This new, thoroughly updated edition of Bradt's Belarus remains the only full-blown standalone guide to the most westerly of the constituent republics that formed the Soviet Union prior to the break-up in 1991. Written and updated by expert author and Russian speaker Nigel Roberts, who has been travelling throughout the country for over 17 years, it is the definitive guide to understanding, and making the most of a visit to this much-misunderstood nation.Included in this new editio...

With one foot still in its Soviet past, Belarus might not be the most obvious choice for travellers, but its isolation is at the heart of its appeal. Those who venture here will find a history rich in heroism and tragedy, set amid a landscape of primeval birch forests, snow-edged lakes and cornflower fields, replete with golden-orbed Russian Orthodox churches and villages where age-old traditions still hold sway. While it's easy for visitors to feel as though they've slipped into another t...

Over a year since Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, led to the devastating ongoing war in Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seems as far from resolution as it ever has been. This paper suggests a possible pathway towards ending the conflict, not as an immediate solution, but as a viable option once the parties are motivated to seek compromise. The paper begins by arguing that the two-state solution championed by diplomats from the end of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war to this day...

Risk and Crisis Communication addresses how the interaction between organizations and their stakeholders manifests during a risk or crisis situation.Littlefield and Sellnow contend that when best practices are considered, there are certain tensions to which an organization responds. These tensions are similar to those experienced among individuals when managing their relationships. As such, Littlefield and Sellnow apply an interpersonal theory, known as relational dialectics (RDT), to risk...

What story should Britain tell about itself?In recent years it has become fashionable to tell a certain kind of story about Britain. At its least offensive, this story emphasises the worst aspects of our nation's past while neglecting the best. At its most damaging, it denies or distorts the very fabric of Britain's collective inheritance.Our Islands' Story tells an altogether more honest, complex and hopeful story about Britain. In this engaging a...

Cheng Man-ch’ing (1902–1975)—also romanized as Zheng Manqing— certainly played a lead role in popularizing tai chi ch'uan throughout the world and greatly influencing the way the art is perceived and practiced. This fact alone should drive all those interested in tai chi to study the man’s history and thought. There is a huge body of writings and video representations of Cheng’s tai chi theory and practice. Unfortunately, much of the available content actually obscures Cheng’s message. The...

Prior to World War Two, Wing Commander Guy Gibson joined the Royal Air Force. In 1944, he wrote down his experience of serving in the RAF.Aged just 25, Gibson had completed two full tours, each of 30 operations, with Bomber Command, and had led the now-famous Dam Busters raid against the dams of the Ruhr Valley in May 1943. He died aged 26 in 1944, when his Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands.Gibson’s story is an incredible one. He struggled daily to work t...

Hero or traitor? King or outlaw? Discover the life of Scottish hero Robert the Bruce in this thrilling trilogy.Master storyteller Nigel Tranter tells the tale of the legendary warrior, and future King of Scots. Tutored and encouraged by William Wallace, Robert the Bruce determined to continue the fight for an independent Scotland, sustained by a passionate love for his land.This edition brings together *Steps to the...

SNOW is the codename assigned to Arthur Owens, one of the most remarkable British spies of the Second World War. This typical Welsh underfed type became the first of the great double-cross agents who were to play a major part in Britain's victory over the Germans. When the stakes could not have been higher, MI5 sought to build a double-cross system based on the shifting loyalties of a duplicitous, philandering and vain anti-hero who was boastful and brave, reckless and calculating, ruthles...

With a foreword by Iain Sinclair.London is an ancient city, whose foundation dates back literally thousands of years into the legendary prehistory of these islands. Not surprisingly it has accumulated a large number of stories, both historic and mythical, during this period, many of which, though faithfully recorded at the time, have lain almost forgotten in dusty libraries throughout the city.The Secret Lore of London is a guide to the legends, including a discuss...

Richard Freiherr von Rosen was a highly decorated Wehrmacht soldier and outstanding panzer commander.After serving as a gunlayer on a Pz.Mk.III during Barbarossa, he led a Company of Tigers at Kursk. Later he led a company of King Tiger panzers at Normandy and in late 1944 commanded a battle group (12 King Tigers and a flak Company) against the Russians in Hungary in the rank of junior, later senior lieutenant (from November 1944, his final rank).Only 489 of these King Tige...

First published in 1977, Patterns of Education in the British Isles is the first modern discussion of the educational systems of the British Isles and the ways in which they influence each other. It is no arid account of administrative structures but the first major attempt to set the systems in their cultural, political, and historical context, and to relate them to each other.The book discusses the extravagant claims sometimes made for Scottish education, the often-negle...