Showing results for "francis" in History

The Times Art Book of the Year 2021 FINALIST FOR THE PLUTARCH AWARD 2022 ‘Must surely be the definitive life of Francis Bacon … A biography that no Bacon fan – or indeed foe – can afford to overlook … Mesmerising’ THE TIMES ‘A magnificent triumph … I was captivated by every...

Francis I (1494-1547) was inconstant, amorous, hotheaded and flawed. Yet he was also arguably the most significant king that France ever had. This is his story. A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Francis saw himself as the first Renaissance king, a man who was the exemplar of courtly and civilised behaviour throughout Europe. A courageous and heroic warrior, he was also a keen aesthete, an accomplished diplomat and an energetic ruler who turned his country into a force to be reckoned with.

In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan, Columbus, and Marco Polo brings alive the singular life and adventures of Sir Francis Drake, the pirate/explorer/admiral whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history...

Ancient woods are Britain's richest habitats: rare fragments of our landscape that teem with life from soil to canopy. They live in our collective imagination as quiet places, best left pristine and untouched. But their story has always been one of interdependence with people. Now, as ever...

Penguin Presents the audiobook edition of Paths to the Past written and read by Francis Pryor. Landscapes reflect and shape our behaviour. They make us who we are and bear witness to the shifting patterns of human life over the generations. Formed by a complex series of natural and human...

These 12 lectures by Professors Cook and Herzman will give you a rounded, fully informed introduction to the luminous Francis of Assisi and will tell the intellectually and spiritually rewarding story of how his influence has glowed across the centuries.Just who was Assisi? Despite his continuing influence and the fairly ample writings about him that date from his own time, Francis remains somewhat elusive in history. Yet these lectures expertly unlock two sources that are the most revealing and plentiful-written narratives of Francis's life and the images created for Franciscan churches.

"Officially" the Vatican has no espionage service; but does no one carry out intelligence operations on its behalf? During the Second World War and Cold War, Rome was teeming with spies. A band of undercover monsignors and priests hunted for Vatican "moles," led clandestine diplomacy, investigated assassinations of priests and other scandals threatening the Church, and conducted high-risk missions behind the Iron Curtain.

Audiobook read by Stephen Colbert and Father John Quigley POPE FRANCIS' DEBUT MEMOIR · A moving, deeply human account of the life and legacy of one of the bravest and most visionary leaders in modern history—A must read for all generations in a world yearning for hope and change For the first...

The discovery of DNA’s structure is the story of five towering minds in pursuit of the advancement of science, and for almost all of them, the prospect of fame and immortality: Watson, Crick, Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, and Linus Pauling. Howard Markel skillfully recreates the intense intellectual journey, and fraught personal relationships, that ultimately led to a spectacular breakthrough. But it is Rosalind Franklin - fiercely determined, relentless, and an outsider at Cambridge and the University of London in the 1950s - who becomes a focal point for Markel.

One of the most famous figures in Christian history, Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226) was revered as a miracle worker during his life and quickly canonized after his death. He has inspired generations of Christians and other spiritual seekers, from medieval ascetics to 1960s hippies and modern environmentalists. The "poverello" wrote poems praising the sun, moon, and stars, spoke to the birds, and—so the story goes—even tamed a wolf. But what do we know for sure about who he was, and what is simply legend?

The life of Sir Francis Drake, or, more precisely, the tale of it, is one of those prime examples that history is written by the winners. Drake was the most famous sailor of the Elizabethan era, and he has long been considered a hero by the English. His successes against the Spanish as a captain and a privateer were legendary, and Drake was celebrated for fighting the Queen's enemies, sinking their ships, and capturing the treasure that would otherwise be used to finance attacks on England.

It seems obvious that we should use history to improve policy. If we have a good understanding of the past, it should enable better decisions in the present, especially in the extraordinarily consequential worlds of statecraft and strategy. But how do we gain that knowledge? How should history be used? Sadly, it is rarely done well, and historians and decision-makers seldom interact. But in this remarkable book, Francis J. Gavin explains the many ways historical knowledge can help us understand and navigate the complex, often confusing world around us.

'Never before had the world seen four such giants co-existing. Sometimes friends, more often enemies, always rivals, these four men together held Europe in the hollow of their hands.' The colourful story of the four very different men who created our modern world: Henry VIII, Francis I of France...

The Complete Writings of St. Francis Assisi is the only audiobook on the market to include the original writings of St. Francis, his own work, "The Prayers of St. Francis", "The Little Flowers of St. Francis" and a biography of the life and achievements of St. Francis. St. Francis was an extraordinary writer and poet whose writings are sure to move the young and seasoned writer on topics such as life, love, the environment, and animals all while keeping a close walk with your creator.

In his 1992 best-selling book The End of History and the Last Man, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama argued that the dominance of liberal democracy marked the end of humanity's political and ideological development. Thirty years later, with populism on the rise and the number of liberal democracies decreasing worldwide, Fukuyama revisits his classic thesis. A series of in-depth interviews between Fukuyama and editor Mathilde Fasting, After the End of History offers a wide-ranging analysis of liberal democracy today.

There are plenty of other elements about real-life pirates that are simply fiction. But what about the real history of pirates - is it worth exploring, and why? The history of the Golden Age of Piracy, the one that has shaped the modern conception of a pirate, is complex and long, with lots of information to cover.

Finding from my own personal experience how troublesome it is to hunt through piles of dusty old volumes, I have decided to make a small selection of these papers which I consider are not only rare and very interesting, but which also give an insight into the varied activities and achievements of Burton’s crowded life. It will, I think, be realized that such a volume as this will not be superfluous, for, apart from saving people an enormous amount of trouble, it will give them further insight into the life-work of one of the greatest men of the Victorian era.

On May 3, 1946, in St. Martinsville, Louisiana, a 17-year-old Black boy was scheduled for execution by electric chair. Willie Francis had been charged with murder; his trial had been brief; his death sentence never in doubt. When the executioners flipped the switch, Willie screamed and writhed as electricity coursed through his body. But Willie Francis did not die. Having miraculously survived, Willie was informed that the state would attempt to execute him a second time within a week.

Immerse yourself in the captivating tale of young Francis, the son of an Italian merchant, who is spellbound by the songs and stories of knights and troubadours that his father shares from his journeys. Inspired, Francis aspires to become a knight himself. However, after witnessing firsthand the harrowing suffering caused by war, he radically changes his path. Opting for a life of simplicity and service, he relinquishes all his material possessions to become nothing less than a troubadour for God.

A thorough introduction to Saint Francis’s extraordinary character and spiritual journey, Chesterton’s biography is both a fascinating historical account of the man’s life, as well as a profound meditation on holiness and humility. Chesterton portrays Saint Francis not only as a holy man, but also as a gentle lover of animals, and a radical spiritual revolutionary. He unveils how Saint Francis renounced a life of comfort and wealth to dedicate himself wholly to God, evoking the man’s loving and joyful spirit.