‘BONAPARTISM stands to Napoleon in the somewhat peculiar relation in which most religions stand to their founder. The picturesque imagination of innumerable ironists has exhausted itself in speculations upon the probable feelings of various divine and semi-divine teachers when confronted with the full glories of their own shrines. But it may be doubted whether the sensations of the central personage at Kamakura or St. Peter’s would bear comparison for irony with the thoughts which must rise in that little white-breeched, green-uniformed figure, fresh from a bath of ambrosial eau-de-Cologne prepared by an Elysian Constant, as he studies the externals of his career on the painted canvas of Meissonier or spells out his political message from the printed page of M. Paul de Cassagnac…’

The Second Empire, originally published in 1922, is one of Philip Guedalla’s earlier works. It aims to shine new light on the life of Napoleon III, whose career gradually become ever more mysteriously shrouded, obscured by the ‘martyrology’ of the Napoleonic myth. The Second Empire scrapes away at the palimpsest of voices, from the ‘romantics, sentimentalists, and the reactionaries’, that have added their distortions to the true and original story of Napoleon III. This volume is a fascinating treatment of one France’s most famed historical figures, bringing together a rich array of sources from personal correspondences, popular contemporary verse, and even quasi-religious chants commonly heard in the streets of France that upheld Napoleon as a miraculous and legendary leader. Coupled with Guedalla’s articulate and intellectual prose, The Second Empire presents a vivid, captivating, and scholarly biography that charts Napoleon’s evolution from Prince, to President, to Emperor.

Philip Guedalla was a prolific and popular biographer and historical and travel writer. With over 30 published works, including collections of essays and edited collections of the private letters of historical figures, Guedalla’s oeuvre covers an impressively vast range of subjects from Napoleon and Palestine, If the Moors in Spain had Won, to The Jewish Past, and finally Middle East, 1940 to 1942: A Study in Air Power. Guedalla’s epigrams – ‘History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other’, for example – are much beloved for their jocularity; indeed, his writing is distinguished for its wit and engaging style. He has been honoured by the National Portrait Gallery in London who hold many portraits of Guedalla in various mediums. He died in 1944 after contracting an illness during his service as Squadron Leader in the R.A.F.


Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

The most hilarious travel guide you need, when on the road in Belgium or the Netherlands. Whether you want to flirt with someone, get them in your bed ("I do regret it"), know what to say on a wedding ("You're the worst best man"), in a restaurant, long term relationship ("We should get a dog"), breakup ("I'm taking the dog with me!"), in a pub ("I can't feel my shoe."), traffic ("I think we're flashed") or just want to have a decent conversation... It's all there!

“This book is more than the story of two French soldiers, although that story is worth telling by reason of the strange inversion of their two careers. For one of them surrendered Metz in 1870 and was sentenced to death, while the other surrendered France in 1940 and was sentenced to become its ruler. The first Marshal was made a scapegoat by his defeated country; and when the second Marshal came to power, the scapegoat was France.”

François Bazaine and Henri Petain are two of France’s most famous generals.

Bazaine joined the Foreign Legion in 1832, a time when standards were reasonably poor. Their expeditions often took them miles away from home, so requests to travel to lands afar from King Louis Phillipe were expected. From the beginning of his career, Bazaine’s dedication, and hard work were noted. His position of Mariscal had not been an easy achievement, he’d risen through the ranks, only for his country to betray him.

Surrendering at Metz, Mariscal Bazaine became a scapegoat when France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War.

Bazaine was held captive for a while, and on his return, he realised he’d been put forth as a scapegoat.

Immediately, he launched into clearing his name, but was then given a life-sentence, much to the repulsion of Mac-Mahon, who’d served with Bazaine in the Foreign Legion.

Marshal Petain’s life was elusive, only for the sake of preserving his objectivity.

Marshal Petain was raised and educated in his hometown. Hardened by regimental life, Petain joined the 3rd Chasseurs as lieutenant in 1884, a time when Paris was going through its rousing years.

In 1916, Petain’s heroic capabilities were put to the test, and he succeeded. Verdun was under attack from the Germans and Verdun’s defence was placed at the hands of Petain.

It seemed the Germans intended the attack to draw innumerable French forces to the protection of Verdun, thereby weakening its army.

But this was not Petain’s view.

He saw beyond what others were seeing. His reputation was sealed through his success at Verdun.

