History
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Amazing Grace: A Cultural History of the Beloved Hymn
A fascinating journey through the history of “Amazing Grace,” one of the transatlantic world’s most popular hymns and a powerful anthem for humanity. Sung in moments of personal isolation or on state occasions watched by millions, “Amazing Grace” has become an unparalleled anthem for humankind. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway over millions in all corners of the modern world? With this short, engaging cultural history, James Walvin offers an explanation. The greatest paradox is that the author of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, was a former Liverpool slave captain. Walvin follows the song across the Atlantic to track how it became part of the cause for abolition and galvanized decades of movements and trends in American history and popular culture. By the end of the twentieth century, “Amazing Grace” was performed in Soweto and Vanuatu, by political dissidents in China, and by Kikuyu women in Kenya. No other song has acquired such global resonance as “Amazing Grace,” and its fascinating history is well worth knowing.Read more
£15.55£16.99 -
General Relativity: The Theoretical Minimum
The latest volume in The New York Times bestselling physics series explains Einstein’s masterpiece: the general theory of relativity
He taught us classical mechanics, quantum mechanics and special relativity. Now, physicist Leonard Susskind, assisted by a new collaborator, André Cabannes, returns to tackle Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Starting from the equivalence principle and covering the necessary mathematics of Riemannian spaces and tensor calculus, Susskind and Cabannes explain the link between gravity and geometry. They delve into black holes, establish Einstein field equations and solve them to describe gravity waves. The authors provide vivid explanations that, to borrow a phrase from Einstein himself, are as simple as possible (but no simpler).
An approachable yet rigorous introduction to one of the most important topics in physics, General Relativity is a must-read for anyone who wants a deeper knowledge of the universe’s real structure.
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£10.11£10.99General Relativity: The Theoretical Minimum
£10.11£10.99 -
Jesus, Prophet of Islam
This is a best selling study of the life of the Isa (AS) and the history of Unitarian and Trinitarian Christianity. It includes references to Isa (AS) in the Qur an and the hadith as well as a critical study of the Gospel of Barnabas. This is an extremely well-reasearched and interesting read that has to date been translated into 5 other languages.Read more
£6.20£11.40Jesus, Prophet of Islam
£6.20£11.40 -
Spirituality: A Brief History, 2nd Edition (Wiley Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion)
Engagingly written by one of the world’s leading scholars in this field, this comprehensively revised edition tells the story of Christian spirituality from its origins in the New Testament right up to the present day.
- Charts the main figures, ideas, images and historical periods, showing how and why spirituality has changed and developed over the centuries
- Includes new chapters on the nature and meaning of spirituality, and on spirituality in the 21st century; and an account of the development and main features of devotional spirituality
- Provides new coverage of Christian spirituality’s relationship to other faiths throughout history, and their influence and impact on Christian beliefs and practices
- Features expanded sections on mysticism, its relationship to spirituality, the key mystical figures, and the development of ideas of ‘the mystical’
- Explores the interplay between culture, geography, and spirituality, taking a global perspective by tracing spiritual developments across continents
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£22.20 -
The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car: Everything you wanted to know about cars and some things you probably didn’t
Did you know there are over 47,000 facts in the world?* And the good news is, many of them are in this book. That’s right, The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car is the only reference guide you need for cars, driving and all related matters, especially if you’re not too fussed about those facts being accurate.
In this lavishly tooled book you will find a rich and satisfying collection of motor-related informations from the origins of Porsche and the fate of Lada to the dark history of the Wankel engine and the correct name for those weird little hairs on new tyres.
Throughout the book, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are on hand to share their knowledge and wisdom, and then we’ve made the pictures bigger to fill in the gaps around it.
If you want to impress your friends, and then annoy your friends, and then cause your friends to think “Oh God, now they’re telling us about the slightly ironic way in which the founder of MG died” before hurriedly leaving your house, possibly forever, The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car is the book for you.
The Grand Tour A-Z of the Car – literally bursting with facts!**
* Grand Tour estimate
** Not literallyRead more
£15.70£19.00 -
The Little Book of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Key Thinkers and Theories You Need to Know
“If you want to know your Socrates from your Sartre and your Confucius from your Kant, strap in for this whirlwind tour of the highlights of philosophy.Philosophy is a quest for wisdom and knowledge; philosophia in Ancient Greek literally means “love of wisdom”. The aim of philosophy is to ask and explore life’s big questions to help us work out what we can know and how we can live a good life. Today, in a world of fake news, embarking on a quest for truth couldn’t be more important.
This pocket-sized introduction to important philosophers and key philosophical ideas includes accessible primers on:
- The early Greek philosophers and the “big three”: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
- Key schools of philosophy from around the world – from ancient philosophy right up to the present day – and their impact on modern life
- Insights into the main questions philosophers have explored over the years: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Do I have free will?
- Practical applications for the theories of Descartes, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Nietzsche and many more.
This illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes and theories you need to know to understand how human ideas have sculpted the world we live in and the way we think today. A perfect gift for anyone taking their first steps into the world of philosophy, as well as for those who want to brush up their knowledge.
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£6.20£6.60 -
Unholy Union: When Rugby Collided with the Modern World
What is the state of rugby?
Is the game on the brink of expansion?
Or is it on the brink of implosion?No game has undergone so traumatic a transformation since the turn of the century. The last of the major sports to embrace professionalism, rugby was propelled on a trajectory that has twisted its cumbersome frame to the limit in a drama compelling and appalling to behold. After a hundred years defying the future, rugby now shudders with the turmoil of its sudden leap into the modern world, attaining heights hitherto undreamed of, even as the strains – financial, political, social and medical – threaten to tear it apart.
With a global focus (and a particular lens on Australasian and South African rugby), Unholy Union is a fascinating and in-depth analysis of the sport, examining the journey so far and speculating on where it will go next. It is irreverent and provocative, asking uncomfortable questions of rugby, but imbued throughout with affection for a game that integrates all human life, as beautiful as it is ugly, as in love with itself as it is terrified.
Sports enter periods that make or break them.
Rugby is in one now . . .
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£9.60£10.40
