Charles Dickens - Great Expectations. (level 1)by Charles Dickens
Pip Pirrip is a poor orphan boy destined to become a blacksmith. But a chance meeting with an escaped convict and an invitation to the house of eccentric Miss Havisham mark the beginning of great changes in his life. After receiving a large amount of money from a secret benefactor Pip goes to London to be educated as a 'gentleman'. But who is his secret benefactor?
The landscape of 16th- and 17th-century Japan was dominated by the graceful and imposing castles constructed by the powerful ‘daimyo’ of the period. In this the most turbulent era in Japanese history, these militarily sophisticated structures provided strongholds for the consolidation and control of territory, and inevitably they became the focus for many of the great sieges of Japanese history: Nagashino (1575), Kitanosho (1583), Odawara (1590), Fushimi (1600), Osaka (1615) and Hara (1638), the last of the battles that brought an end to a period of intense civil war.
The twentieth-century architect Mies van der Rohe once declared that 'Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together'. In Travels in the History of Architecture, renowned architectural writer Robert Harbison looks closely at these bricks, taking us on a journey through the great themes and movements of architecture, from antiquity to the present day.
This second volume about Japan's samurai commanders covers the generals of the later years of the Age of the Warring States, a period when only the most able leaders survived. This was a time when the prowess of a commander was measured as much by his strategic and organizational abilities as by his individual fighting skills and he was expected to give as great a show of strength in the council chamber as on the battlefield. This book discusses the lives, battles and wider roles of talented commanders such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi - great men who stood out prominently due to their elaborate suits of armour and helmets, their stunning personal heraldry and their great armies.
The Last Vkings - The Epic Story of the Great Norse Voyagers
A fascinating investigation into one of the most elusive mysteries of the far North. Kirsten Seaver brings to life a wonderful cast of Saga heroes, the Norse at their most outlandish and compelling.' - Joanna Kavenna, author of The Ice Museum; 'The Last Vikings is an impressive work by a highly experienced writer. The primary and secondary sources are handled with clarity and confidence and interpretations are given and opinions expressed about numerous controversial matters. The writing is efficient, sharp and with touches of striking phraseology and the pace is always maintained; this author knows exactly what she wants to communicate.