Through a twist of fate, Petain was sentenced to death for treason on his return to France from Germany; a fate he was pardoned from due to his service.

The most influential military treatise in the western world from Roman times to the 19th Century was Vegetius’ De Re Militari. Its influence on our own traditions of discipline and organization are evident everywhere.

Richard Coeur de Lion carried De Re Militari everywhere with him in his campaigns, as did his father, Henry II of England.

Manuscript copies survive from the 10th to the 15th centuries. It was translated into English, French, and Bulgarian before the invention of printing. The first English printed edition was by William Caxton in 1489.

Flavius Vegetius Renatus was a Roman of high rank in the late fourth century. In some manuscripts he is given the title of count, but unfortunately little else is known of his life.

He states quite frankly that his purpose was to collect and synthesize from ancient manuscripts and regulations the military customs and wisdom that made ancient Rome such a powerful military force. According to his statement, his principal sources were Cato the Elder, Cornelius Celsus, Paternus, Frontinus, and the regulations and ordinances of Augustus, Trajan and Hadrian.

The first book treats of the choice and exercises of new troops; the second explains the establishment of the legion and the method of discipline; and the third contains the dispositions for action.

This edition is the 1767 translation by Lieutenant John Clarke.
 

Praise for Vegetius

“A God, said Vegetius, inspired the legion, but for myself, I find that a God inspired Vegetius.” Austrian Field Marshal, Prince de Ligne

“However, there are spirits bold enough to believe themselves great captains as soon as they know how to handle a horse, carry a lance at charge in a tournament, or as soon as they have read the precepts of Vegetius.” Montecuccoli, the conqueror of the Turks at St. Gotthard

Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

TIRED OF FEELING STUCK? Use These 15 Scientifically Proven Secrets to Build Mental Toughness and Unleash Your Inner Champion...

Discover the 15 daily habits to build mental toughness, unleash the mindset of a champion, and achieve peak performance.

I've always been interested in peak performance.

World-class athletes. 

Elite military soldiers. 

Rockstar salespeople. 

Business moguls.

They all have a "secret" to thrive in difficult situations. To rise above chaos and succeed. To defy the odds and achieve incredible results. 

So I went on a long journey to study what made them tick.

How were they able to achieve such amazing success? 

What mindset, traits, and behaviors did they have that made them the high-performers that they were? 

How were they able to consistently maintain high performance?

In one word, it's mental toughness.

It's self-confidence, belief, visualization, and the ability to control their emotions and take action.

But it boils down to mental toughness.

So I became obsessed with learning about mental toughness.

I read books, and articles, and watched videos to discover how to build mental toughness.

During my research, I identified 15 key habits to help build mental toughness.

This is my step-by-step manual I created for regular people that want to build mental toughness, build a champion mindset, and unleash their potential.

I share simple, scientific secrets, tips, and habits that regular people can use to achieve mental toughness - in as little as 15 minutes a day.

Here's What You'll Discover

• How a little-known breathing “trick” can instantly build mental toughness (use this when you’re scared, nervous, or anxious to think clearly, make decisions quickly, and ACT decisively)
• Why visualization doesn’t work, and the ACTUAL way to visualize so that you see almost instant results (I reveal the difference between “passive” visualization and “active” visualization)
• How top-performers like Tiger Woods, Lebron James, and Tom Brady talk to themselves so that they perform under pressure (it has to do with raising their internal standards so that they ACT like champions)
• How to push past discomfort and fear by having a clear, definite purpose (a clear purpose activates a part of your subconscious mind so that you have unshakable resilience)
• How the secret of having “micro-goals” helps you build mental toughness by constant progress (this is how elite military professionals are able to get out of disastrous situations)
• How to use the power of cold water to build mental toughness (it’s tough, but will unleash a sense of power and confidence you never thought you had)
• The scientific link between body language and confidence, self-esteem, mental toughness, and peak performance (once you discover this, you’ll never want to slouch again!)
• How to build mental toughness by cutting out pornography and harnessing your sexual energy
• How to train your subconscious mind to attract good things - by freely giving them away
• And so much more…

Imagine the sense of mental toughness, power, and dominance you’ll have after using these simple habits.

I wrote this book to be action-oriented. It’s short and sweet with no fluff.

Buy now and start using the secrets to build mental toughness and reach new levels of success.

