Showing results by narrator "Charles Armstrong" in All Categories

The Battle of Kursk was one of the most pivotal campaigns of World War II and Germany's final strategic offensive on the Eastern Front. Soviet armies had recently occupied the city of Kursk and the Germans aimed to pinch off the salient and cut off its supply chain. But Commander Erich von Manstein did not anticipate the Soviet's dramatic counter offensive, resulting in one of the bloodiest encounters of the Second World War which turned the tide against Adolf Hitler.

From Elizabeth II to future King William, The Windsor Legacy offers a riveting exploration of the British monarchy's resilience and influence over the past century, looking at its key players and conflicts, with a forward-looking examination of its future.

The Battle of Waterloo was one of the most dramatic and decisive battles ever fought. It marked the bloody end of the long struggle between the new ideals of the French Revolution and the established orders that had begun in 1793, and ushered in a century of peace in Europe. For such a massively important battle, Waterloo is all too often misunderstood, probably because the combatants have concentrated on the role of their own troops.

A compelling dual biography of Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle that shines new light on two of the greatest figures of the 20th century. Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were thrown together by war. They incarnated the resistance of Britain and France to the existential threat...

Precipice is dying. For weeks, the space port has been battered by hellish geomagnetic storms, the work of sinister goings-on within the nearby Blackstone Fortress – a vast, ineffable creation that looms in the darkness of the void. Fragile alliances between Precipice’s xenos and human inhabitants crumble as the port’s docking points are destroyed, eroding any hope of escape. Amid this bedlam, opportunistic rogue trader Janus Draik remains coolly unaffected.

Glory returns to Fenris. Magnus the Red and his traitorous legion are defeated upon the icy cliffs of the Space Wolves’ home world, their hollow remains scattered into the darkest depths of the World Sea. Yet Ragnar Blackmane, the youngest Wolf Lord in his Chapter’s noble history, does not feel victorious. He is uneasy. Uncertain of his purpose and place in the great war for the Imperium. Until a vision strikes him of a terrible beast, one greater than any he or his warriors have faced before.

The Exorcists are a Space Marine Chapter unlike any other. To combat the forces of Chaos, they willingly accept daemonic possession, knowing that once it is purged their shattered souls will no longer be susceptible to corruption. Those who fail the banishment trials become Broken Ones – living prisons for the terrors expelled from their brethren. Should such desperate measures become known to the wider Imperium, the Chapter would stand accused of the vilest of heresies.

In Agatha Christie’s “The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan,” Poirot and Hastings are called on to solve the case of Mrs. Opalsen’s missing set of pearls, apparently stolen during a stay at the Grand Metropolitan Hotel. The two suspects are Mrs. Opalsen’s maid and the hotel chambermaid, but both blame the other. Who is the real thief? This short story originally appeared in the March 14, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.  

The greatest battle needs the greatest of warriors. The siege of Troy is in its ninth year. But Troy still stands. When Agamemnon is threatened with mutiny by disillusioned troops, he changes tactics. Ordering attacks on Troy’s allies, he deprives the city of reinforcements, trade and supplies. Yet even this does not draw the Trojans out from behind their walls. Meanwhile, Odysseus, Eperitus and their men have become hardened soldiers. Odysseus just wants to return home to his island Kingdom of Ithaca.

This mystery novel follows Anthony Cade, a man who unknowingly finds himself in the middle of an international conspiracy and a murder investigation after accepting a simple delivery job from an old friend. As Cade slowly begins to realize his predicament has potentially put him in danger, he begins his own investigation into the strange series of events just as Inspector Battle of Scotland Yard begins the main, official investigation.

Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate and cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country at the heart of Europe is full of surprises. Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides a historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions.

Discover the key architectural concepts behind the world's most incredible buildings and structures. The Architecture Book goes beyond other architecture books to analyse not just buildings themselves, but the ideas and principles that make each of the featured structures key to the history and evolution of our built environment.

In the immense city of Varangantua, life is cheap, but mistakes are expensive. When Probator Agusto Zidarov of the city’s enforcers is charged with locating the missing scion of a wealthy family, he knows full well that the chances of finding him alive are slight. The people demanding answers, though, are powerful and ruthless, and he is soon immersed in a world of criminal cartels and corporate warfare where even an enforcer’s survival is far from guaranteed.

AD 101. Eleven years have passed since the emperor Domitian led a campaign into Dacia to chastise them for their incursions, meeting the enemy once again at Tapae, the site of an earlier battle. But Domitian is gone, now, and a new emperor sits on the throne: Trajan. This new leader of the Roman world is determined to succeed where Domitian failed: the total subjugation of Dacia.

In the final years of his life, Chekhov produced some of the stories that rank among his masterpieces and some of the most highly-regarded works in Russian literature. The poignant 'The Lady with the Little Dog' and 'About Love' examine the nature of love outside of marriage - its romantic idealism and the fear of disillusionment. And in stories such as 'Peasants', 'The House with the Mezzanine' and 'My Life' Chekhov paints a vivid picture of the conditions of the poor and of their powerlessness in the face of exploitation and hardship.

Christo Lloyd was recognised as one of the foremost gardeners and garden writers of the 20th century. Here, for the first time, is the definitive collection of his best, most informative, and so often amusing garden writing. Christo on gardening: "ours, in its humble way, is an art as well as a craft. At the same time it keeps us in touch with the earth, the seasons, and with that complex of interrelated forces both animate and inanimate which we call nature. It is a humanising occupation."

'Wonderful . . . all killer, no filler' Red Magazine 'Dazzling stories, as inventive as they are inspiring' Daily Mirror 'Where power and feminist rage meet' Stylist ______________________________ A fun and fearless anthology of feminist tales, by fifteen bestselling, award-winning writers...

Varangantua is in turmoil. After the district of Korsk is obliterated in a fiery cataclysm, the city’s enforcers must pick up the pieces. As sanctioner teams comb the wreckage for survivors, dogged probators such as Agusto Zidarov and Lycia Calix seek to uncover the truth about what happened. Their stories become intertwined with those of petty criminals and desperate citizens, even drawing the vaunted attention of agents beyond Alecto itself, painting a picture of sprawling conspiracy.

On October 15, 1958, Sotheby's of Bond Street staged an "event sale” of seven Impressionist paintings. The seven lots went for £781,000—at the time the highest price for a single sale. The event established London as the world center of the art market and Sotheby's as an international auction house. It began a shift in power from the dealers to the auctioneers and paved the way for Impressionist paintings to dominate the market for the next forty years.

The Great Bear will descend from the skies and with his paw lash at the ocean. He will devour all the works of Man. Then he will sleep for 10,000 years, and the breath of his sleep will be death. The prophecy had come true. The world spun. Tidal waves lashed the planet, and a new ice age dawned. The few survivors of a once-great empire struggled to rebuild. Then two moons appeared in the skies, unleashing a terrible evil that threatened not only the new empire but the survival of the world itself.