An epic adventure: from the Vikings to the Enlightenment, from barbaric outpost to global hub, this book tells the dazzling history of northern Europe's transformation by sea.'Pye writes like a dream. Magnificent' Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps______________This is a story of saints and spies, of anglers and pirates, traders and marauders - and of how their wild and daring jou...

In the great disorder of wartime Berlin, Lucia Muller-Rossi was an unofficial star: mistress to an Ambassador, the whole world to her young son, and guardian of all the lovely things her Jewish friends were forced to leave behind as they took the trains tothe death camps. Sixty years later, one of those fine pieces sits for sale in the window of Lucia's antiques shop-- and its true owner happens to pass by. In that moment, a whole lifetime of silence cracks open and Lucia's family face the...

Martin Arkenhout found his true calling on a lonely Florida highway -- with a sharp rock to the skull of an injured friend. He didn't just take the boy's life; he went on to live it. When that life became too risky, he found another, and another, changing his name, papers and style at will, until he chose the wrong life -- a scholarly thief on the run from the determined and troubled John Costa. The two men will meet, and there will be murder. But there is something much worse: the sweet s...

A collection of original essays exploring controversial archaeological theories, alternative history, and ancient mysteries.Were Atlantis and Lemuria factual places? Who built the pyramids and for what purpose? How advanced was the technology of ancient cultures?All this and more is covered in Exposed, Uncovered, & Declassified: Lost Civilizations & Secrets of the Past.Erich von Däniken, best-selling author of Chariots of the Gods,...

What are ghosts, spirits, and other apparitions?Why do they visit, and what do they want from us?Are OBEs, NDEs, and PDEs real?Exposed, Uncovered, and Declassified: Ghosts, Spirits, & Hauntings tackles these questions and more, as some of the world's best-known paranormal experts come together in a tour de force of investigative journalism. Ghosts have been an integral part of the folklore of almost every culture; indeed, extant references to them stretch as far back as the ancient civiliz...

This rich history of Antwerp was a Times Book of the Year and Radio 4 Book of the WeekEven before Amsterdam there was a dazzling North Sea port at the hub of the known world: the city of Antwerp.Antwerp was sensational like nineteenth-century Paris or twentieth-century New York, somewhere anything could happen or at least be believed: killer bankers, easy kisses, a market in secrets and every kind of heresy. For half the sixteenth century, it was t...

Are there 10,000-year-old secret societies that still exist today?Was there a race of giants that once inhabited the Americas?Did ancient Egypt and ancient China have heretofore undiscovered ties?Lost Secrets of the Gods delves into these ancient mysteries and many more in articles by some of the world's most intrepid and knowledgeable researchers. The old paradigms of history are being radically transformed as we discover more evidence of little-known cultures and what they achieved.Many ...

'Skilful Means' is the key principle of Mahayana, one of the great Buddhist traditions. First described in the Lotus Sutra, it originates in myths of the Buddha's compassionate plans for raising life from the ceaseless round of birth and death. His strategies or interventions are 'skilful means' - morally wholesome tricks devised for the purpose of enabling nirvana or enlightenment. Michael Pye's clear and engaging introductory guide investigates the meaning and context of skilful means in...

What are UFOs?Why are they here?What is the Government not telling us?Exposed, Uncovered, and Declassified: UFOs & Aliens strives to address all of these questions--and more--by covering new evidence of famous sightings and contact with aliens, and uncovering classified files from world-class collections and archives--all courtesy of the world's leading experts on modern ufology.Nuclear physicist and world-renowned UFO expert Stanton T. Friedman discu...

A deep dive into the origins, history, members, and workings of the Illuminati from a well-known and respected expert.Chilling initiations. Big banks and money manipulations. Possible links to the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, Adamses, and Bushes. Reviewing the evidence, documents, and connections, The Illuminati: The Secret Society That Hijacked the World by award-winning journalist and author Jim Marrs shines a light on the history, working...

A Telegraph Book of the YearA remarkable, unprecedented account of the role of magic in cultures both ancient and modern -- from the first known horoscope to the power of tattoos.'Fascinating, original, excellent' Simon Sebag Montefiore______________________Three great strands of practice and belief run through human history: science, religion and ma...

'Fascinating and timely. Required reading for every developer, planner or councillor who holds London in trust today' Griff Rhys Jones'Accessible, clear and readable' Rowan Moore, The Observer________________________LONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans.This unremarkable place - not even included in the Dom...