Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures — people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

In Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction, Joseph Dan, one of the world's leading authorities on Jewish mysticism, offers a concise and highly accurate look at the history and character of the various systems developed by the adherents of the Kabbalah. Dan sheds light on the many misconceptions about what Kabbalah is and isn't — including its connections to magic, astronomy, alchemy, and numerology — and he illuminates the relationship between Kaballah and Christianity on the one hand and New Age religion on the other. The book provides fascinating historical background, ranging from the mystical groups that flourished in ancient Judaism in the East, and the medieval schools of Kabbalah in Northern Spain and Southern France, to the widening growth of Kabbalah through the school of Isaac Luria of Safed in the sixteenth century, to the most potent and influential modern Jewish religious movement, Hasidism, and its use of kabbalistic language in its preaching. The book examines the key ancient texts of this tradition, including the Sefer Yezira or Book of Creation, The Book of Bahir, and the Zohar. Dan explains Midrash, the classical Jewish exegesis of scriptures, which assumes an infinity of meanings for every biblical verse, and he concludes with a brief survey of scholarship in the field and a list of books for further reading. Embraced by celebrities and integrated in many contemporary spiritual phenomena, Kabbalah has reaped a wealth of attention in the press. But many critics argue that the form of Kabbalah practiced in Hollywood is more New Age pabulum than authentic tradition. Can there be a positive role for the Kabbalah in the contemporary quest for spirituality? In Kabbalah, Joseph Dan debunks the myths surrounding modern Kabbalistic practice, offering an engaging and dependable account of this traditional Jewish religious phenomenon and its impact outside of Judaism.

Young historians and chefs get a real taste of the stories behind food we eat as we examine the amazing peculiarities of international cuisine past and present. Readers will learn about the often disgusting yet utterly fascinating foods that our ancestors ate such as maggot cake or rotten fish, as well as those that are still eaten around the world today — grasshopper stew anyone? Includes food myths, eating taboos and how archaeologists discover what Neolithic man ate.

Beren, a Viking princess, is forced to flee her home after her father is killed and her people defeated in battle. Guided by her uncle, she and the remains of her tribe come to England seeking sanctuary. But Vikings have been there before and laid waste to the land, and Beren's small group is met with scorching hatred from the locals. When Beren's uncle takes her men south to fight the king, Beren is left struggling to protect the rest of her followers. The only help comes from the local abbey. The monks there want everybody to live in peace. But when Beren befriends a trainee monk, the factions are further divided, and the hatred simmering under the surface begins to boil over. And then a new threat — from Beren's own uncle — raises its head. Now the people must decide: fight amongst themselves and be annihilated by a greater power, or unite under Beren's command, and fight for their freedom.

Connie has immense power. The trouble is, she doesn't really know how to use it, and nobody in the Society for the Protection of Mythical Beasts has enough knowledge to train her. Only one being understands Connie's potential — the evil shapeshifter Kullervo. Unknown to Connie, he has started infiltrating her dreams, causing her to raise devastating storms in her sleep. Now, when she's awake, the dark side of Connie's power increasingly feels more attractive than the good side. When Connie's best friend Col discovers what is happening, he begs Connie to seek help. She turns to the Society, the group meant to protect her. But they are terrified by what she tells them and expel her. Feeling abandoned and scared, Connie hides in an old mine — and finds she is not alone. The mine is full of sick mythical creatures that the Society has forgotten. They are led by the once-proud Minotaur who, having been blinded in a fight, is now a broken soul. The Minotaur gives Connie the courage to face her demons, and in doing so begins to heal himself. Could it be that Connie and the Minotaur, along with Col and the sick creatures, have the strength to battle Kullervo, while the Society for the Protection of Mythical Beasts stands ineffectually by?

