This book is for the traveler interested in the lives of the eight men from Virginia who became President of the United States. Four of the first five presidents were Virginians - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe - covering thirty of the nation's first thirty-four years. Two - William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor - professional soldiers who would push aside the American Indian as America moved to the Pacific Ocean. One - John Tyler - would annex Texa...

Though it is not uncommon for historians to have something to say concerning philosophical strands in Jefferson’s thought, that something is usually insubstantial—often misleadingly so—or inchoate. Overall, precious little has been said. The significance of the man and the richness of his thought demands that this defect be remedied.Thomas Jefferson and Philosophy is a collection of nine new essays on philosophical elements in Jefferson’s writings. The first of its kind, this colle...

Now available in a deluxe edition featuring never-before-seen illustrations by the author: the beloved internationally bestselling historical mystery about a brilliant monk called upon to solve a series of baffling murders in a fourteenth-century Italian abbey“Explodes with pyrotechnic inventions, literally as well as figuratively. Hold on till the end.” —New York Times“Whether you're into Sherlock Holmes, Montaillou, Borge...

Marx held that the progression of society from capitalism to communism was 'historically inevitable'. In Russia in 1917, it seemed that Marx's theory was being born out in reality. But was the Russian Revolution really inevitable?This collection of fourteen contributions from the world's leading Russian scholars attempts to answer the question by looking back at the key turning points of the revolution. From the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904-5 through to the appropriation of chur...

The #1 international bestselling historical novel from the award-winning and New York Times –bestselling author of The Name of the Rose .Nineteenth-century Europe—from Turin to Prague to Paris—abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian republicans strangle priests with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and cele...

Mike Dixon has been involved in the British music industry for over 40 years and has been Musical Director for more than twenty West End productions including, We Will Rock You, The Bodyguard, Grease, Aspects of Love, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. His TV credits include six Royal Variety Performances, countless light entertainment series and Glastonbury with Shirley Bassey, as well as a huge number of high profile television and radio concerts. Hi...

Nineteenth-century Europe, from Turin to Prague to Paris, abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Conspiracies rule history. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to the notorious forgery The Protoc...

In a meditation on the wisdom of the Vedas, Roberto Calasso's Ardor brings ritual and sacrifice to bear on the modern worldIn this revelatory volume, Roberto Calasso, whom The Paris Review has called "a literary institution," explores the ancient texts known as the Vedas. Little is known about the Vedic people, who lived more than three thousand years ago in northern India: They left behind almost no objects, images, or ruins. Th...

Just when you think nothing more can go wrong….In 1999 I died aged 34.Life had already been unusually tough but everything happens for a reason. My book “Dying for Success” is a motivational and inspirational memoir mixed with experiential learning for self- help. My life reads like a heart attack having experienced fabulous peaks and life changing troughs, few people in the world who have actually died can describe the experience. I was of course revived but told I would never wal...

An "erudite" translation of a classic work on violence and revolution as seen through mythology and art offers "unsettling observations on civilization" ( Kirkus Reviews).The Ruin of Kasch takes up two subjects—"the first is Talleyrand, and the second is everything else," wrote Italo Calvino when the book first appeared in 1983. Hailed as one of those rare books that persuade us to see our entire civilization in a new light, its guide is the French...

A meditation on the rise of nationalism and totalitarianism in the contemporary world, by the author of The Ruin of Kasch.The ninth part of Roberto Calasso's masterwork, The Unnamable Present, is closely connected with themes of the first book, The Ruin of Kasch. But while Kasch is an enlightened exploration of modernity, The Unnamable Present propels us into the twenty first century.Tourists, terrorists, secularis...

In this analysis of human history and myth, "[Calasso's] flow of associations leaves you feeling not out of your depth, but smarter and better read" ( The New York Times Book Review).A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceThere was a time, even before prehistory, when man was simply a defenseless animal. The gods he worshiped took the form of other beasts or were the patterns of the stars he saw above him each night in the sky, which h...