Author: Celia Kellett File Type: epub This fascinating book will be enjoyed both by those interested in the science of poisons and also by general readers who can dip in and find hair-raising horrors and calamities on every page. In this fascinating guide to poisons, Celia Kellett provides information and entertainment in equal measure as she explains clearly what all the different poisons are and how they work, giving us all the gory detail of how, by accident or design, they have led to the demise of so many people. From cyanide to the Black Widow spider, and from the Green Mamba snake to botulism, poisons can be found everywhere from the jungle to the refrigerator. Did you know, for example, that the Emperor Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning caused by the green dye used for the pattern on his wallpaper? Or that the Green Mambas venom is so toxic that a bite is fatal within half an hour? Or that 50,000 people die from snake bites every year in India? Poison is rarely out of the headlines, with recent stories including the murder, by polonium poisoning, of Alexander Litvinenko in London, allegedly by the KGB, The Horse Whisperer author Nicholas Evans becoming seriously ill in Scotland after eating poisonous mushrooms, and melamine poisoning in Chinese baby-milk formula. It is a subject that holds a fascination for the general public who (along with budding crime writers, and perhaps the KGB) will want to buy this excellent book in large numbers.

Author: Daniëlle Teeuwen File Type: pdf In the Dutch Republic, charitable collections, which formed the financial backbone of many poor relief institutions, were regularly organised by both religious and secular authorities. This book examines both the policies of church boards and town councils in organising these charitable appeals, as well as the general populations giving behaviour. Using archival sources from the towns of Delft, Utrecht, Zwolle, and s-Hertogenbosch, Danielle Teeuwen shows how these authorities deployed organisational and rhetorical tactics-including creating awareness, establishing trust, and exerting pressure-to successfully promote fundraising campaigns. Not only did many relief institutions manage to collect large annual sums, but contributions came from across the socioeconomic spectrum.

Author: Robert L. O'Connell File Type: epub From an acclaimed military historian, a bold reappraisal of young George Washington, an ambitious if reckless soldier destined to become the legendary general who took on the British and, through his leadership,defined the American character How did George Washington become an American icon? Robert L. OConnell, the New York Times bestselling author of Fierce Patriot and The Ghosts of Cannae, introduces us to Washington before he was Washington a young soldier champing at the bit for a commission in the British army, frustrated by his position as a minor Virginia aristocrat. Fueled by ego, Washington led a disastrous expedition in the Seven Years War, but then the commander grew up. We witness George Washington take up politics and join Virginias colonial governing body, the House of Burgesses, where he became ever more attuned to the injustices of life under the British Empire and the paranoid, revolutionary atmosphere of the colonies. When war seemed inevitable, he was the right manthe only manto lead the nascent American army. We would not be here without George Washington, and OConnell proves that Washington the general was at least as significant to the founding of the United States as Washington the president. He emerges here as cunning and manipulative, a subtle puppeteer among intimates, and a master cajolerbut all in the cause of rectitude and moderation. Washington became the embodiment of the Revolution itself. He draped himself over the revolutionary process and tamped down its fires. As OConnell writes, the war was decisive because Washington managed to stop a cycle of violence with the force of personality and personal restraint. In his trademark conversational, witty style, Robert L. OConnell has written a compelling reexamination of General Washington and his revolutionary world. He cuts through the enigma surrounding Washington to show how the general made all the difference and became a new archetype of revolutionary leader in the process. Revolutionary is a masterful character study of Americas founding conflict filled with lessons about conspiracy, resistance, and leadership that resonate today. Advance praise for *Revolutionary* Given the amount of ink spilled over the years, it is not easy to offer a fresh look at George Washingtons leadership role during the war for American independence. But Robert L. OConnell has done it in Revolutionary. The title announces the insight, which is the otherwise uncontrollable political and military energies released by the war that Washington was able to orchestrate.Joseph J. Ellis, author of *American Dialogues The Founders and Us* **Review Given the amount of ink spilled over the years, it is not easy to offer a fresh look at George Washingtons leadership role during the war for American independence. But Robert OConnell has done it in Revolutionary. The title announces the insight, which is the otherwise uncontrollable political and military energies released by the war that Washington was able to orchestrate.Joseph J. Ellis, author of *American Dialogues The Founders and Us* George Washington underwent a remarkable arc of transformation from the vain, brazenly ambitious, and disaster-prone young officer of the French and Indian War of the 1750s to the Revolutionary leader known as the Father of His Country two decades later. With his graceful writing, thoughtful insight, and intimate knowledge of his subject, Robert L. OConnell in Revolutionary generously takes us along on that transformative journey of Washingtons . . . A fascinating portrait of a leader emerging into greatness out of the cauldron of war.Peter Stark, author of *Young Washington How Wilderness and War Forged Americas Founding Father* Robert OConnell has captured the essence of General George Washington, showing him to be a class-conscious man of the eighteenth century and a leader who could, and did, err egregiously. But he also demonstrates Washingtons perceptive understanding of the American Revolution, the army he commanded, the enemy he fought, and the cultivation of his own image. Revolutionary is an illuminating and provocative book that should be read by all who wish to understand Washingtons contribution to Americas victory in the War of Independence.John Ferling, author of Apostles of Revolution Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe A provocative biography arguing that George Washingtons greatest accomplishment was guiding a rare revolution that turned out well for the revolutionaries. . . . A delightfully convincing case that Washington was historys least ruthless and most successful revolutionary.Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Always expect the unexpected from Robert L. OConnell. One of our best military historians doesnt disappoint withRevolutionary. Can there be a better account, or a more concise one, of the leader who improvised a genuine revolution and made it workours, fortunately?Robert Cowley, founding editor of MHQ The Quarterly Journal of Military History** About the Author Robert L. OConnell received a Ph.D. in history at the University of Virginia, and spent thirty years as a senior analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center. He is a visiting professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, and was a contributing editor to MHQ The Quarterly Journal of Military History. He is the author of numerous books, including Fierce Patriot The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman The Ghosts of Cannae Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic Of Arms and Men A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression and Soul of the Sword An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present.

Author: Jamie Stern-Weiner File Type: epub A half-century into the conflict between Israel and Palestine, Israels Occupation at Fifty brings together eminent political leaders, scholars, and activists for a wide-ranging, at times contentious, and remarkably fruitful discussion of the regions fate. A simple observation that ought to astonish more than it does the Israel-Palestine conflict continues. A century on from the Balfour Declaration, 50 years since the fateful war of 1967, and a full decade into the brutal siege of Gaza, Israels occupation is more entrenched than ever while Palestinian self-determination has never been so remote. This is a record that should inspire intellectual humility as well as political urgency a readiness to acknowledge that, on myriad questions bearing on the prospects for resolving the conflict, compelling arguments can be advanced from multiple sides. This book brings together an unprecedented wealth of expertiseencompassing political leaders, preeminent scholars, and dedicated activists from Israel, Palestine, and abroadin direct critical exchange on the issues at the heart of the worlds most intractable war. Has Israels vast settlement enterprise made a Palestinian state impossible? Can the Palestinian leadership end the occupation? Is Israels rule in the Palestinian territories a form of apartheid? What role must the United States play in securing a just peace? In a series of compelling, illuminating and at times no-holds-barred debates, leading authorities tackle these and other problems, exposing myths, challenging preconceptions, and providing a more sober and informed basis for political action. *