We are going to lift the curtain, and present to the gaze of the Public many a varied scene in the strange drama of London life and experience…

In this collection of sketches, Charles Manby Smith gives us privileged and unique insight into the nineteenth-century metropolis and all its varied curiosities, allowing us peek behind the scenes at London’s roguery.

Not unlike Charles Dickens’ Sketches by Boz, Manby Smith’s Curiosities of London Life presents us with detailed and lively illustrations of a vast cast of characters, from crossing-sweeps and organ grinders to dog-stealers and drink doctors, to specific individuals such as the Blind Fiddler and the Label-printer.

It is the sheer scope of these sketches of Victorian lives and societal issues that ensures Manby Smith’s work the status of one of the most important contributions to our depiction of nineteenth-century life in the lower echelons of London’s society, making it a must-read for lovers of Victorian Britain.

Charles Manby Smith, (1804-1884) born in Devon at the turn of the nineteenth-century, apprenticed and eventually worked as a printmaker, whilst anonymously publishing articles in regular periodicals that focused on the lives of the London poor. Before long, Manby Smith abandoned his trade to live solely by his pen. He published his unique observations of London and its oddities as successful collections, as well as an autobiographical work that focused on his struggles as a young and poor apprentice.

Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Beyond the famous name on a script, Shakespeare remains a stranger to many of us.

First published in 1912, Shakespeare is a magnificent compilation of essays tackling different aspects of Shakespearean literature.

Herford seeks to single out what is most vital to our understanding of both Shakespeare’s life and work, enticing the reader to explore each play he analyses in depth.

From the early plays, through Shakespeare’s rise, to the last works Shakespeare created, Herford provides a detailed and knowledgeable account

In dealing with the separate plays, attention has been concentrated upon the cardinal situations and characters.

Quotations alongside analysis enable for a fuller handling of the whole of Shakespeare’s work, and result in an enriched learning with much needed insight into Shakespeare and his plays.

Shakespeare is an astute look into the meaning behind and within Shakespearean literature.

Charles Harold Herford (1853-1931) was born in Manchester. He was an English literary scholar and critic, who is remembered particularly for his biography and edition of the works of Ben Jonson. Herford was also a professor of English Literature at both University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, and Victoria University of Manchester.

1865, and as the Appomattox Campaign gets underway the Civil War enters its final stages.

From investing Petersburg to the battle of White Oak Road and the battle of Five Forks, the Union Army under Grant is pursuing Lee across a battle-scarred Virginia.

Amongst them is Brigadier General J. L. Chamberlain, commanding the 1st Brigade of the Union Army’s V Corps.

At Appomattox, Lee, his line of retreat cut and his army surrounded, was left with little choice but to surrender.

On April 12, Chamberlain presided over the formal parade marking the surrender of the Confederates’ arms and colours.

Impressed by the demeanour of Lee’s soldiers, and recognising the day’s significance, he had his men salute their former foes; it would prove a controversial, yet defining moment.

Treating troop movements, the storm of battle, the army’s spirit and an unusual respect for the enemy with equal eloquence, this is a very human account of a war that divided a nation.

"This is one of the finest accounts of a campaign penned by a Federal soldier....A stellar work of Civil War history -- a classic." - The Civil War in Books

“One of the knightliest soldiers of the Federal Army.” General John Brown Gordon.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914) was a college professor from Maine who volunteered for the Union Army in 1862. Awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg, he ended the war a Brevet Major General. A Republican, after the war he entered politics, serving four consecutive terms of office as the Governor of Maine.

Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

‘By the middle of February the imposing armada that had been designated to carry the operation through had, with the exception of a very few vessels still on the way, assembled in the vicinity of the Dardanelles, and only favourable weather was now needed to begin…’

The Dardanelles is a frank, studious, yet enthralling examination of the broad strategical aspects of the campaign during the Great War. Severely restricted in munitions, supplies and forces due to more pressing needs in other ‘theatres of war’, the Allies suffered both great losses in furious battles as well as successful landings and evacuations.

This volume aims not to furnish the reader with an account of the war as a great and thrilling adventure, but to reveal the tactical elements of the campaign from which there is much to learn. As such, episodes of explosive fighting are only touched upon, while the tactical elements of the enterprise are favoured.

The famous landing of the Gallipoli peninsula, for example, is dealt with in exquisite detail, as is the strategy behind forcing the straits without military cooperation, and the volume also aims to reveal in new light the art of amphibious warfare.