David Jones loves ships, particularly ships in bottles. His latest, the Golden Needle, is a fine pirate vessel. So when David wakes up to find himself being press-ganged on board, he assumes it's a dream. The only thing is, he isn't asleep. The Golden Needle is crewed by a motley assortment of fiendish pirates, led by the once-terrifying Captain Fisher. The only thing they have in common is the desire to atone for past misdeeds, and a lot of gold thread. Now, trying to be good, they are desperately attempting to stitch together the many worlds — including our own — that are sliding towards obliteration in Inferno Rim. But not every pirate in this new dimension is good. Some still have a yearning for gold. In hot pursuit of the Golden Needle is the Scythe, crewed by pirates who live only to steal the golden thread anchoring the worlds. Soon the Golden Needle will run out of time and golden thread — and then her crew will have to turn and face the Scythe. What will David do when the day of battle dawns? Who will win this fight to the death? If it is the Scythe, who will save the worlds? A swashbuckling adventure to shiver yer timbers!

At eight o'clock in the evening, on Monday 24th December 2007, Pinewood Military Installation exploded. The blast ripped apart acres of forest and devastated the remote highland valley where the base was located. No official cause was given for the incident. Inside Pinewood were 185 male and female military personnel — a mixture of scientists and soldiers. There were also seven teenagers there. This is the story of their last day...

Inez and her brother are amazed to find a huge hole being dug right outside the front door of their father's shop. Then suddenly more holes appear all over the main street and before long the cars can't use the road and everyone has to walk around balancing on planks of wood. It can only be a matter of time before the foundations give way and the whole town collapses. People are travelling from all over the country — the word on everyone's lips is GOLD. A fast-paced tale of a South American gold rush, told with all Geraldine McCaughrean's usual skill and verve.

It's 1893 and for Cissy and her family, a new life beckons on the prairies of Oklahoma and they and their fellow settlers prepare for steady business alongside the Red Rock Railroad track. But when they refuse to sell their land to the railroad company, the boss swears that his trains will never stop in Florence again. How will they ever make a living now? Cissy and her friends, family and neighbours vow that they will make the train stop — by whatever means are necessary, no matter how dangerous that may prove to be...

Haoyou knows that his father's spirit lives among the clouds above Ancient China. He also knows that to save his mother from being forced into a new marriage he must now follow in his father's footsteps and take to the skies, riding a kite through the clouds and the spirits of the dead. Then the Jade Circus offers him a chance to escape his enemies and travel throughout the empire, and maybe even perform before Kublai Khan himself. But is going with the circus really the best option? It could be that the circus master is leading him into even greater danger. This outstanding story is like nothing else you've ever read — packed with action, adventure and emotion.

This is a very practical and accessible book that offers a comprehensive overview of research methodology in applied linguistics by describing the various stages of qualitative and quantitative investigations, from collecting the data to reporting the results. It also discusses mixed methods research, that is, the various combinations of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

This book explores attitudes related to English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and the implications for student identities. In addition ways in which the problems can be addressed in teacher education are explored. English language materials and testing are discussed.

The Black Death, the Peasants' Revolt, the Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses... A succession of dramatic social and political events reshaped England in the period 1360 to 1461. In his lucid and penetrating account of this formative period, Gerald Harriss draws on the research of the last thirty years to illuminate late medieval society at its peak, from the triumphalism of Edward III in 1360 to the collapse of Lancastrian rule. The political narrative centres on the deposition of Richard II in 1399 and the establishment of the House of Lancaster, which was in turn overthrown in the Wars of the Roses. Abroad, Henry V's heroic victory at Agincourt in 1415 led to the English conquest of northern France, lasting until 1450. Both produced long term consequences: the first shaped the English constitution up to the Stuart civil war, while the second generated lasting hostility between England and France, and a residual wariness of military intervention in Europe. Equally significant changes occurred in English society. The Black Death produced a crisis in agrarian structures, marked by the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 and the end of serfdom. In landed society distinctive grades of knights, esquires and gentlemen emerged, linked to the nobility in a web of patronage and service, with an ethos of 'good lordship' and fidelity. While the nobility were the king's immediate counsellors, the gentry reflected the concerns of the community of the realm in parliament. An increasingly well-educated and articulate class, they served as MPs and JPs and staffed the growing legal profession. The greater merchants controlled the wool trade, the source of England's wealth, and distributed commodities through a network of towns and markets. The marked individualism of this society, memorably depicted in The Canterbury Tales, was accompanied by a growing sense of national identity, expressed in the use of standard London English. A spate of church building in perpendicular, a distinctive national style, was matched on the one hand by the intensity of Catholic devotion and on the other hand by the proto-Protestantism of John Wyclif and the Lollards.