Giuseppe Verdi Pocket Giants PDF Download
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Author | : Daniel Snowman |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 99 |
Release | : 2014-02-03 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750955236 |
Download Giuseppe Verdi: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) was the Shakespeare of opera, the composer of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida and Otello. The chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco (1842) is regarded in Italy as virtually an alternative national anthem – and the great tragedian rounded off his career fifty years later with a rousing comedy, Falstaff. When Verdi was born, much of northern Italy was under Napoleonic rule, and Verdi grew up dreaming of a time when the peninsula might be governed by Italians. When this was achieved, in 1861, he became a deputy in the first all-Italian parliament. While in his 20s, Verdi lost his two children and then his wife (many Verdi operas feature poignant parent-child relationships). Later, he retired, with his second wife, to his beloved farmlands, refusing for long stretches to return to composition. Verdi died in January 1901, universally mourned as the supreme embodiment of the nation he had helped create. Daniel Snowman was born in London, educated at Cambridge and Cornell and at 24 became a Lecturer at the University of Sussex, going on to become BBC Radio's Chief Producer, Features. Since 2004 has held a Senior Research Fellowship at the Institute of Historical Research (University of London). Recent books include a study of the cultural impact of the 'Hitler Emigrés', a collection of critical essays on the work of today's leading historians and The Gilded Stage: A Social History of Opera, reviewed by Tim Blanning as 'A mighty achievement, by far and away the best history of opera available'.
Author | : Robert Webb |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 95 |
Release | : 2016-07-07 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750969113 |
Download John Lennon: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
John Lennon is a giant of popular music and culture. As one-quarter of the Beatles, he was in the vanguard of music, art, fashion and popular culture during the sixties. His music, humour and outspoken calls for peace inspired a generation. He stands as an iconic figure for those who lived through the sixties and seventies, as well as for those who grew up long after his untimely death in 1980. Above all, Lennon was one of the twentieth century's greatest and most important songwriters. Songs he wrote with Paul McCartney, such as 'She Loves You' and 'A Day in the Life', define an era. Others he wrote alone, such as 'God', 'Help!' and 'Revolution', betray an often complex, contradictory and troubled character. Lennon was never one to hide his love away, nor his anger, nor his convictions. In 2000 his anthem 'Imagine' was voted the song of the millennium.
Author | : Dr Andrew May |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 98 |
Release | : 2015-03-02 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750963530 |
Download Isaac Newton: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Isaac Newton had an extraordinary idea. He believed the physical universe and everything in it could be described in exact detail using mathematical relationships. He formulated a law of gravity that explained why objects fall downwards, how the moon causes the tides, and why planets and comets orbit the sun. While Newton's work has been added to over the years, his basic approach remains at the heart of the scientific worldview. Yet Newton's own had little in common with that of a modern scientist. He believed the universe was created to a precise and rational design – a design that was fully understood by the earliest people. Over time this knowledge was lost, and Newton considered it his life's work to rediscover it, whether through applied mathematics or a painstaking study of the Bible and other ancient texts. In chasing his impossible goal, Newton managed to contribute more to our understanding of the universe than anyone else in history. Andrew May went to the same Cambridge college, Trinity, as Sir Isaac Newton. After gaining his first degree in Natural Sciences he went on to do a PhD in astrophysics at Manchester University. This was on the subject of galactic dynamics, and the only physics he needed to know he was a Newtonian. He continued as a postdoc in the same area for four years, before moving into the more lucrative if shadowy world of defence science. He worked first in private industry, then in the Civil Service and then in private industry again, for a total of 24 years. He now earns his living as a freelance writer and defence consultant.
Author | : A.J. Pollard |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 107 |
Release | : 2014-02-03 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750955244 |
Download Henry V: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
Henry V is the best-known military hero in English history: better known than Marlborough or Wellington, or his grandfather, Edward III. He enjoyed more success against the French than any of them, coming tantalisingly close to conquering that vast country and imposing an English dynasty; this in a reign of just nine years, in only seven of which he was at war. Even before he died the heroic myth, later enshrined by Shakespeare, was being created. His victories have become the touchstone of English nationalism, English militarism and English imperialism. For good or ill, Henry V now signifies the one-time 'Greatness of England'. He was a military genius, yet his megalomania was not always in the best interests of his own kingdom, let alone the people of France who suffered at his hands. Behind the carefully constructed nationalist myth was a cold, calculating, ruthless ruler who, before his early death, revealed ominous tyrannical tendencies.
Author | : Caroline Sanderson |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 86 |
Release | : 2014-02-03 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750955228 |
Download Jane Austen: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
There's something about Jane... Jane Austen lived only just into her forties, never married, never had children, lived all her life in the south of England and rarely strayed far from the genteel and orthodox social circle into which she was born. She completed only six novels, and achieved little fame in her lifetime. Yet 200 years after her death, she remains one of our most revered writers, and one of the most regularly adapted for television and film. Her novels are beloved by readers all over the world who continue to be inspired, beguiled and delighted by her often comic, and always shrewd insights into the calculations, and complexities of human hearts and minds. This short biography aims to get to the heart of the enigmatic woman who was Jane Austen, and to the enduring qualities in her work which make it so universally loved and admired.