The Dardanelles is a must read for all military enthusiasts.

C. E. Callwell was a well-known military historian, having already written several books and biographies by the time The Dardanelles was first published in 1919. His military experience is also extensive – a retired colonel by the outbreak of war, Callwell was recalled and immediately promoted to Temp Major-General and Director of Military Operations. This vast experience of war and military operations manifests itself in an objective and thorough text, made all the more readable through Callwell’s smooth and accessible prose style.

On 27th May 1940, with the Battle of France all but lost, one of the greatest undertakings of the Second World War began: the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Nine days later, the hastily assembled armada of over eight hundred vessels had rescued nearly 340,000 Allied soldiers from across the Channel and brought them back to England.

A prominent memory in the U.K., sometimes the contribution of the French, Dutch and Belgians alongside the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and other ship owners is overlooked, as are the pocket defences that distracted attention from Dunkirk, at Calais, Lille and Amiens.

In ‘The Epic of Dunkirk’ Chatterton does not merely tell one story but many, drawn from these different viewpoints: only when woven together can the memory we know be produced.

A keen sailor and former serviceman, Chatterton’s account of the “Miracle of Dunkirk” is a rare narrative history, not only easily accessible but offering a detailed, informed insight.

Edward Keble Chatterton (1878-1944) was a sailor and prolific writer from Sheffield. His voyages across the English Channel, to the Netherlands, around the Mediterranean and through the French canals led to many articles and books. Joining the R.N.V.R. at the outbreak of WWI he commanded a motor launch flotilla, leaving the service in 1919 as a Lieutenant Commander. Between the wars his output included works about model ships, juvenile novels, and narrative histories of naval events; from 1939, his writing focused upon WWII.
 

Nana's Family Cookbook ♥ A Tribute to Mom

Out of the many cookbooks I've created over the past few years, this one is by far the most special. These are my mom's recipes and a few other recipes from family members. This book means more to me than any other book I've ever created. These recipes are what I grew up on. These recipes are what I'm made of (literally)!

A family gathering wouldn’t be a family gathering without these foods. Just the smell of some of these dishes brings back so many fond childhood memories. This cookbook is full of homemade recipes, soul foods, and comfort foods that just make life so much better. I made this family recipe book with lots of love for my family and friends. It is my deepest hope and wish that you and your family can enjoy them all the same.

Here's a few of our go-to family recipes:

Breakfast
Biscuits and Gravy
Powdered Sugar Donuts
Maw Maw’s Blueberry Muffins
Casey’s Couscous & Eggs
Hannie’s Avocado Egg Toast

Side Dishes
Green Beans
Angie’s Hash Brown Casserole
Crab Dip
Grape Salad
Cole Slaw Salad
Crazy Crackers
Handles
Hannie’s Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread

Main Dishes
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Chicken and Dumplings
Darci’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
Taco Soup
Taco Burgers
Ham & Cheese Sliders
Porcupine Meatballs
Sloppy Joes
Cheeseburger Pie
Beef “Matryoshka”
Beef Stew
Beef Burritos
Roast Beef and Gravy
Hannie’s Lasagna
Lasagna
Crab Cakes
Crawfish Chowder
Salmon Patties
Shrimp & Grits

Desserts
Aunt Judy’s Pecan Pie Cake
Angie’s Banana Pudding
Melanie’s M&M Cookies
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Pea Pickin’ Cake
Earthquake Cake
Mississippi Mud Pie

Full-Time Mom, Best-Selling Author, and Lover of Food

Hannie P. Scott is a best-selling author that knows a thing or two about cooking! Cooking and experimenting with foods is her life passion. Driven by her desire for cooking for others (and herself), Hannie spends a lot of time in the kitchen. She enjoys sharing her love of food with the world by creating "no-nonsense" recipe books that anyone can use.

You can find cooking tips, advice, and recipes on her blog, www.Hanniepscott.com.

Scroll up and click 'buy' to share my family's favorite recipes with your family today!

(Available in Color or B&W - click both format arrows - or Color Kindle) This beautiful, new FULL COLOR second edition is now one hundred pages longer, filled with additional fresh stories, artwork, photos, and adventures.

Howard Miner never expected to contract the first documented case of the mumps in Guadalcanal history.   

