Aftermath

The years immediately after the Great War were a time of great political, social and economic change. The book seeks to examine how the actions and events of this turbulent period were shaped by the Great War and how they, in turn, helped to shape both the period between the wars and beyond. We are still experiencing some of these effects today. Starting with an in-depth analysis of how the Great War ended and the effects of the Treaty of Versailles, the book offers an overlapping insight into many aspects of the period, such as the Spanish Flu pandemic (so named because of censorship); women’s enfranchisement in Britain, their battle to retain the economic opportunities brought by the war and the revolution in women’s lives brought by Dr Marie Stopes; the collapse of the Liberals and the rise of Labour; the emergence of modern Ireland, including the role of the IRA; the shaping of the Middle East; the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the emergence of Communism in the twentieth century; the development of both American and British society in the aftermath of war. This was a period that can be truly said to have shaped the twentieth century.

Africa, Quod Vadis

In Africa, Quod Vadis, Steve Kakrabah-Quarshie presents the reader with a passionate examination of the development of politics in the great continent of Africa. His focus centres on the founding of the Organisation of African Unity, profiling its founding fathers, its secretaries general, etc. Perhaps, nowhere has the right of self-determination of nations been so undermined as it has been in Africa. With African leaders setting out with bold and imaginative socialist-inspired policies for their nations post colonialism, it did not take long for neo-capitalism to agitate for replacement of these troubling leaders with corrupt and vicious dictatorial regimes.Africa has had a turbulent and violent history since the times of independence. The way forward for the continent is a very important question indeed.

A History of London through Beer Goggles

Discover stories and parts of London that you may not have known. All of this done whilst visiting some of London’s oldest pubs.From the Great Fire of London to the Church-run prostitutes of Southwark.From cock fighting to the famous Cock Lane Ghost.From Shakespeare to Shrek.From St Paul’s Cathedral to the inspiration for wedding cakes.Take a journey through the streets of London and discover things you never knew.A must for all who live and work in London, as well as visitors to our great city.What better way could there be than to have a drink and a walk around the parts of the city you have probably never visited. Hidden gems abound.

Surgery: An Unfamiliar History

This is a fascinating account of surgery that throws light on forgotten and unknown aspects of its practice from antiquity to the present. It illuminates the rare periods of progress and also explains why there were lengthy times when no original operations were undertaken.Maybury has achieved this by identifying the time and place when each operation was first undertaken. The first of these was the trephination of the skull in Peru twelve thousand years ago, presumably to exorcise evil spirits. This operation over several thousand years reached Europe where Hippocrates described and rationalised it to treat head injuries, it is still practiced today and is the forerunner of each subsequent original operation.The golden ages of surgery took place in Ancient Greece and India and 1,300 years later in Western Europe and the USA. Between these periods, no original operations took place. Maybury explains why this happened and reveals the Greek theory that dominated surgery for over 2,000 years. He describes the passage and translation of the Greek manuscripts and their acceptance in the Arabian Empires and how in turn the Arabic versions strongly influenced Italy and then Western Europe. He also tells of the Edict of Tours of 1163 that devastated surgery and took 700 years to rectify and also the extraordinary modern era when all the tissues of the body were finally operated upon and very much more. 

World War One - The Meakin Diaries - Sheffield in the Trenches

In 1915, the newlywed Frank Meakin signed up to the new Sheffield City Battalion and joined the fight for King and Country in the First World War. Although diaries were forbidden during active service, Frank rebelliously and comprehensively kept one throughout his whole service - from 1915 until he was discharged in 1918, 22 days before his Battalion disbanded. Through these diaries we can see the horrors of life on the Western Front first hand; from the Battle of the Somme and its aftermath, to the horrendous conditions in the trenches and the disillusionment of these young soldiers. This is a prosaic and fascinating insight into the Great War through the eyes of a survivor, brought to life 100 years on.

World War II

Inspired by my father’s memories and those of my own, I undertook to assemble the stories of several persons on World War II. I happened to be connected in one way or the other to those people. This war has and still does impress upon me because of the madness of its initiators, the unreserved support by the mass of the German population, the collaboration of traitors and the resistance by the right ones.

The latter deserve our respect.

Tightrope: Finland and Hungary in the Cold War

Finland and Hungary both fought on the losing side in WWII. Yet the former was able to resist the overwhelming power of its Soviet neighbour, while Hungary, whose status was uncertain until 1947, was not. Could the revolt of 1956 have been a turning point? How did the Helsinki Accords contribute to the end of the Cold War?

