Историческая литература - скачать книги или читать онлайн. Страница 162

For more than two centuries, E pluribus unum – out of many, one – has been featured on America’s official government seals and stamped on its currency. But how did America become ‘one nation, indivisible’? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? In this monumental history, Simon Winchester addresses these questions, bringing together the breathtaking achievements that helped forge and unify America and the pioneers who have toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizens and geography of the USA from its beginnings.Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators, including Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery Expedition to the Pacific Coast, the builders of the first transcontinental telegraph, and the powerful civil engineer behind the Interstate Highway System. He treks vast swaths of territory, from Pittsburgh to Portland; Rochester to San Francisco; Truckee to Laramie; Seattle to Anchorage, introducing these fascinating men and others – some familiar, some forgotten, some hardly known – who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States. Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree.The Men Who United the States is a fresh, lively, and erudite look at the way in which the most powerful nation on earth came together, from one of our most entertaining, probing, and insightful observers.

Professor Tudor Parfitt, a real-life British Indiana Jones, has made the biggest discovery of the last 3,000 years – the secret location of the fabled Ark of the Covenant. In 2006, he made an incredible journey to its final resting place and in February 2008 he will reveal this to the world. This is the amazing story of his quest.This is the real-life account of Professor Tudor Parfitt's remarkable discovery – of the lost Ark of the Covenant that disappeared from the Temple of Jerusalem centuries ago. The holiest object in the world, the Ark of the Old Testament contains the tablets of law sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Scholar, orientalist and adventurer, Parfitt embarked on an incredible journey to discover where the Ark is hidden, and when he reveals his discovery history books will be rewritten forever.Parfitt's quest took him on an incredible detective trail across the Middle East and Africa. His search led him to ancient documents and codes in Oxford and Jerusalem, and even to discoveries in modern genetic science, for clues to take him closer to the Ark.But some people didn't want the Ark to be found. In the wilder reaches of the Yemen he narrowly escaped being kidnapped by Islamist fugitives. In Africa he was shot at, ambushed and arrested. Amongst crossing paths with a motley crowd of mystics, holy men, charlatans and politicians, he encountered a strange tribe in the mysterious lands of the Limpopo River who claimed that they knew the Ark's final resting place.When Parfitt finally set eyes on the Ark, it wasn't at all where he expected. His revelation of its whereabouts will cause an international story with an effect on Judaism, Islam and Christianity that may be the most controversial in history.

‘Do yourself a favour and read this wonderful book’ ScotsmanBased on the true story of conjoined Russian twins, Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, The Less You Know the Sounder You Sleep is a tale of survival and self-determination, innocence and lies.No one expects Dasha and Masha to live beyond childhood. Not the Soviet scientists who study them, the other ‘defective’ children who bully them, or the ‘healthies’ from whom the twins must be locked away.But they don’t know Masha like her sister does. While Dasha is gentle and quiet and fears everything, her twin is fearless and irrepressible and determined they will survive. Whatever the cost.Through the seismic shifts of Stalin’s communism to the beginnings of Putin’s democracy, the sisters strive to be more than just ‘the together twins’, finding hope – and love – in the unlikeliest of places.But strength can come in many different forms and if Dasha is to live more than half a life she must find the courage to emerge from her sister’s shadow.

‘The perfect summer read… Gorgeously compelling’ Good Housekeeping‘Full of mystery and long-reaching shadows of the past . . . richly drawn and compelling’ Rosanna LeyIt’s 1951. In Europe’s post-war wreckage, the glittering Italian Riviera draws an eclectic cast of characters; lured by the glamour but seeking an escape.Amongst them, two outcasts: Hal, an English journalist who’s living on his charm; and Stella, an enigmatic society beauty, bound to a profiteering husband. When Hal receives a mysterious invitation from a wealthy Contessa, he finds himself aboard a yacht headed for Cannes film festival.Scratch the beautiful surface, and the post-war scars of his new companions are quick to show. Then there’s Stella, whose secrets run deeper than anyone’s – stretching back into the violence of Franco’s Spain. And as Hal gets drawn closer, a love affair begins that will endanger everyone…The Invitation is an epic love story that will transport you from the glamour of the Italian Riviera, to the darkness of war-torn Spain. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Victoria Hislop.

