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Old Taoist: The Life, Art, And Poetry Of Kodôjin (1865-1944)
by Stephen Addiss J. Thomas Rimer Jonathan ChavesIn the literary and artistic milieu of early modern Japan the Chinese and Japanese arts flourished side by side. Kodojin, the "Old Taoist" (1865-1944), was the last of these great poet-painters in Japan. Under the support of various patrons, he composed a number of Taoist-influenced Chinese and Japanese poems and did lively and delightful ink paintings, continuing the tradition of the poet-sage who devotes himself to study of the ancients, lives quietly and modestly, and creates art primarily for himself and his friends. Portraying this last representative of a tradition of gentle and refined artistry in the midst of a society that valued economic growth and national achievement above all, this beautifully illustrated book brings together 150 of Kodojin's Chinese poems (introduced and translated by Jonathan Chaves), more than 100 of his haiku and tanka (introduced and translated by Stephen Addiss), and many examples of his calligraphy and ink paintings. Addiss's in-depth introduction details the importance of the poet-painter tradition, outlines the life of Kodojin, and offers a critical appraisal of his work, while J. Thomas Rimer's essay puts the literary work of the Old Taoist in context.
Old Timer's Tales of Oregon: An Oral History
by John M. Taylor Joy TalorIn this book the authors gather five oral histories of "old timers" from the Grants Pass area of southern Oregon. The subjects are a logger (William Raymond Young), a naturalist (Mary Paetzel), a postal worker (Ethyle and Ed Lester), a violin-maker (Victor Gardener), and a jeweler (Bob Buckmaster). The question-answer format preserves the sense of the interview process. These stories include much more than what you might imagine from the professions mentioned above. For example, William Raymond Young had experiences as a fire fighter, miner, factory worker, and netter of salmon. He mentions hogs being raised near the hotel at Bybee Springs, going to San Francisco with the intent of making it to Alaska to get on a whaling ship, and encountering a porcupine.
Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late: My Story
by Oliver Holt Kieron DyerKieron Dyer's memoir, Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late, is the first intimate and unsparing portrait of the failures and excesses of the generation of English footballers made rich beyond their wildest dreams by the post-1990 World Cup boom in the game and the explosion of the Premier League. It shares the same brutal honesty and self-awareness of the bestselling No Nonsense by Joey Barton and GoodFella by Craig Bellamy.In the public mind, Kieron Dyer came to symbolise so much of what was self-destructive about a group of football players known collectively as the 'Baby Bentley generation'. Nicknamed 'The King of Bling' by the tabloid press, Dyer was caught up in many of the scandals that characterised the history of a talented crop of players who promised so much and delivered so little, a generation whose wages and lavish lifestyles began to alienate them from the fans who once worshipped them.The brash young man is gone now, and in his place is the quiet, caring, wise man who was such a favourite on I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! in 2015. Dyer narrates, in uncompromising detail, how a generation of talented English footballers, taken out of working class childhoods and presented with a world of glitz, glamour, wealth and temptation, failed to cope with the riches that were presented to them and often fell apart.Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late is about a moment in time, a social and historical record of English football at the start of its gold rush. For Dyer, the end of the book brings a measure of personal redemption and peace but for the English game, there is only a lingering sense of waste and regret for an opportunity lost.
Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late: My Story
by Oliver Holt Kieron Dyer'Searingly honest' - Paul Hayward, Daily Telegraph'illuminating' - Martin Samuel, Daily Mail'warts-and-all ... unsparing, honest' GQ magazineKieron Dyer's memoir, Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late, is the first intimate and unsparing portrait of the failures and excesses of the generation of English footballers made rich beyond their wildest dreams by the post-1990 World Cup boom in the game and the explosion of the Premier League. It shares the same brutal honesty and self-awareness of the bestselling No Nonsense by Joey Barton and GoodFella by Craig Bellamy.In the public mind, Kieron Dyer came to symbolise so much of what was self-destructive about a group of football players known collectively as the 'Baby Bentley generation'. Nicknamed 'The King of Bling' by the tabloid press, Dyer was caught up in many of the scandals that characterised the history of a talented crop of players who promised so much and delivered so little, a generation whose wages and lavish lifestyles began to alienate them from the fans who once worshipped them.The brash young man is gone now, and in his place is the quiet, caring, wise man who was such a favourite on I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! in 2015. Dyer narrates, in uncompromising detail, how a generation of talented English footballers, taken out of working class childhoods and presented with a world of glitz, glamour, wealth and temptation, failed to cope with the riches that were presented to them and often fell apart.Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late is about a moment in time, a social and historical record of English football at the start of its gold rush. For Dyer, the end of the book brings a measure of personal redemption and peace but for the English game, there is only a lingering sense of waste and regret for an opportunity lost.
Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late: My Story
by Oliver Holt Kieron DyerKieron Dyer's memoir, Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late, is the first intimate and unsparing portrait of the failures and excesses of the generation of English footballers made rich beyond their wildest dreams by the post-1990 World Cup boom in the game and the explosion of the Premier League. It shares the same brutal honesty and self-awareness of the bestselling No Nonsense by Joey Barton and GoodFella by Craig Bellamy.In the public mind, Kieron Dyer came to symbolise so much of what was self-destructive about a group of football players known collectively as the 'Baby Bentley generation'. Nicknamed 'The King of Bling' by the tabloid press, Dyer was caught up in many of the scandals that characterised the history of a talented crop of players who promised so much and delivered so little, a generation whose wages and lavish lifestyles began to alienate them from the fans who once worshipped them.The brash young man is gone now, and in his place is the quiet, caring, wise man who was such a favourite on I'm a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! in 2015. Dyer narrates, in uncompromising detail, how a generation of talented English footballers, taken out of working class childhoods and presented with a world of glitz, glamour, wealth and temptation, failed to cope with the riches that were presented to them and often fell apart.Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late is about a moment in time, a social and historical record of English football at the start of its gold rush. For Dyer, the end of the book brings a measure of personal redemption and peace but for the English game, there is only a lingering sense of waste and regret for an opportunity lost.(P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and Freedom
by Maria LaurinoIn an attempt to discuss feminism through the prism of ethnic identity, the author of "Were You Always an Italian?" brews an unusual and affirming blend of contemporary and traditional values, in this warm, smart, and witty personal investigation of ethnicity and womanhood.
Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and Freedom
by Maria LaurinoA warm, smart, and witty personal investigation of ethnicity and womanhood. In the second-generation immigrant home where Maria Laurino grew up, "independent" was a dirty word and "sacrifice" was the ideal and reality of motherhood. But out in the world, Mary Tyler Moore was throwing her hat in the air, personifying the excitement and opportunities of the freedom loving American career woman. How, then, to reconcile one's inner Livia Soprano--the archetypal ethnic mother--with a feminist icon?Combining lived experience with research and reporting on our contemporary work-family dilemmas, Laurino brews an unusual and affirming blend of contemporary and traditional values. No other book has attempted to discuss feminism through the prism of ethnic identity, or to merge the personal and the analytical with such a passionate and intelligent literary voice. Prizing both individual freedom and an Old World in which the dependent young and old are cherished, Laurino makes clear how much the New World offers and how much it has yet to learn.
Old-Fashioned on Purpose: Cultivating a Slower, More Joyful Life
by Jill Winger"In a world where so many of us are craving a life of simplicity and meaning, Old-Fashioned on Purpose gives you the roadmap to rediscovering what really matters." —Hal Elrod, bestselling author of The Miracle Morning With a foreword from singer, songwriter, and New York Times bestselling author Rory FeekCreator of The Prairie Homestead blog and the Old-Fashioned On Purpose podcast Jill Winger reveals that the secrets to finding happiness today is by turning to the lost arts of the past When the pandemic hit in 2020, flour and vegetable seeds flew off the shelves. But homesteader and entrepreneur Jill Winger believes these longings for sourdough bread and fresh veggies are more than a trend. As our society races toward progress, we&’ve left something important behind. We are more connected than ever before, yet we&’re still feeling unfulfilled. In Old-Fashioned on Purpose, Winger shows how simplifying our lives and adopting retro skills such as gardening and handiwork can be the key to creating the happy and healthy life we&’re yearning for. Inside these pages, readers will learn: How to find joy in the kitchen (even if you hate to cook) Proven strategies for growing your own groceries The surprising stress-relievers that can be found in your backyard How to craft a more grounded routine and save money in the process Clever tips and creative DIYs to help you embark on your old-fashioned journey You don&’t have to live on a farm to cultivate a simpler life. This inspiring and practical book offers a powerful new sense of purpose, with plenty of tomatoes, chickens, and bread making along the way.
Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook
by Alex GuarnaschelliHow does one become an Iron Chef and a Chopped judge on Food Network--and what does she really cook at home? Alex Guarnaschelli grew up in a home suffused with a love of cooking, where soufflés and cheeseburgers were equally revered. The daughter of a respected cookbook editor and a Chinese cooking enthusiast, Alex developed a passion for food at a young age, sealing her professional fate. Old-School Comfort Food shares her journey from waist-high taste-tester to trained chef who now adores spending time in the kitchen with her daughter, along with the 100 recipes for how she learned to cook--and the way she still loves to eat.Here are Alex's secrets to great home cooking, where humble ingredients and familiar preparations combine with excellent technique and care to create memorable meals. Alex brings her recipes to life with reminiscences of everything from stealing tomatoes from her aunt's garden and her first bite of her mother's pâté to being one of the few women in the kitchen of a renowned Parisian restaurant and serving celebrity clientele in her own successful New York City establishments. With 75 color photographs and ephemera, Old-School Comfort Food is Alex's love letter to deliciousness.
Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years
by Roger Clough'In front of me is an adventure with old age as my companion, my shadow and confederate, maybe my friend.'Old age is a country, and we need to learn to walk through it. And that's just what Roger Clough, former Professor of Social Care, lifelong hill walker, and current resident of 'Oldenland' spends his time doing. Where he used to study the terrain of ageing like a scientist, now he understands it as a farmer might, walking its contours every day from his retirement village in the Peak District, while still negotiating the physical peaks and troughs of the area. Whilst there are a lot of books that cover the topic of 'how to have a good death', there is little that offers us advice on the time period that comes before that. How do we learn to actually be old? How do we spend our later years in a meaningful way that makes sense of who we've been and who we are now? Not in blithely positive denial in the face of our physical and cognitive decline, or overtaken with regret of a life that's running down the clock, but empowered to not lose who we are; to say 'I am still me'. And, if we have not yet arrived at its borders, how can we better understand those who live there, and better prepare ourselves for a future when we will become citizens too?Written over 25 years and innumerable journeys, Oldenland is a unique and moving companion to the experiences of old age, and how to make it count.
Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years
by Roger Clough'In front of me is an adventure with old age as my companion, my shadow and confederate, maybe my friend.'Old age is a country, and we need to learn to walk through it. And that's just what Roger Clough, former Professor of Social Care, lifelong hill walker, and current resident of 'Oldenland' spends his time doing. Where he used to study the terrain of ageing like a scientist, now he understands it as a farmer might, walking its contours every day from his retirement village in the Peak District, while still negotiating the physical peaks and troughs of the area. Whilst there are a lot of books that cover the topic of 'how to have a good death', there is little that offers us advice on the time period that comes before that. How do we learn to actually be old? How do we spend our later years in a meaningful way that makes sense of who we've been and who we are now? Not in blithely positive denial in the face of our physical and cognitive decline, or overtaken with regret of a life that's running down the clock, but empowered to not lose who we are; to say 'I am still me'. And, if we have not yet arrived at its borders, how can we better understand those who live there, and better prepare ourselves for a future when we will become citizens too?Written over 25 years and innumerable journeys, Oldenland is a unique and moving companion to the experiences of old age, and how to make it count.