As a Navy Black Cat, he took his share of chances during the ten-hour, night long flights in darkened PBYs painted entirely black, searching the seas for enemy ships and downed fliers ~ the original stealth aircrafts.  But wartime was unpredictable, and whether landing on an exotic tropical isle where the women he saw from the air turned out to be topless, or dropping wing tanks containing a strange new substance called “Napalm,” this was clearly a very different world than he had known as a college student in Indiana.

His is a tale of seven buddies, all pilots who flew at night, slept and got into mischief by day, then repeated. Their PBY Catalina odyssey stretched from the Solomon Islands to the northern tip of the Philippines and included a full range of missions, from search, attack, and bombing runs, to daring sea rescues. Howard’s journey through training and tours of duty is skillfully captured in his art and narratives, framing a wartime drama with a personal coming of age story. The descriptive verse from the artist’s viewpoint gives us a creatively told and intriguing portrayal of WWII’s Pacific Theater.

* * * * Miner combines his father's writings and interviews with WWII veterans to craft a loving tribute to the young men who fought in WWII...He does his father and other WWII veterans proud. ~Publisher's Weekly/Booklife

* * * * "Sketches of a Black Cat" is a unique and fascinating memoir of a World War II combat aviator ~ with original and previously unpublished sketches and photographs. This artfully crafted book is a must read for anyone in search of a new and completely different view into the world of war in the Pacific and on the home front during America's greatest conflict." ~ Larkin Spivey, military historian and author.

* * * * “From boxes of notes and drawings comes a book illuminating a WWII pilot’s experiences as part of the Black Cat Squadron…accounts of support missions, rescues of airmen and interactions with indigenous island peoples told in vivid but unembellished detail…a handsome volume that reads breezily and is punctuated with photos and drawings from Howard’s war years. ~ Mike Francis
the Oregonian

* * * * "Wonderful and beautifully real stories such as this are dying every day as we lose our WWII veterans. Kudos to Ron Miner for preserving and sharing with the rest of us the gold of his father's journals, photos, and drawings to bring us such a compelling look at life during the war. This is not only a valuable and insightful historical document but a dramatic and warm personal story." ~ Don Keith, WWII author

* * * * “... Howard Miner’s memoirs are a wonderful view into the world of a patrol squadron at war. Miner sees the war through the eyes of an artist, revealing details of day-to-day life that are often overlooked in war time narratives. A wholly enjoyable story!” ~ Stewart Bailey, Curator, Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

* * * * " “As a former flight engineer aboard a PBY in WWII… I can truly say I felt as though I was on Howard’s Catalina…so many similarities to my own experiences. I can almost hear the drone of the engines in synchronization. Many episodes were warm and compelling. I highly recommend this book to vets, historians, and students. You won’t put down Sketches of a Black Cat till you’ve read it cover-to-cover!” ~ Win Stites, VP-91, VP2-1 served in both Atlantic and Pacific regions during WWII, Former President PBY Memorial Foundation and Museum
 

For many senior leaders, promotion is just the start of a whole new set of unexpected challenges. There are executive leaders to please and junior leaders to lead. Many for the first time are asked to work on multiple teams with peers who have competing priorities. They might now be responsible for areas of the organization in which they don’t have technical expertise.

Some senior leaders seem to have advanced through the sheer force of driving results, often at the cost of high employee compliance and burnout. Others appear to have attained senior roles through the influence of their charismatic personality, without producing much in the way of sustained business outcomes. Too many leaders are promoted because of what they know or how long they have worked, rather than their skill in managing others. As the complexity of the senior leader role increases and the consequences of a leader’s behaviors are multiplied, how can one successfully make the transition to senior leadership? What does it take to succeed at that level?

Unite! The 4 Mindset Shifts for Senior Leaders explores the four shifts in mindset that help a senior leader balance both results and relationships so they can ultimately unite the people around them. Audiences will walk away with new insights and distinctions of how to transition successfully into senior leadership roles. Senior leaders will learn to fine tune how they function with their team and other senior leaders and to build a strong succession framework.

During the First World War, Britain relied heavily on resources imported across the Atlantic by its merchant marine.

From the very beginning of the war, German U-boats targeted the merchant convoys, sinking millions of tons of essential produce and threatening Britain’s war effort.

Were it not for the heroic efforts of the Q-ships, the naval war could have proven disastrous for the allies.

