideal motivation.
When 114 people go missing on Roanoke Island in what seems like an eerie repeat of what happened hundreds of years before, seventeen-year-olds Miranda and Grant may be the key to the mysteries past and present.
Winnipeg is divided between two worlds: one is comprised of human beings and the other of supernatural beings, some of whom have been gifted with special powers and magic. Supernatural beings, animals shaped like humans, believe their ancestors are their gods, dutifully follow the rules of their tradition, and understand their purpose is to eradicate the human race. Hero is a young adult, magician supernatural being who has been sent with his brothers to the world of human beings to destroy humankind. But everything changes during his important mission when Hero surprisingly feels his magic pushing him against his own desire to protect Angel, a mysterious human being who appears different than others in her race. When Hero breaks the rules of his tradition and battles against his own family to protect Angel, he becomes a traitor who now must learn why his magic warns him when Angel is in danger as fate leads him to places he never imagined. In this fantasy tale, a young supernatural being with magical powers on a mission to destroy the human race crosses paths with a mysterious being that causes him to question everything he has ever known.
When are people willing to sacrifice for the common good? What are the benefits of friendship? How do communities deal with betrayal? And what are the costs and benefits of being in a diverse community? Using the life histories of more than forty thousand Civil War soldiers, Dora Costa and Matthew Kahn answer these questions and uncover the vivid stories, social influences, and crucial networks that influenced soldiers' lives both during and after the war. Drawing information from government documents, soldiers' journals, and one of the most extensive research projects about Union Army soldiers ever undertaken, Heroes and Cowards demonstrates the role that social capital plays in people's decisions. The makeup of various companies--whether soldiers were of the same ethnicity, age, and occupation--influenced whether soldiers remained loyal or whether they deserted. Costa and Kahn discuss how the soldiers benefited from friendships, what social factors allowed some to survive the POW camps while others died, and how punishments meted out for breaking codes of conduct affected men after the war. The book also examines the experience of African-American soldiers and makes important observations about how their comrades shaped their lives. Heroes and Cowards highlights the inherent tensions between the costs and benefits of community diversity, shedding light on how groups and societies behave and providing valuable lessons for the present day.