Empire of the Seas

Empire of the Seas

The year 1588 marked a turning point in our national story. Victory over the Spanish Armada transformed us into a seafaring nation and it sparked a myth that one day would become a reality that the nation’s new destiny, the source of her future wealth and power lay out on the oceans. This book tells the story of how the navy expanded from a tiny force to become the most complex industrial enterprise on earth; how the need to organise it laid the foundations of our civil service and our economy; and how it transformed our culture, our sense of national identity and our democracy.

Empire of the Seas

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Everyone has heard of of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but amidst the conspiracies, the politics, and the sensational claims, it can be difficult to separate myth from reality. Here, Timothy Lim explores the cultural and historical background of the scrolls, and examines their significance for our understanding of the Old Testament and the origins of Christianity and Judaism. Lim tells the fascinating story of the scrolls since their discouvery; their cultural context through the archaeology and history of the Dead Sea region. He explains the science behind their deciphering and dating, and does not omit the cast of characters, scandals, and controversies that have hastened the scrolls’ rise to the status of cultrual icon.

The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Charisma Myth

The Charisma Myth

The charisma myth is the idea that charisma is a fundamental, inborn qualityyou either have it (Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs, Oprah) or you dont. But thats simply not true, as Olivia Fox Cabane reveals. Charismatic behaviors can be learned and perfected by anyone.

The Charisma Myth

Ecko Burning

Ecko Burning

Ruthless and ambitious, Lord Phylos has control of Fhaveon city, and is using her forces to bring the grasslands under his command. His last opponent is an elderly scribe whos lost his best friend and wants only to do the right thing. Seeking weapons, Ecko and his companions follow a trail of myth and rumour to a ruined city where both nightmare and shocking truth lie in wait.

Ecko Burning

Superheroes of the Round Table

Superheroes of the Round Table

Few scholars nursed on the literary canon would dispute that knowledge of Western literature benefits readers and writers of the superhero genre. This analysis of superhero comics as Romance literature shows that the reverse is true–knowledge of the superhero romance has something to teach critics of traditional literature. Establishing the comic genre as a cousin to Arthurian myth, Spenser, and Shakespeare, it uses comics to inform readings of The Faerie Queene, The Tempest, Malory’s Morte and more, while employing authors like Ben Johnson to help explain comics by Alan Moore, Jack Kirby, and Grant Morrison and characters like Iron Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Justice League. Scholars of comics, medieval and Renaissance literature alike will find it appealing.

Superheroes of the Round Table

A Mage of None Magic

A Mage of None Magic

Myth tells how magic came to be when the fabled gem known as the Heart of the Sisters was shattered by evil gods. The same tale speaks of the Heart being healed one day, unleashing a power that will bring the end of humankind.

A Mage of None Magic

Charisma and Myth

Charisma and Myth

Charisma and Myth combines an interdisciplinary examination of myth with the newest developments in the application of charisma theory to history and social life.

Charisma and Myth