This is the story of a bricklayer. A master of his craft, he keeps its sacred teachings secret. For him a house is the dwelling place of a soul, and a house must be built in the right spirit or the soul inside it will suffer. The building of an arch is a ritual to obtain a right relation with the earth and a connection with the truth. The bricklayer recalls his previous life as a Druid priest. He talks about the creation of the sacred landscape of these islands; how even a simple stick lyi...

⚔️ Win without fear. Fight without hesitation. Master the way. Written in 1645 by legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings is a powerful treatise on strategy, discipline, and self-mastery—used by warriors, business leaders, and thinkers for over 350 years. More than a martial arts manual, this timeless work reveals how to navigate conflict, sharpen your mind, and achieve victory in any arena of life. Five books. Endless lessons. Musashi's teachings are divided into fiv...

Caligula: most notorious of the Roman Emperors, who seduced his own sister, installed a horse in the Roman Senate, turned his palace into a brothel, married a prostitute, tortured and killed hundreds of innocent citizens on a whim, and committed countless other acts of madness, cruelty and deviancy. Award-winning writers Stephen Barber and Jeremy Reed document in full the atrocities of Caligula and also the other mad Emperors, particularly the deranged Commodus and Heliogabalus, the teenag...

The world’s most famous military treatise, in an acclaimed translationThe perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor th...

This digital edition of Sun Tzu's masterpiece 'The Art of War' has been considerably simplified from the original 1910 translation by Lionel Giles.The lengthy and often laborious footnotes have been done away with, and clarifications where appropriate have been included in Master Sun's text, retaining its original charm and delightful use of language.This is not a large book (just over 10,000 words) because it need not be. Every slender sentence contains a lifetime of exper...

Life is long if you know how to use it.From the author of Letters from a Stoic, comes another brilliant, timeless guide to living well. Written as a moral essay to his friend Paulinus, Seneca’s biting words still pack a powerful punch two thousand years later. With its brash rejection of materialism, conventional lifestyles and group-think, On the Shortness of Life is as relevant as ever. Seneca anticipates the modern world. It’s a unique expose of how pe...

A description of Glastonbury that remains one of the most evocative and poignant accounts of this wild yet holy place; a power center polarizing with distant Jerusalem and linking and harmonizing the Christian way with the primeval and pagan past of England.

A classic study of the beliefs and institutions of mankind, and the progress through magic and religion to scientific thought, The Golden Bough has a unique status in modern anthropology and literature. First published in 1890, The Golden Bough was eventually issued in a twelve-volume edition (1906-15) which was abridged in 1922 by the author and his wife. That abridgement has never been reconsidered for a modern audience. In it some of the more controversial passages wer...

Who were the Druids? What do we know about them? Do they still exist today? The Druids first came into focus in Western Europe - Gaul, Britain, and Ireland - in the second century BC. They are a popular subject; they have been known and discussed for over 2,000 years and few figures flit so elusively through history. They are enigmatic and puzzling, partly because of the lack of knowledge about them has resulted in a wide spectrum of interpretations. Barry Cunliffe takes the reader through...

After the failed assassination Handro must act. Has Lysander truly decided to change sides? Why send a Theban? Why are there plumes of thick smoke rising from Thebes? If Lysander is dead and the Spartans have gone mad with blood lust is it time to remove this cancer from Greece? It is 392BC and finally Handro can complete the unification of Greece under Carthage’s rule.

In "Celtic Religion in Pre-Christian Times," E. Anwyl expertly delves into the intricate tapestry of Celtic spiritual practices, beliefs, and rituals prior to the advent of Christianity. Through a thorough analysis of archaeological evidence, historical accounts, and folklore, Anwyl elucidates the interconnectedness of nature, mythology, and community in ancient Celtic life. The scholarly rigor of the text is complemented by a prose style that is both accessible and richly detailed, allowi...

Geoffrey Ashe's book on this legendary figure offers a succession of surprises. The Merlin of legend was born to be a magician. He was 'immaculately' conceived and was able to interpret dreams and utter prophecies. Even his fate was imbued with magic. Like Arthur, he acquired immortality and sleeps on Bardsey Island, in a subterranean chamber with nine companions. Ashe reveals the man behind the myth, establishing beyond doubt the historicity of a Welsh prophet ca...