Bøker utgitt av Pen and Sword History

Witchcraft! Just the mention of the name is enough to cause fear, even terror, in the minds and hearts of many people. But that is not the full story. Yes, there have always been proponents of the 'dark arts, ' witches and warlocks willing to use their powers for evil, but the wise men and women of the ancient and medieval world - men and women eager to use their spells and potions for good - have often been overlooked.This book looks at witchcraft from the early days, tracing its development as a pseudo-religious cult, the good and the bad, from the wild plains of Babylon to the present day. It highlights witch scares and individuals, particularly the witch hunts of the medieval period when 100,000 women were accused of witchcraft and nearly 80,000 executed. It examines the concept of witch hunting, detailing the activities of men like Matthew Hopkins, the famous Witchfinder General.The book does not just focus on medieval and ancient witches, it takes in modern witch hunting - with people like Senator Joe McCarthy during his Communist witch hunts of the 1950s - and the continued modern persecution of women and men accused of witchcraft in African, Indian and Caribbean states.This is a detailed account of witches and witchcraft, in many ways a tribute to the thousands of men and women accused and executed without full evidence or proof of evil doing. It is a broad historical sweep that includes fictional characters like Morgan le Fey and Merlin, the magician of King Arthur's court. Thoroughly researched and elegantly written, it is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the social and political history of the past

Britain has a rich and spectacular history.It is a core country in the development of the modern world. Indeed, as the first industrial nation, there is a strong case that Britain is its primary cause, and it certainly isn't easy to imagine our 21st century lives without its positive influence and the moments of genius from its people; examples of which are all around us.Its intellectual achievements are exceptional, spanning more than a thousand years and comprising a fusion of people, systems, ideas, inventions, innovations, theories and explorations that are still utilised across the globe today, shaping the world in which we live and breathe on a daily basis.This book is the first to provide a universal view of British history's positive impact on the modern world, and does so, rather uniquely, through tangible examples including scientific endeavour, artistic style, musical talents, author creativity and inventors' curiosity, all of which have significantly shaped and benefitted the modern world.while history is broad and complex, the author simplifies and shortens each account into a deliberately concise overview of a historical development that can be easily digested and used as a springboard for further reading.British ingenuity is widely across so many different fields, from entertainment, sport, literature and gastronomy through to philosophy, engineering, medicine and science. This book gives one hundred and one examples of it.