219 B.C. These are trying times for the Phoenician city-state of Carthage. Soon there will be another war with Rome. The brilliant young general, Hannibal is preparing to advance across the Alps to approach Rome from the north. Can this bold, dangerous march succeed? In A SPY FOR HANIBAL, Elisabeth Roberts Craft has skillfully blended the story of Hannibal's famous march with the creation of an interesting and accurate historical sidelight. The result is a fascinating look at the ancient w...

1380 B.C. In the streets of Wassukkanni, the capital of Mitanni, a beautiful slave lies dead. She belonged to Arttarna, Mitanni's roving ambassador, and this slave and her master shared a secret: a five-year-old daughter. Little Kelu is brought to Arttarna, who soon becomes deeply attached to her. To hide Kelu from his jealous wife, he asks the king to let the girl become an attendant to Princess Tadukhepa. Living in the palace, Kelu spends every day playing with the princess and the two p...

2000 B.C. The old queen of Ur is nearing the end of her days. Ten beautiful, young virgins have been chosen to live in the palace to comfort and entertain her. Hana-Ad leaves behind her rural life and enters an opulent world of lavish meals, expensive garments, and hours of leisure interrupted only by lessons in harp and dance. But what Hana-Ad does not realize is that this new life involves a great sacrifice. In the tradition of a renowned past queen of Ur, Queen Ku-bau plans for her ten ...

Life is to be an adventure, along with the ability to explore many paths, so the expression "to live in the moment" should be exercised more often. But for those days when life gets in the way-the ever-present job, family responsibilities, chores, etc.-try dreaming of something you would like to do or simply revisit your childhood again. Or just sit down and listen to children tell their dreams. As adults, it is hard to remember that once upon a time, we were children with heads full of dr...

Conversations with Igor Stravinsky is the first of the celebrated series of conversation books in which Stravinsky, prompted by Robert Craft, reviewed his long and remarkable life. The composer brings the Imperial Russia of his childhood vividly into focus, at the same time scanning what were at the time the brave new horizons of Boulez and Stockhausen with extraordinary acuity.Stravinsky answers searching questions about his musical development and recalls his ass...

For the first time, a book exists that compiles all the information candidates need to apply for their first Car refinishers job, or to apply for a better job.What you'll find especially helpful are the worksheets. It is so much easier to write about a work experience using these outlines. It ensures that the narrative will follow a logical structure and reminds you not to leave out the most important points. With this book, you'll be able to revise your application into a much str...

Robert Craft met Stravinsky by invitation in 1948, after nearly four years of letter correspondence with the composer. It was this close association that steered Craft into a stimulating world of leading composers, writers and artists. At virtually the same time that he became a member of the Stravinsky household, Craft, aged twenty-four, discovered the path of wonder created by Arnold Schoenberg. In 1950 the young conductor sought instruction from Schoenberg in the performance of his music, ...

Robert Craft was co-conductor, companion and confidant to Igor Stravinsky for the last two decades of the composers life, an intimate working relationship that is unique in musical history. Now, in his ninetieth year, Craft has produced a book of astonishing freshness, warmth and wit as he surveys through the lens of his own distinctive position Stravinskys relationships with others from family members to fellow composers to some of the greatest writers, philosophers, politicians and artists...

This is a fascinating narrative from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about his investigation into the paranormal. It is ironic that the creator of Sherlock Holmes would be a life-long believer in spiritualism given his skepticism. Nevertheless, Doyle is an insightful guide on what spiritualism was like at the beginning of the 20th century.

As featured in the Telegraph and on Radio 4's Today programme.'A magnificent treasury . . . a fascinating tour de force.' Observer'Year of Wonder is an absolute treat - the most enlightening way to be guided through the year.' Eddie RedmayneClassical music for everyone - an inspirational piece of music for every day of the year, celebrating composers from the medieval era to the pr...

Listen. What do you hear?We are surrounded by sounds all the time, but we tend not to hear them; our brains are very good at editing what our ears pick up. If we stop for a moment to listen, there they are: the ticking clock, traffic noise, fragments of conversation, a passing plane. These are examples of what the American composer John Cage called “illegal harmony”.In response to the noisiest century in history, modern composers have consistently flown in ...

'He achieves the miraculous,' the sculptor Auguste Rodin wrote of dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. 'He embodies all the beauty of classical frescoes and statues'. Like so many since, Rodin recognised that in Nijinsky classical ballet had one of the greatest and most original artists of the twentieth century, in any genre.Immersed in the world of dance from his childhood, he found his natural home in the Imperial Theatre and the Ballets Russes, he had a powerful sponsor in Sergei Diaghilev -...