Bøker av Stephen Porter

This book teases out the similarities and differences between the sweat' and its better-known, if equally feared, contemporary infectious disease, bubonic plague.

The Bull Pen Chronicles characterize the life and times of Stephen H. Porter. A compulsive outdoorsman since boyhood, his obsession with the natural world ultimately led to a purpose in the place he was meant to be, a wildlife enforcement officer stalking the remote mountain hinterlands of North Park, Colorado. Tales scribed through the eyes of a veteran outdoorsman and retired wildlife enforcement officer, Steve proffers a unique assessment of human beings being human, the good, bad, and ugly of people working for and against the wild. Flavored with personal philosophies and humor, this book will tickle the minds of those appreciating stories of a justice seeking Rocky Mountain warden, those enjoying personal hunting and fishing adventures, and those seeking a clearer understanding of the hunting and fishing games, whether they participate or not. Six decades of experiencing and scribing his adventures, Steve finished this First Cache during downtime rewarded by the Covid-19 Pandemic at the ripe old age of 72. Consequently, these Chronicles are, literally and figuratively, about time!

The definitive history of the virulent and fatal plague outbreaks that wiped out half of London's populations from the medieval Black Death of the 1340s to the Great Plagues of the seventeenth century.

Tudor London was a vibrant capital city, the very hub of English cultural and political life. The thriving metropolis had a strong royal presence, at the long established Tower of London and Westminster, and later at the palaces of Whitehall, Bridewell and St James's, built by Henry VIII to host his glittering court. Anne Boleyn was assigned a house in the Strand, with gardens running down to the river, while Elizabeth I stayed occasionally at Somerset House. The great and the good gravitated to the city too: Erasmus lodged with Sir Thomas More and his family in Bucklesbury, off Cheapside; Sir Walter Raleigh wrote poetry in his study in Durham House, overlooking the Thames and William Shakespeare lodged in Silver Street. Like today, streets and areas grew up with their own distinct personality: Bankside and Shoreditch were the first theatre and entertainment districts where the Globe Theatre was built to sit alongside the bear-baiting rings. Londoners themselves, and the many immigrants who flocked from the continent, created a lively, raucous society in the streets, markets and the hundreds of inns and ale-houses. Everyday Life in Tudor London vividly recreates this colourful city.

The Tower of London is an icon of England's history. William the Conqueror built the White Tower after his invasion and conquest in 1066 to dominate London, and it has become infamous as a place of torture, execution and murder. The deaths of royals attracted most attention: the murder of the Princes in the Tower, the beheading of Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey, Henry's great-niece, and queen for just nine days. Few prisoners recorded their experiences, but John Gerard, a Catholic priest imprisoned during Elizabeth I's reign, wrote of being questioned in the torture room, which contained 'every device and instrument of torture'. After being hung from manacles, his wrists were swollen and he could barely walk. Members of the aristocracy could not be tortured, and those incarcerated for a long time used their time to write. Sir Walter Raleigh wrote his vast History of the World in the Tower. Control of the Tower was vital at times of crisis, during rebellions and civil wars. It has also been the country's principal arsenal. It housed the Royal Mint, the national archives, the Crown jewels and wealthy Londoners' riches, and in the royal menagerie it contained one of the earliest zoos. Stephen Porter's landmark history traces the evolution of the Tower and its changing role, the many personalities who lived or were imprisoned there, and the 'voices' of contemporaries during the Tower's long history, spanning more than 900 years.

Everyday life in the teeming metropolis during William Shakespeare's time in the city. Shakespeare's London was a bustling, teeming metropolis that was growing so rapidly that the government took repeated, and ineffectual, steps to curb its expansion. From contemporary letters, journals and diaries, a vivid picture emerges of this fascinating city, with its many opportunities and also its persistent problems. By far the largest city in the country, it was the centre of government, the law and the church, the focus of politics and culture. It had a vigorous economy, with a range of industries and a lucrative trade in luxury goods for the courtiers and wealthy citizens. Growth produced overcrowding and high mortality, with shockingly high death tolls during the periodic plague epidemics, yet London attracted an endless stream of people, who were absorbed into its diverse communities and economic structures. Here the first playhouses were built, patronised by large audiences, who were treated to a rich and varied diet of plays to keep them, and the court, entertained. The London that Shakespeare knew was an expanding, changing and exciting city.

A fascinating insight into one of history's greatest catastrophes