In the early 9th century, Elpin mac Echdach, a chieftain of the Dal Riata, led an army into Pictland to seize the throne. His bold attempt nearly succeeded in overthrowing a dynasty that had ruled for over a century. However, Prince Brude map Ferat of Circinn and his forces slowed the invasion, giving King Oengus map Fergus time to prepare his army. The two sides clashed near Dun Nechtan, where Elpin was captured and beheaded, his army scattered or slain. Despite this defeat, Elpin’s sons,...

The Loch Sloy was built for Aitken, Lilburn & Co of Glasgow. She sailed between Britain and Australia for more than twenty years. In that time she established a reputation as a crack wool clipper. Windjammer, the story of the clipper ship Loch Sloy is not an adventure nor is it a romance or a tragedy, even though it contains elements of all three.The ship, her captains, officers, crew and passengers, all those her sailed upon her call out from the past to have their stories told. The Loch ...

Part memoir, part social history, Revolutionary Spirit is the poignant, often hilarious story of a cult Liverpool musician’s scenic route to fame and artistic validation. If Morrissey was the Oscar Wilde of the 1980s indie scene, Simpson was its William Blake, a self destructive genius so lost in mystical visions of a new Arcadia that he couldn’t meet the rent.Simpson’s career begins alongside fellow Liverpool luminaries Julian Cope, Ian McCulloch, Bill Dr...

An incredible 30,000 flights – at least – arrive safely at their destinations every day. But a handful don’t, while some come terrifyingly close to crashing. When even the smallest thing does go wrong at 35,000 feet, the result is nearly always a fast-unfolding tragedy.This extensive collection of compelling real-life accounts of air disasters and near-disasters provides a sobering, alternative history of the just over 105 years that passengers have been travelling by air, from the...

Connery. Lazenby. Moore. Dalton. Brosnan. Craig.Who is your favorite Bond? Whether you prefer Sean Connery to Roger Moore or Daniel Craig to Pierce Brosnan, you’ll find every incarnation of the debonair spy in this unofficial comprehensive guide. Revised and updated, this edition of Bond vs. Bond includes the 2020 movie Bond 25, along with speculation about the fu...

From the end of the Second World War to the present day, the world has changed immeasurably. The art of spying has changed too, as spies have reacted to changing threats. Here you will find the fascinating stories of real-life spies, both famous and obscure, from either side of the Iron Curtain, along with previously secret details of War on Terror operations.Detailed stories of individual spies are set in the context of the development of the major espionage agencies, interspersed...

What if Dorothy Gale wasn't the only person who went to see the Wizard of Oz?MGM's landmark 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, did not mark the beginning of adventures in Oz. Both before and since, dozens of tales have been told of the Marvellous Land of Oz, and its inhabitants such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger and Jack Pumpkinhead.In this fascinating and wide-ranging book, Paul Simpson looks back a...

2014 marks the 40th anniversary of the publication of Stephen King’s first novel Carrie in April 1974. Rescued from the rubbish by his wife Tabitha, the novel launched the Maine schoolteacher on a prolific and extraordinarily successful career. His name has become synonymous with horror and suspense through over fifty works, including The Dark Tower, a retelling of Byron’s Childe Harold to the Dark Tower Came.Simpson traces the writer’s life from his diff...

Written in a clear and accessible style, Stylistics, Third Edition is a comprehensive resource which covers all the major theories, concepts and methods required for the investigation of language in literature. From metre to metaphor, dialogue to discourse, the main topics are introduced and fully elaborated, as are the key research paradigms of this important and exciting field of study. Stylistics is richly illustrated with many examples from literary texts, including w...

Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students.Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings – all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible ‘two-dimensional’ structure is built around four sections – introduction, development, exploration and extension – which offer self-contained...

This book aims to develop an account of living together with difference which recognises the tension that we are inescapably with others – both human and non-human – but at the same time are always differing from and with those with whom we find ourselves.A concern for coexistence and questions over how we might live together have been raised and approached from a host of conceptual starting points in recent times, including via calls for a rethinking of communism today, the articu...

An analysis of twenty-nine of the most famous theories, featuring assassinations, military operations, aliens, secret societies, and government conspiracies.Conspiracies. They happen every day. All it takes is a couple of people and a secret, nefarious plan. But then there are big conspiracy theories—the assassinations, cover-ups, and shadow governments that are endlessly debated on talk radio and the Internet. Are they real? Are they even possible? Or are they just...