Oldenland: A Journey in Search of the Good Last Years
by Roger Clough'In front of me is an adventure with old age as my companion, my shadow and confederate, maybe my friend.'Old age is a country, and we need to learn to walk through it. And that's just what Roger Clough, former Professor of Social Care, lifelong hill walker, and current resident of 'Oldenland' spends his time doing. Where he used to study the terrain of ageing like a scientist, now he understands it as a farmer might, walking its contours every day from his retirement village in the Peak District, while still negotiating the physical peaks and troughs of the area. Whilst there are a lot of books that cover the topic of 'how to have a good death', there is little that offers us advice on the time period that comes before that. How do we learn to actually be old? How do we spend our later years in a meaningful way that makes sense of who we've been and who we are now? Not in blithely positive denial in the face of our physical and cognitive decline, or overtaken with regret of a life that's running down the clock, but empowered to not lose who we are; to say 'I am still me'. And, if we have not yet arrived at its borders, how can we better understand those who live there, and better prepare ourselves for a future when we will become citizens too?Written over 25 years and innumerable journeys, Oldenland is a unique and moving companion to the experiences of old age, and how to make it count.
Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related.: A Memoir
by Jenny Heijun WillsA beautiful and haunting memoir of kinship and culture rediscovered.Jenny Heijun Wills was born in Korea and adopted as an infant into a white family in small-town Canada. In her late twenties, she reconnected with her first family and returned to Seoul where she spent four months getting to know other adoptees, as well as her Korean mother, father, siblings, and extended family. At the guesthouse for transnational adoptees where she lived, alliances were troubled by violence and fraught with the trauma of separation and of cultural illiteracy. Unsurprisingly, heartbreakingly, Wills found that her nascent relationships with her family were similarly fraught. Ten years later, Wills sustains close ties with her Korean family. Her Korean parents and her younger sister attended her wedding in Montreal, and that same sister now lives in Canada. Remarkably, meeting Jenny caused her birth parents to reunite after having been estranged since her adoption. Little by little, Jenny Heijun Wills is learning and relearning her stories and those of her biological kin, piecing together a fragmented life into something resembling a whole.Delving into gender, class, racial, and ethnic complexities, as well as into the complex relationships between Korean women--sisters, mothers and daughters, grandmothers and grandchildren, aunts and nieces--Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. describes in visceral, lyrical prose the painful ripple effects that follow a child's removal from a family, and the rewards that can flow from both struggle and forgiveness.
Older and Bolder: My A-Z of surviving almost everything
by Esther RantzenBe bolder as you grow older, and make sure you float above any challenges that threaten to overwhelm you. Multi-award-winning broadcaster, founder of Childline and The Silver Line, campaigner, mother, grandmother and joyous trailblazer of our times, Dame Esther Rantzen dazzles in the glory of getting older and ever bolder.And now in this energising A-Z, she time-travels through her most signi?cant memories, from meeting Princess Diana to creating a national outrage with a mischievous short ?lm about a driving dog, and re?ects with candour and humour on the life lessons she's learned, revealing the hints, hacks and personal philosophies that have been her secrets to surviving almost everything.We may not all achieve what Dame Esther has, but here we can soak up her wisdom, laugh with her, learn from her, embrace the passing years and march boldly on.
Oleg Yefremov: Novel-dialogue
by Elena ChernikovaOleg Nikolayevich Yefremov is an actor and stage director of legendary rank, a face of his time. In 1956 he created "Sovremennik" Moscow theater, and he also headed the Gorky's Moscow Art Theater from 1970 to his death in 2000. His numerous roles in movies won him people's love. Yet his name is love is veiled with rumors and legends. Today Soviet stuff is fad amongst the people: the youth swallows the knowledge about it from TV-shows and prints on T-shirts; whilst the older ones skim through their memories of the real one. That book oriented to both of these sides. To understand the starry yet tragic way of Yefremov means to come closer to understanding of Soviet Union and reasons behind its Dissolution. Here you can learn about Soviet and theatric lifes, about a life of a person of art of the border of times.
Olga Korbut
by Wayne CoffeyA biography of the Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals in the 1972 Olympics and returned to win another in 1976.
