Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places written and read by Neil Oliver.
The British Isles, this archipelago of islands, is to Neil Oliver the best place in the world. From north to south, east to west it cradles astonishing beauty. The human story here is a million years old, and counting. But the tolerant, easygoing peace we enjoy has been hard won. We have made and known the best and worst of times. We have been hero and villain and all else in between, and we have learned some lessons.
The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places is Neil's very personal account of what makes these islands so special, told through the places that have witnessed the unfolding of our history. Beginning with footprints made in the sand by humankind's earliest ancestors, he takes us via Romans and Vikings, the flowering of religion, through civil war, industrial revolution and two world wars. From windswept headlands to battlefields, ancient trees to magnificent cathedrals, each of his destinations is a place where, somehow, the spirit of the past seems to linger. Beautifully written, his book is majestic, awe-inspiring, a kaleidoscopic history of a place with a story like no other.
The Vikings famously took no prisoners, relished cruel retribution, and prided themselves on their bloodthirsty skills as warriors. But their prowess in battle is only a small part of their story, which stretches from their Scandinavian origins to America in the West and as far as Baghdad in the East. As the Vikings did not write their own history, we have to discover it for ourselves; and that discovery, as Neil Oliver reveals, tells an extraordinary story of a people who, from the brink of destruction, reached a quarter of the way around the globe and built an empire that lasted nearly two hundred years. Drawing on the latest discoveries that have only recently come to light, Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver goes on the trail of the real Vikings. Where did they emerge from? How did they really live? And just what drove them to embark on such extraordinary voyages of discovery over 1,000 years ago? The Vikings: A New History explores many of those questions for the first time in an epic story of one of the world's great empires of conquest.
Stories of heroism, exploration and sacrifice that will inspire boys to be courageous, honorable and open to adventure
Tales of brave and selfless deeds used to be part of every boy's education. We grew up sharing stories with our fathers, uncles and grandfathers of how great men had lived their lives, met their challenges, reached their goals and faced their deaths. Becoming a man was about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to die a hero than live a coward's life.
Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys is packed with classic stories of courage and heroism from around the world, including: D-Day and Omaha Beach; the Charge of the Light Brigade; the Battle of Dien Bien Phu; the Siege of the Alamo; the Moonwalkers and Apollo 13; the Flight of the Nez Perces; Josiah Harlan and the Trouble with Afghanistan; the Demons of Camerone; the Battle of Isandlwana; the Yangtze Incident; the Battle of Trafalgar; Shackleton's Boat Journey; Scott of the Antarctic; Thermopylae; the Revolutionary War Naval Battle of John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard.
Stories of heroism, exploration and sacrifice that will inspire boys to be courageous, honorable and open to adventure
Tales of brave and selfless deeds used to be part of every boy's education. We grew up sharing stories with our fathers, uncles and grandfathers of how great men had lived their lives, met their challenges, reached their goals and faced their deaths. Becoming a man was about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to die a hero than live a coward's life.
Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys is packed with classic stories of courage and heroism from around the world, including: D-Day and Omaha Beach; the Charge of the Light Brigade; the Battle of Dien Bien Phu; the Siege of the Alamo; the Moonwalkers and Apollo 13; the Flight of the Nez Perces; Josiah Harlan and the Trouble with Afghanistan; the Demons of Camerone; the Battle of Isandlwana; the Yangtze Incident; the Battle of Trafalgar; Shackleton's Boat Journey; Scott of the Antarctic; Thermopylae; the Revolutionary War Naval Battle of John Paul Jones and the Bonhomme Richard.