Author | : Greg Fisher |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 99 |
Release | : 2016-03-07 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0750968745 |
Download Hannibal and Scipio: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
In 218, Hannibal Barca, desperate to avenge the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War, launched an ambitious ground invasion of Italy. With just a small force, he crossed the Alps – a feat reckoned to be impossible – and pitted his polyglot army against Rome's elite citizen infantry. At Cannae, in 216, Hannibal destroyed an 80,000-strong Roman force in one afternoon, delivering a blow unequalled in Roman history for half a millennium to come. The Romans had no answer to Hannibal until the young Scipio volunteered to take over Rome's armies in Spain, which were close to defeat, and left leaderless by the death of Scipio's own father and uncle. In the decade which followed, Scipio turned Rome's desperate fortunes into a stunning victory over Carthage. The portrait of Hannibal and Scipio takes the reader through one of the greatest military campaigns in history, driven by two remarkable and fascinating men.
Author | : Barbara Yorke |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 81 |
Release | : 2015-06-01 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750963697 |
Download Alfred the Great: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
‘Alfred is one of the most remarkable rulers of any time or place. This clear, readable and insightful book shows why.’ Michael WoodWhy is Alfred the Great? A simple answer is that he has been seen as a man who saved England, invented English identity and pioneered English as a written language. He is the first Englishman for whom a biography survives so that we know more about Alfred and his ideals than we do for most people who lived over a thousand years ago.A slightly longer answer would say that things are a bit more complicated, and that one reason Alfred seems to be so ‘great’ was that he made sure we were told that he was. To get the measure of Alfred we need to look at what he actually managed to achieve. Can we resurrect the ‘real’ King Alfred? There may be limits, but even if we have to part company with some of the Victorian adulation, we are still left with a pretty impressive and surprising person.BARBARA YORKE has recently retired from the University of Winchester where she worked in the History Department for many years, ultimately as Professor of Early Medieval History. She is now a Professor Emerita there, and also an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, University of London where she has advised on a number of projects. She has written extensively on the early middle ages in books and academic papers, as well as more popular works such as History Today and BBC History magazine (including on King Alfred). She has appeared on various radio and television programmes on Anglo-Saxon topics. In 2008 she curated an exhibition on King Alfred in the Discovery Centre, Winchester.
Author | : Victoria Arbiter |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 81 |
Release | : 2016-03-07 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750968753 |
Download Queen Elizabeth II: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
At age 25, Elizabeth II became Britain’s 40th monarch and vowed to dedicate her life to service and duty on behalf of her country. She is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states, head of the 53 member Commonwealth of Nations, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and head of the armed forces. Most notably, however, on September 9th, 2015, she became the longest reigning monarch in British history. She has consistently adapted in order to remain relevant, while devotedly upholding the age-old traditions of the monarchy. Although there have only been six British female monarchs, it cannot be argued that some of the most enlightened times in history have occurred during periods of queenship. Elizabeth I led the country through the Golden Age and Victoria ushered in the Industrial Revolution, but it is Elizabeth II who will leave the most illustrious and progressive legacy of all.
Author | : Michael Scott |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 297 |
Release | : 2011-10-21 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0752472429 |
Download Rachmaninoff Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
The musical child of Russia's golden age, Sergei Rachmaninoff, was the last of the great Romantics. Scorned by the musical establishment until very recently, his music received hostile reviews from critics and other composers. Conversely, it never failed to find widespread popular acclaim, and today he is one of the most popular composers of all time. Biographer Michael Scott investigates Rachmaninoff's intense and often melodramatic life, following him from imperial Russia to his years of exile as a wandering virtuoso and his death in Beverly Hills during the Second World War, worn out by his punishing schedule. In this remarkable biography which relates the man to his music, Michael Scott tells the colourful story of a life that spanned two centuries and two continents. His original research from the Russian archives, so long closed to writers from the West, brings us closer to the spirit of a man who genuinely believed that music could be both good and popular, a belief that is now triumphantly vindicated.
Author | : Hugh Costello |
Publisher | : The History Press |
Total Pages | : 102 |
Release | : 2014-02-03 |
Genre | : Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | : 0750955260 |
Download Pope John Paul II: pocket GIANTS Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
The world was stunned when little-known Karol Wojtyła became the first non-Italian pope for 450 years. As Pope John Paul II, he continued to surprise, directly confronting Communist regimes, flying hundreds of thousands of miles to meet the faithful, and building bridges with other faiths. John Paul II became a bête noire in the eyes of liberals for his staunch refusal to accept contraception or the ordination of women. But for others he was a Churchillian figure who took on the forces of godlessness and moral relativism. He gained a stature that left secular statesmen in his shadow. Love him or loathe him, few could deny that he was a man of rare courage. He survived two assassination attempts, fought off cancer and waged a very public battle with Parkinson's disease. Seven years after his death he continues to exert a hold over the Church and to inspire an almost cult-like devotion.