Olga Rudge and Ezra Pound: What Thou Lovest Well ...
by Anne ConoverA loving and admiring companion for half a century to literary titan Ezra Pound, concert violinist Olga Rudge was the muse who inspired the poet to complete his epic poem,The Cantos,and the mother of his only daughter, Mary. Strong-minded and defiant of conventions, Rudge knew the best and worst of times with Pound. With him, she coped with the wrenching dislocations brought about by two catastrophic world wars and experienced modernism's radical transformation of the arts. In this enlightening biography, Anne Conover offers a full portrait of Olga Rudge (1895-1996), drawing for the first time on Rudge's extensive unpublished personal notebooks and correspondence. Conover explores Rudge's relationship with Pound, her influence on his life and career, and her perspective on many details of his controversial life, as well as her own musical career as a violinist and musicologist and a key figure in the revival of Vivaldi's music in the 1930s. In addition to mining documentary sources, the author interviewed Rudge and family members and friends. The result is a vivid account of a highly intelligent and talented woman and the controversial poet whose flame she tended to the end of her long life. The book quotes extensively from the Rudge-Pound letters--an almost daily correspondence that began in the 1920s and continued until Pound's death in 1972. These letters shed light on many aspects of Pound's disturbing personality; the complicated and delicate balance he maintained between the two most significant women in his life, Olga and his wife Dorothy, for fifty years; the birth of Olga and Ezra's daughter Mary de Rachewiltz; Pound's alleged anti-Semitism and Fascist sympathies; his wartime broadcasts over Rome radio and indictment for treason; and his twelve-year incarceration in St. Elizabeth's Hospital for the mentally ill.
Olga's Story
by Stephanie WilliamsWhen Canadian journalist Stephanie Williams set out to discover her Russian grandmother' s long-lost history, what she unearthed was this stunning, sprawling portrait of a life lived on the grand stage of the 20th century. Born in remote Siberia in 1900, Olga Yunter was the youngest of five children. As a teenager during the Revolution, she was a courier and arms-runner for the White Russians. After learning of the execution of her brother at the hands of the Red Army, which drew nearer every day, her father sent her to China with rubies and gold sewn into her petticoats. She would never see her family again. The life of a Russian exile in China meant poverty and fear. But Olga was lucky. She met and married Fred Edney, and gave birth to their daughter, Irina, the author's mother. But the creeping Japanese occupation and invasion of China forced Olga to flee with Irina to Canada, leaving Fred behind to continue working. For five years she heard almost nothing of her husband, save that he was alive in a Japanese prison camp. At the end of the war she returned to China to find him broken by his internment. The family was driven out of the country for good by the Chinese Revolution in 1949. They settled in Oxford, where Olga and Fred lived out the rest of their days. Drawing on letters, diaries, government documents, and interviews, Stephanie Williams brings to life this gripping historical drama, sweeping in scope and illuminated by the intimate details of one woman's extraordinary life.From the Hardcover edition.
Olive Custance: Her Life and Work
by Brocard SewellA colorful and critical biography of the Victorian Fin-de-Siecle poetess Olive Custance (Lady Alfred Douglas).
Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit that Seduced the World
by Julie AngusThis Mediterranean travel memoir offers &“an engaging mix of history, food travelogue, and botany lesson . . . There is much to enjoy here&” (Library Journal). Inspired by her Syrian forebears&’ intimate relationship with the olive, Julie Angus embarks on a voyage around the Mediterranean to unlock the secrets of the fruit that meant so much to them. Accompanied by her husband and their ten-month-old son, Angus collects samples from ancient trees to determine where the first olive tree originated; feasts on inky black tapenades and codfish drizzled with olive oil, among many other delights; witnesses the harvesting of olives in Greece; and visits perhaps the oldest olive tree in the world, on Crete. The result is a fascinating history and biography of this most influential and irresistible fruit. &“It is a pleasure to try to keep up with this book; like its author, it covers an enormous amount of territory.&” —Christopher Bakken, Wall Street Journal
Olive the Lionheart: Lost Love, Imperial Spies, and One Woman's Journey into the Heart of Africa
by Brad Ricca"Brad Ricca’s Olive MacLeod is my favorite sort of woman from history—bold and unconventional, utterly unsinkable—and her story is so full of adventure and acts of courage, it’s hard to believe she actually lived. And yet she did! Brad Ricca has found a heroine for the ages, and written her tale with a winning combination of accuracy and imagination." — Paula McLain, author of Love and Ruin and The Paris WifeFrom the Edgar-nominated author of the bestselling Mrs. Sherlock Holmes comes the true story of a woman's quest to Africa in the 1900s to find her missing fiancé, and the adventure that ensues.In 1910, Olive MacLeod, a thirty-year-old, redheaded Scottish aristocrat, received word that her fiancé, the famous naturalist Boyd Alexander, was missing in Africa.So she went to find him.Olive the Lionheart is the thrilling true story of her astonishing journey. In jungles, swamps, cities, and deserts, Olive and her two companions, the Talbots, come face-to-face with cobras and crocodiles, wise native chiefs, a murderous leopard cult, a haunted forest, and even two adorable lion cubs that she adopts as her own. Making her way in a pair of ill-fitting boots, Olive awakens to the many forces around her, from shadowy colonial powers to an invisible Islamic warlord who may hold the key to Boyd’s disappearance. As these secrets begin to unravel, all of Olive’s assumptions prove wrong and she is forced to confront the darkest, most shocking secret of all: why she really came to Africa in the first place.Drawing on Olive’s own letters and secret diaries, Olive the Lionheart is a love story that defies all boundaries, set against the backdrop of a beautiful, unconquerable Africa.This book is not for sale in the United Kingdom.