They Never Reigned

British kings and queens are famous today. But many heirs to the British throne never became the actual king or queen due to various quirks of fate. This is their story. The stories include the oldest son of William the Conqueror, who lost the chance to become king because he was off fighting in the First Crusade; the White Ship disaster of 1120, England’s medieval Titanic, in which the sole male heir to the throne, and many others, drowned; an intrepid woman who nearly became queen in her own right four centuries before a woman actually did so; two princes who should have become a second King Arthur; the romantic warrior known to history as the Black Prince; the Princes in the Tower, who were supposedly murdered by King Richard III; the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded by Queen Elizabeth I after an utterly unfair trial; James, who was born the heir and then was overthrown while still a baby, and was later known as the Old Pretender; a beloved Nineteenth Century princess who tragically died in childbirth at the age of 21; and many more.

Who suspected that the heirs who never reigned are every bit as interesting as those who did reign?

The Start: Origin of Civilisation

Questions have always been raised about the origins of the world’s first civilisation and why they chose such an inhospitable land to start their quest. The people looked and sounded different from the surrounding clans and seemed to appear from nowhere. They didn’t just survive, they prospered and built cities with advanced methods of agriculture not even attained today in the region. This book provides evidence of where they came from: an indigenous people of both the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf Oasis, a fertile land rich in animals and vegetation. This was eventually consumed by the world's rising sea levels in 7,200 BC, forcing the apocalypse-stricken populace to abandon their home and seek refuge in the rest of the surrounding higher lands. They brought with them advancements never seen before whilst utilising the sparse raw materials at their disposal.

The Sacred Divine Mothers (Iyami)

Reading this book will stretch the boundaries of sacred knowledge as you immerse yourself in a primordial ocean of revelations.Our Mothers (Iyami) are the super powerful cosmological Divine Mothers (Super Goddesses), who throughout the annals of history are known by a thousand names. They are the right-hand counsel to the Supreme Creator, an inextricable force of creation who sustain all life.The name Iyami relates to the Yoruba religion of West Africa, yet their expansiveness is worldwide, having been revered throughout the woman’s mysteries since time immemorial. They were present on Earth before humans arrived here. They are considered cosmic, primordial and ancestral, their essence is multi-layered.Throughout history, we find them in roles of great power, counsels to the ruling elite, or as matrilineal High Priestesses. Their aim is to ensure justice, harmony and balance in the inner and outer realms, guaranteeing the survival of not only this planet, but others in the universal eco-system encompassing every being who fights to maintain the light of the Creator.His-story has committed acts of genocide against the Divine Feminine hierarchy in subduing and usurping her station in favour of a materialistic and violent patriarchal system. Any woman who exhibited her innate feminine magical powers became hunted, tortured, killed and labelled as witches. Yet now it is time, more so than ever, for the Divine Feminine Iyami to return and to rise once more here on Earth, as is the birthright for every female alive today and their children’s children.

The Living History of Medicine

The history of medicine is a living one and involves much more than reflecting on the battles that have been won or lost in the ever-changing struggle against disease. The living history really lies within man himself and too often the human side of this story is neglected. As doctors, we have been trained to focus on the signs of disease and consequently, we pay little attention to the people who discovered them. When we read in our pathology texts about the interesting triad of defects in an illness such as Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, we tend to forget about the doctors who faced great personal hardships to bring us the information we now use to treat the disorder.

Dr Treacy is recognised as one of the most influential aesthetic practitioners in the world. He was awarded ‘Top Aesthetic Practitioner in the World’ (2019) and ‘Doctor of the Year’ UK & Ireland (2019). In this fascinating book, he takes us on a journey with Osler’s famed ‘Goddess of Medicine’ and explains how she is continually on the move, fleeing from battles, tyranny, and oppression, seeking to find a home where man can have study pathology in peace. She has moved from Edinburgh to Dublin, from London to Vienna, from Berlin to Maryland, then onwards to California to guide doctors in the wonders of new technologies, translating the genetic blueprint, manipulating defects in the data code of our existence and help us all fight the more complex diseases like the coronaviruses of the new millennium.

The Great History of the Manor Bouchove Part 2: The Pearl on the River Meuse

We live in a house in the centre of a small village. With its stately façades and turret, the villagers sweetly call it châtelet. Before us, French noblesse have stayed in it, gentry with impressive estates in France. During dozens of holiday trips, we have located and documented all of it. But that didn’t give any answer to the question: How to present it in a digestible… no, in a captivating manner?
How to abridge the centuries and how to connect the turbulent history of Europe with everyday life in the village?
For that purpose, I introduced a family of estate stewards employed by the Masters of Bouchove. After all, masters come and go, but stewards stay. Besides clerks, marketers and a villain.
Thus I got a story line and could start processing the numerous bits and pieces of information into three volumes that describe the rich history of Bouchove.