Between 1914 and 1918, nearly 200 commercial vessels were transformed into armed decoy ships that lured U-boats into attacking them at close range before responding with their own deadly fire at the very last moment.

From tramp steamers to sailing ships, from fishing boats to tugs, every type of ship was used in this great act of deception.

The demands on the crews of these ships were immense – requiring supreme bravery, exceptional patience, a high degree of cunning and excellent seamanship.

In this book, E. Keble Chatterton takes us through the story of these ships in an entertaining narrative, highlighting one of the lesser known aspects of World War One.

Writing with narrative flair and a passion for the subject, Chatterton places the reader in the middle of the tense war for the Atlantic.

Edward Keble Chatterton (1878-1944) was a sailor and prolific writer from Sheffield. His voyages across the English Channel, to the Netherlands, around the Mediterranean and through the French canals led to many articles and books. Joining the R.N.V.R. at the outbreak of WWI he commanded a motor launch flotilla, leaving the service in 1919 as a Lieutenant Commander. Between the wars his output included works about model ships, juvenile novels, and narrative histories of naval events; from 1939, his writing focused upon WWII.

‘The catastrophe of the fall of Rome, with all that its fall signified to the fifth century, came very near to accomplishment in the third. There was a long period when it seemed as though nothing could save the Empire. Her prestige sank to the vanishing point. Her armies had forgotten what it was to win a victory over a foreign enemy. Her Emperors were worthless and incapable. On every side the frontiers were being pierced and the barriers were giving way...’

Constantine the Great is a fascinating and in depth historical examination of the reorganisation of the Empire after its catastrophic fall, and the subsequent triumph of the Christian Church.

Firth, in a grounded approach to the period, questions whether Constantine really did deserve his epithet ‘the Great’ in real life, leaving it to his readers to make up their own minds.

What he does assert, though, is that under Constantine’s auspices, one of the most momentous upheavals in history took place. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity – the first of any Roman Emperor – caused shockwaves across the Roman world, and it is this that makes this period such an exciting and important area of study.

John B. Firth, a scholar of Queen’s College, Oxford, authored several other titles including Augusts Caesar, studied closely vast and numerous original authorities, all of whom, he jokes, ‘were bitter and malevolent partisans’. With the truth thus so distorted by personal agendas and decayed through the annals of time, Firth made it his priority to meticulously research with an impartial eye in order to produce the most historically accurate account. Constantine the Great is wonderful feat of scholarship, and a must-read for any Roman enthusiast.


Albion Press is an imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

First published in 1888, this classic collection of Persian histories is brought to life once again.

Containing the conquest of Alexander the Great, Persia’s conflict with Islam, as well as the fascinating legends on which Persia was founded.

There is the tale of a young prince who becomes his father’s worst enemy.

A story of two sons consumed with jealousy who plot to murder their brother.

A scorned lover gains the ability to lift unimaginable weights.

There are two Persian queens, many assassinations, intrigue, murder, death and glory.

This unique approach to history, mixing detailed accounts and analysis with ancient myths, makes for both an informative and entertaining read.

“Our present is so tightly bound up with our past… that the happenings of five thousand years ago are as much part of European and American history as the Industrial Revolution or the Great War.”

So says the first page of Patrick Carleton’s incredible history Buried Empires, a book that studies a time rarely talked about.

A time of elaborate temples, fantastical thousand-year dynasties, and unknown languages.

Not content with the potentially stuffy formula of an academic history book, Patrick Carleton was determined to resurrect these cities in all their glory.

Explore the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Discover Mohenjo-Daro ‘The Place of the Dead’.

Learn the fascinating Code of Hamurabi.

Patrick Carleton writes in a way that is almost breathless with excitement and his wonder and enthusiasm for these ancient worlds is contagious.

On the 1 July, 1916, 20,000 British troops lost their lives during the first day of the Somme.

Artillery had barraged the German lines for seven days, but the Germans were heavily dug in and many shells failed to explode due to the wet ground.

The bombardment signalled to the Germans that the British were coming, so once it had finished they emerged from their fortifications ready to face, and destroy, the enemy offensive.

But the Battle of the Somme was far more than just the 1 July 1916.

The four and a half month battle raged on until November 1916 and saw the introduction of the Tank, the creeping barrage and the development of air power.