Oliver Bulleid's Locomotives: Their Design & Development (Locomotive Portfolio)
by Colin BoocockA history of the man who served as Chief Mechanical Engineer for the Southern Railway and the many locomotives he developed.Oliver Bulleid’s locomotives guides the reader in the quest to understand what motivated Mr Bulleid in his work as a senior engineer and manager, and tries, with as little bias as is reasonable, to make sense of some of the more controversial aspects of his activities. For example, why did OVB not pursue the ideal of a 2-8-2 for the Southern Railway? How did the ‘Leader’ project go so much out of control? What role did Bulleid play in the massive dieselization program in Ireland when he was CME there? How did the 0-6-6-0T turf-burning steam locomotive fit in with Ireland’s traction policy, or did it? And why did ninety of his steam locomotives and ninety-four of ‘his’ diesels have to be rebuilt to make them either more economical or more reliable?These are fundamental questions to which the book provides the reader with answers based on the author’s experiences or on those of people who knew Bulleid. OVB’s undoubted successes are illustrated in words and photographs, too, to provide a hopefully balanced picture of one of Britain’s more exciting railway engineers.“This book is a well written overview of the Bulleid era, by a competent engineer who can express himself in layman’s terms.” —Martin Shill, Industrial Railway Society“The book deserves a place on the bookshelf of every student of locomotives, especially Bulleid's By current standards, it is good value, and it was a pleasure to examine it.” —The Railway Observer
Oliver Cromwell (SparkNotes Biography Guide)
by SparkNotesOliver Cromwell (SparkNotes Biography Guide) Making the reading experience fun! SparkNotes Biography Guides examine the lives of historical luminaries, from Alexander the Great to Virginia Woolf. Each biography guide includes:An examination of the historical context in which the person lived A summary of the person&’s life and achievements A glossary of important terms, people, and events An in-depth look at the key epochs in the person&’s career Study questions and essay topics A review test Suggestions for further reading Whether you&’re a student of history or just a student cramming for a history exam, SparkNotes Biography guides are a reliable, thorough, and readable resource.
Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief
by Ronald HuttonThe second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell, from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the centre of events. In the second volume of his pioneering biography, Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell&’s career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power. These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell&’s political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice, but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality. This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell, showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him—and rose to the pinnacle of his power.
Oliver Cromwell: England's Protector (Penguin Monarchs)
by David HorspoolAlthough he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall and Hampton Court, Oliver Cromwell was not a king - in spite of the best efforts of his supporters to crown him.Yet, as David Horspool shows in this illuminating new portrait of England's Lord Protector, Cromwell, the Puritan son of Cambridgeshire gentry, wielded such influence that it would be a pretence to say that power really lay with the collective. The years of Cromwell's rise to power, shaped by a decade-long civil war, saw a sustained attempt at the collective government of England; the first attempts at a real Union of Britain; the beginnings of empire; a radically new solution to the idea of a national religion; atrocities in Ireland; and the readmission to England of the Jews, a people officially banned for over three and a half centuries. At the end of it, Oliver Cromwell had emerged as the country's sole ruler: to his enemies, and probably to most of his countrymen, his legacy looked as likely to last as that of the Stuart dynasty he had replaced.