From the bestselling and prize-winning author of ‘A Brilliant Little Operation’ comes the long neglected D-Day story of the largest action by the French Resistance during WWII, published to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.In early 1941, three separate groups of plotters – one military, one political, one intellectual – began to organise and plan on and around the forbidding mountainous plateau near Grenoble – the Vercors. The aims of the groups were the same: to hasten the departure of the German occupiers; to restore the pride of France after its fall and the humiliations of the puppet Vichy government which followed; and to build a new France. The overwhelming desire to get rid of the Germans would unite them. Their different views of the France they hoped for in the future would divide them.Over the next three years these sparks of resistance would grow to challenge the might of the hated German occupiers. As the Allied troops stormed the D-Day beaches, the Vercors rose up to fight the Nazis in a planned rearguard action. It was to prove not only the largest Resistance action of the entire war but also, in the severity of the German response, the most brutal crushing of resistance forces in Western Europe.For the men and women of Vercors, aided and abetted by the Free French forces of General de Gaulle and SOE operatives from London, the events on the Vercors took them on a journey from early idealism through hope, misjudgement, folly, despair, sacrifice and slaughter to a kind of cruel victory. The tragedy drew the attention of those at the highest level of the Allied war effort and placed the Vercors deep into the heart of the history of modern France in a way which resonates still in the country’s daily life and politics.Long overlooked by English language histories, this magnificent book sets the story in the context of D-Day, the muddle of politics and many misjudgements of D-Day planners in both London and Algiers, and – most importantly – it gives voice to the many Maquisards fighters who fought to gain a voice in their country’s future.

The perfect heartwarming romance for Christmas, rich in historical detail.She turned the picture of the Christmas card over with her frozen hands, a pretty picture of a family gathering at Yuletide. How different from her own life; stiff with cold on the icy cobbles, aching for shelter . . .When her father dies leaving Alice and her ailing mother with only his debts, the two grieving women are forced to rely on the begrudging charity of cruel Aunt Jane. Determined to rid herself of an expensive responsibility, Jane tries forcing Alice into a monstrous marriage. And when Alice refuses, she is sent to work in a grand house to earn her keep.Finding herself in sole charge of the untameable and spoilt young miss of the house, Alice’s only ally is handsome Uncle Rory, who discovers that Alice has talents beyond those of a mere servant. But when someone sets out to destroy her reputation, Alice can only pray for a little of that Christmas spirit to save her from ruin . . .

Painting Mona Lisa offers an explanation behind the mysteries surrounding da Vinci's famous portrait – why did Leonardo keep the Mona Lisa with him until his death?An intricately woven tale of betrayal, love and loss, which unravels the mysteries surrounding da Vinci's most famous portrait.April 26, 1478. Giuliano de Medici, brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the head of the powerful Florentine Medici family, is assassinated.Ten years later, a young Lisa Gherardini listens to the story of Giuliano's death, unaware of the significance it holds for her future. Drawn into the Medici circle by her passion for the Arts, Lisa meets the Medici's most luminescent friend: da Vinci. Against the turbulent backdrop of Savonarola's Florence, the two become conspirators and eventually each other's saviours in this parallel love story of infinite twists.

What brings you together can tear you apart…“Nothing would be safe in the world after this…”It is 1940 and England is in the grip of the Blitz. As the bombs fall, the orphaned Maddy Belfield is evacuated to the Yorkshire Dales to live with her remaining relatives – those that haven’t been killed in the blast which destroyed her home.But the war has a way of bringing people together, and Maddy soon finds a strong group of friends out in the Dales – friends who swear to stay together for life. When tragedy strikes, can their promises hold? Will their friendships stretch across the country? And can childhood games hide a bigger secret than anyone could have imagined?ORPHANS OF WAR is a moving tale of love and loss that brings the terror of World War II back to life and shows how strong the bonds of friendship can truly be.

The world-wide, mega selling author of Man and Boy is back with a sizzling, Shanghai tale of sex, romance and second wivesHot shot young lawyer Bill Holden and his wife Becca move with their four year old daughter to the booming, gold-rush city of Shanghai, a place of enormous wealth and crushing poverty, where fortunes are made and foreign marriages come apart in spectacular fashion.Bill's law firm houses the Holden family in Paradise Mansions – a luxury apartment block where newly rich Chinese men install their second wives: fabulous young beauties like JinJin Li, ex-school teacher, crossword addict and the Holdens' neighbour.After Becca witnesses a tragedy that awakens her to the reality of life beyond the glitzy surface of the city, she returns temporarily to London with Holly – and Bill and JinJin are thrown together.Bill wants to be a better man than the millionaire who keeps JinJin Li as a second wife on the side. A better man than anyone who cheats. Becca is his best friend. And, in the end, adrift without his young family, can he give JinJin anything better than she had before?My Favourite Wife is a book about where sex, romance and obsession ends, and where true love begins.