Published as a short work just a year after the battle, John Buchan’s account of the first two phases of the Battle of the Somme, one of bloodiest battles of the Great War, leap off the page a century on.

Buchan goes beyond the first day of the Somme to provide a valuable account of the extended battle and the strategy used.

He describes the manoeuvres and the generals who led thousands of troops, and also deliberates on the nature of war and the state of mind needed by the men facing such a terrible battle.

As a war correspondent in France for The Times from 1915 Buchan was well placed to comment on such events.

The Battle of the Somme is a classic contemporary account of the one of the key battles of the First World War by one of the finest writers of the era.

John Buchan, first Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield, was born in Perth, Scotland in 1875. In 1900, Buchan moved to London, and two years later accepted a civil service post in South Africa. In the years leading up to World War I, he worked at a publishers, and also wrote Prester John (1910) — which later became a school reader, translated into many languages — as well as a number of biographies. In 1915 he published his most well-known book, the thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps. After the war he became a director of the news agency Reuters. Buchan would eventually publish some one hundred books, forty or so of which were novels, mostly wartime thrillers. In the latter part of his life he worked in politics, serving as Conservative MP for the Scottish universities and Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland (1933-34). In 1935, Buchan moved to Canada, where he became the thirty-fifth Governor General of Canada. He died in 1940, aged 64.

“Of the men whom the world currently terms Self-Made … our American Franklin stands highest” - Horace Greeley

Benjamin Franklin is sixty-eight years old when this second volume of his life’s story begins...

Through his incredible transformation from a runaway apprentice into one of the founding fathers of America, it is possible that Benjamin Franklin lived more in his life than any other man. And yet, his journey to becoming a founding father was not without its turmoil - it meant cutting ties with his son, leaving his country, and setting in motion the events that would unravel the French Aristocracy.

Chronicling his deterioration in health and the loss of his wife as he moved from his sixties into his seventies and eighties, this account demonstrates how Franklin nonetheless persisted in wringing every last drop out of his life. From being beloved in Versailles and a victorious peace-broker, to his position as three-time president of the Assembly of the State of Pennsylvania and crafting the American Constitution, it upholds Walter Isaacson’s view of Franklin as ‘the most accomplished American of his age’.

This second and final volume of James Parton’s Franklin biography is transcendent. A bright and compelling work that combines Franklin’s intensely personal letters to his wife and sister with quotes from some of the most famous texts in American history, The Life of Benjamin Franklin is a must read.

James Parton (1822-1891) moved with his family from England to the United States when he was five years old. After studying in New York and becoming a schoolmaster there and in Philadelphia, Parton started his writing career. He focused on the lives of the great men and women of his day, such as Thomas Jefferson, Horace Greeley, Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin. Imbuing traditional biographies with stylistic qualities borrowed from fiction, his novel approach quickly earned him a spot as the most popular biographer of his day. Harriet Beecher Stowe thanked him "for the pleasure you have given me in biographical works which you have had the faculty of making more interesting than romance—(let me trust it is not by making them in part works of imagination)."

Originally published in 1907, Twenty Years in a Newspaper Office documents Fred W. Allsopp’s lengthy experience working in the offices of the Arkansas Gazette.

Affectionately dubbed the ‘Old Lady’, Allsopp tells how the Arkansas Gazette experienced fluctuations in size, character, prestige, and volume of business over its eighty-seven years in print, and indeed in the twenty years Allsopp worked there.

Toward the end of his time there, the Gazette reached such a lucrative pinnacle as to afford to print a colour comic section – the marker of highest journalistic success at the time.

Unlike standard, chronological memoirs, Allsopp writes with humour, wit, and with a great sense of fun to create ‘a sort of melange or hodgepodge of things seen, heard, experienced, or imagined’, often pulling together what he calls ‘random sketches of things’ at the Arkansas Gazette. These vivid sketches are interspersed throughout the memoir with articulate and clever poems penned by the author (as well as some published in the paper by its own readers).

Twenty Years in a Newspaper Office is a wonderful insight into journalistic life at the turn of the twentieth century, and makes for a truly vivacious and heart-warming read.

Frederick William Allsopp (1867 – 1946) was an author, newspaperman, book collector, and bookstore owner. Born in Wolverhampton, he moved with his family to Nevada County at the age of 12. After selling newspapers during his youth, he applied for a job at the Arkansas Gazette age just 17, and became the business manager by 1899.