Showing results by narrator "Gareth Richards" in All Categories

The Second World War was the most destructive conflict in history. It left Europe in ruins, its economies severely damaged and millions of its people facing malnutrition, its political systems shaken if not destroyed. Yet three decades later its economies had recovered; it largely appeared politically stable; its inhabitants generally were well housed and well fed. Then at the end of the 1980s, the postwar settlement disintegrated, and a new chapter in Europe's postwar history had begun.

In 2020, guitar expert John Stubbings released a limited-edition book on the American acoustic guitar that sold out in days. Now, The Devil Is in It returns with additional research and subject matter for a new generation of listeners. Stubbings traveled the country and met with guitar makers, players, collectors, and historians to unravel the long and rich history of the acoustic guitar, its evolution, and the music it has made over the last hundred years.

After the war to save Ultramar from the traitor hosts of Horus ended, formerly disgraced Ultramarines Sergeant Aenoid Thiel believes that enemies still linger within the borders of the empire. Finding other men of purpose, fellow Space Marines known as the ‘Red-Marked’, Thiel wages a guerrilla war to root out these enemies and vanquish them for good. Following the threads of a previous mission, the Red-Marked arrive on the moon of Bael. There they find an underwater rigging station that has seemingly been abandoned.

The Black Plague's terrible toll never ends, unleashing a new wave of zombies with disastrous consequences. Low on hope, Knight Alaric von Mertz and his companions flee their crumbling sanctuary, and soon come under the unlikely wing of murderous pirates. There, they learn of a legendary artifact called Mournshroud that could destroy swathes of the undead, but to claim it they must defeat an evil sorceress on an isolated island. Guarded by a dragon! A knight's honor demands he defend his kingdom, no matter the cost. 

The names of few medieval monarchs and their queens are better known than Eleanor of Aquitaine, uniquely queen of France and queen of England, and her second husband Henry II. Although academically labeled "medieval," their era was the violent transition from the Dark Ages, when countries' borders were defined with fire and sword. If princes fought for their succession to crowns, the princesses were traded—usually by their mothers—to strangers for political power without the bloodshed.

Olive Wickes knew a better life once. Before their old master died, her family lived in comfortable servants' quarters beside a garden where birdsong echoed through the day. But the new young master turned them out, and now Olive, her parents, and her five-year-old brother Jimmy are struggling to get by. In their cold and desolate tenement, Olive sings to Jimmy about the birds of the garden, trying to cling on to hope.

To date, more than a million insect species have been described, with probably at least another 5-8 million species waiting in the wings for a name. Insects are a fascinatingly diverse and beautiful spectrum of animals. They range in size from the tiny parasitic wasp, measuring a mere 139µm, to the aptly named Titan beetle, which can reach lengths of up to 17cm. They can be found on all continents of the world, from the Sahara Desert to the frozen wastes of Antarctica. While no insects live beneath the waves, the intrepid sea skaters skim the surface of some of the world's oceans.

I died a great mage, protecting my people. A millennium later, I wake to find true magic dead, completely replaced by gadgetry. It appears that my descendants require a lesson in true sorcery. But first I need to find out something—who wants me dead badly enough to try killing me twice?...

In this uncompromising essay, Jonathan Crary presents the obvious but unsayable reality: our "digital age" is synonymous with the disastrous terminal stage of global capitalism and its financialization of social existence, mass impoverishment, ecocide, and military terror. Scorched Earth surveys the wrecking of a living world by the internet complex and its devastation of communities and their capacities for mutual support.

In the history of ancient Macedonia, the last three Antigonid kings—Philip V, his son Perseus, and the pretender Andriscus or Philip VI—are commonly overlooked in favor of their predecessors Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, who established a Macedonian empire.

For more than a millennium, the Byzantine Empire presided over the juncture between East and West, as well as the transition from the classical to the modern world. Rather than recounting the standard chronology of emperors and battles, leading Byzantium scholar Jonathan Harris focuses on a succession of archetypal figures, families, places, and events.

Explore the deadly elegance of finance's hidden powerhouse. The Money Formula takes you inside the engine room of the global economy to explore the little-understood world of quantitative finance, and show how the future of our economy rests on the backs of this all-but-impenetrable industry. This book traces the development of financial derivatives from bonds to credit default swaps, and shows how mathematical formulas went beyond pricing to expand their use to the point where they dwarfed the real economy.

When Knight Alaric von Mertz loses his family to a ravenous zombie horde, he swears revenge on the necromancer responsible. But a quest for vengeance is no easy matter in a world overrun by the walking dead. Joined by a rogue, a witch hunter, a novice wizard, and a dwarf demolition master, Alaric's journey leads him from fire moats to the zombie-ridden catacombs of the witch hunters to uncover a spell book of insurmountable power. As zombies claw and bite, Alaric fears he will never avenge his family. For in this age of the undead, betrayal and magic lurk around every corner.

Analyzing the way in which horror has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Darryl Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature. 

King Alfred never achieved his dream of uniting the disparate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one Perfecta Saxonia. The man destined to fulfill Alfred's dream is his grandson, Athelstan, as the spark of unity begins in the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. Abandoned by his father and raised by his uncle, young Athelstan faces numerous adversities on his way to becoming a mighty warrior and diplomat. But can he overcome the odds to transform England from an insignificant island off the Western European mainland, into the leading centre of 10th-century diplomacy and learning?

Cara Cooper’s third Christmas starts out as the best she’s ever known. As the daughter of a kitchen maid, she’s just old enough to be really excited. When a kind stranger appears and takes Cara to a beautiful house filled with toys and Christmas treats of every description, she is thrilled. Little does the toddler know that the kind stranger, Edna, has an ulterior motive. Now kidnapped, Cara’s life is set on a collision course with tragedy.

An inviting and accessible new translation of Aristotle's complete Poetics—the first and best introduction to the art of writing and understanding stories.

The streets of Whitechapel are a savage place to grow up, especially during the terrible winter of 1895. Even before she was brought into the world, the odds were stacked against Effie Wilson. Born to two irresponsible, alcoholic parents, Effie is the eldest of five children - none of whom really stand a chance. Matters are made even worse when Effie’s parents disappear one day, never to return. Her only hope could rest in Willie Green, a sweet boy with bright hazel eyes who comes and goes from Effie’s life. If only she knew when he might appear again...

In our spine-chilling homage to the late, great Dennis Wheatley and the inimitable Hammer Horror films spawned from his works, HellBound Books presents 20 superlatively satanic stories guaranteed to have you fearing for your very soul. A whole host of hell's denizens skulk within this audiobook, waiting with growing impatience for the brave of heart - or the relentlessly foolhardy - to make their otherworldly acquaintance, so please, do venture inside. If you dare....

In July 2010, Wikileaks published Cablegate, one of the biggest leaks in the history of the US military, including evidence for war crimes and torture. In the aftermath, Julian Assange, the founder and spokesman of Wikileaks, found himself at the center of a media storm, accused of hacking and later sexual assault. He spent the next seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearful that he would be extradited to Sweden to face the accusations of assault and then sent to US.