In medieval and early modern Britain, people would refer to their local district as their 'country', a term now largely forgotten but still used up until the First World War. Core groups of families that remained rooted in these 'countries', often bearing distinctive surnames still in use today, shaped local culture and passed on their traditions. In The Grass Roots of English History, David Hey examines the differing nature of the various local societies that were found throughou...

The Oxford Companion to Family and Local History is the most authoritative guide available to all things associated with the family and local history of the British Isles. It provides practical and contextual information for anyone enquiring into their English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins and for anyone working in genealogical research, or the social history of the British Isles. This fully revised and updated edition contains over 2,000 entries from adoption to World War re...

This beautiful gift book makes a wonderful addition to the award-winning Candle Day by Day series. The story of Jesus's life is told over 40 days, and presented in the elegant Day by Day styling with page borders and richly coloured pictures. Includes an introductory note on the book, the questions that will be answered, and where the stories have come from.

Bloomsbury presents Listening In by Toby Heys, David Jackson, and Marsha Courneya, read by Angus King.In 1945, W. Averell Harriman, US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, was presented with a carved wooden plaque of the Great Seal of the United States as a 'gesture of friendship' by a delegation from the Soviet’s Young Pioneer Organization.Unbeknownst to him, one of the first covert listening devices, invented by Leon Theremin was hidden within it and ...

International efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)—including nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons—rest upon foundations provided by global treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Over time, however, states have created a number of other mechanisms for organizing international cooperation to promote nonproliferation. Examples range from regional efforts to various worldwide export-control regim...

"A superb new book . . . explores the history of Britain's first National Park from the Stone Age to the modern day . . . lavishly illustrated."—Reflections MagazineThe moors of the Peak District provide some of the finest walking country in England. The pleasure of rambling across them is enhanced by a knowledge of their history, ranging from prehistoric times and the middle ages to their conversion for grouse shooting and the struggle for the "right to roam" in m...

Just about anything goes at Good Times Charleys Klondike Saloon. Miners with gold dust and nuggets want to have the time of their lives and basically squander some of their hard-earned gold.The first thing they run into is Lacy Fern. Her job is to ease some of that gold into her pile. Santa Bobs eggs are their weight in gold; her scales are slightly biased in her favor. Any spilled gold gets swept through cracks in the floor by Bobob, the saloons sweeper, who, later with a miners l...

This book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and shows the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. It focuses on British names, tracing their origins to different parts of the British Isles and Europe and revealing how names often remain concentrated in the districts where they first became established centuries ago. In the process the book casts fresh light on the ancient peopling of the British Isles. The authors...

In 1945, W. Averell Harriman, US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, was presented with a carved wooden plaque of the Great Seal of the United States as a 'gesture of friendship' by a delegation from the Soviet's Young Pioneer Organization.Unbeknownst to him, one of the first covert listening devices, invented by Leon Theremin was hidden within it and was subsequently used to listen in on the ambassador's conversations for six years before being discovered. This book us...

Web applications are used every day by millions of users, which is why they are one of the most popular vectors for attackers. Obfuscation of code has allowed hackers to take one attack and create hundreds-if not millions-of variants that can evade your security measures. Web Application Obfuscation takes a look at common Web infrastructure and security controls from an attacker's perspective, allowing the reader to understand the shortcomings of their security systems. Find out how an att...

Yorkshire is well known for its miners, pudding and cricket, but 'Yorkshire, A Very Peculiar History' scrapes beyond the surface and past the cliches. Featuring a host of characters from Yorkshire past and present, it's not all grit and grime! Tracing Yorkshire's history back through Roman and Viking rule, to the various tribes which populated the area in prehistoric times, this book covers the largest county in England from all angles. Featuring quirky tales of Yorkshire's crucial role in...

It is often assumed that the national identity must be a matter of values and ideas. But in Robert Winder's brilliantly-written account it is a land built on a lucky set of natural ingredients: the island setting that made it maritime; the rain that fed the grass that nourished the sheep that provided the wool, and the wheat fields that provided its cakes and ale. Then came the seams of iron and coal that made it an industrial giant.In Bloody Foreigners Robert Winder told ...