Résultats lu par "Mark Elstob" dans Toutes les catégories

Spanning millennia, oceans and continents, countries and cultures, Around the World in Eighty Games gleefully explores how mathematics and games have always been deeply intertwined. Renowned mathematician Marcus du Sautoy investigates how games provided the first opportunities for deep mathematical insight into the world, how understanding math can help us play games better, and how both math and games are integral to human psychology and culture.

Marx and Engels were right when they observed in the Communist Manifesto that free markets had in a short time created greater prosperity and more technological innovation than all previous generations combined. A century and a half later, all the evidence shows that capitalism has lifted millions and millions from hunger and poverty. Today's story about global capitalism, shared by right-wing and left-wing populists, but also by large sections of the political and economic establishment, does not deny that prosperity has been created, but it says it ended up in far too few hands.

In the eyes of her family, Chastity Shackleford was impulsive, flighty, overly emotional and inclined to sentimental overtures. All in all, a disaster waiting to happen should she accept the Duke of Blackmore's offer of a Season in London. But what else was she to do since her twin sister and best friend had abandoned her for the wilds of Cornwall? Naturally she might have hoped that disaster had waited a little longer before striking, but at least she faced the possibility of marriage with someone who had all his own teeth.

The Roman empire shaped the culture of the Western world against which all other great powers are compared. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. However, the exception lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. This was the place Alexander the Great had swept through, creating a dream of glory and conquest which tantalized Greeks and Romans alike.

With her four older sisters now married, it's Patience Shackleford's turn to take charge of her younger siblings' education. But given that Patience's most prodigious skill is lock picking, any abilities she passes on to her younger sisters are unlikely to provide any assistance in the drawing rooms of the genteel, especially as she has no interest in either high society, or horror of horrors… marriage. Indeed, her father the Reverend Augustus Shackleford is firmly of the opinion that the less society knows about his fifth daughter the better…

Prudence Shackleford had not expected to be a spinster at three and twenty, but unfortunately, as she'd quickly discovered, very few men were prepared to tolerate either her ghoulish sense of humour, or her macabre taste in literature. And those were the ones she'd got as far as holding a conversation with. When invited to London by the Duke and Duchess of Blackmore to witness the Coronation of King George IV, she was equal parts horrified and intrigued. Especially after a chance meeting with a Bow Street Runner on the trail of conspirators it was feared were planning to murder the King.

While Charity Shackleford might be considered far more outspoken than her twin sister Chastity, she was much less inclined to make a complete cake of herself. Something her twin appeared to be doing with increasing regularity. Indeed, when details of Chastity's latest faux pas threatened to travel beyond the confines of Blackmore, it appeared that removing her from the vicinity was the only answer. Naturally, as always, Grace, the eldest daughter and current Duchess of Blackmore was tasked with picking up the pieces.

In this second volume subtitled ‘Young Joseph’, Mann shifts his focus to Joseph’s formative years, moving towards the novel’s ultimate conclusion where he is imprisoned by his brothers and sold into slavery.

Deep beneath the oceans of Ghyran, in kingdoms forgotten by gods and time and overlooked by the ravages of Chaos, the Idoneth Deepkin endure in bitter solitude. However, the Jade Throne of Briomdar sits empty, its long isolation threatened as never before in its history. The Everqueen’s warsong awakens the forests of both land and sea, and everywhere the diseased knights of Nurgle fight to the last foetid breath for the verdant Realm they claim as theirs. But for Prince Lurien this time of peril is one ripe with opportunity.

Lady Jennifer Sinclair is halfway through her second season and thoroughly disillusioned with the marriage mart. After one discretion too many, the headstrong only daughter of the powerful Duke of Blackmore finds herself on the way to Scotland in the company of her older brother Peter who’s been tasked by his father to inspect the family estate north of the border. Once at Caerlaverock, the Duke’s estate on the shores of Loch Lomond, Jennifer is surprised to discover an unexpected sense of peace. But that peace is not to last…

In Kaput, Wolfgang Münchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany's economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. The neo-mercantilist policies of the German state, driven by close connections between the country's industrial and political elite, have left Germany technologically behind over-reliant on authoritarian Russia and China—and with little sign of being able to adapt to the digital realities of the 21st century. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of Europe's biggest economy.

Korea: War Without End examines the stand-off between East and West in Korea that ultimately defined the second half of the 20th century. It provides a critical analysis of the lack of preparation by the West for war; the results of the North Korean invasion in June 1950; the counter-stroke by MacArthur in September and then the strategic overreach which led to communist China’s involvement on the North Korean side, and the rapid escalation to consideration of the use of nuclear weapons.

Anthony Shackleford had long been acquainted with the word duty. Indeed, since the moment he could walk, it had been drummed into him every Friday between the hours of two and four in the afternoon, accompanied by tea and apple cake. His mother had always been especially partial to apple cake. The essence of his obligation was this. The Duke of Blackmore could not be expected to keep his in-laws into their twilight years. Despite the fact that his sisters had all made extremely advantageous marriages, as the only son, it was his job to ensure his parents a comfortable dotage.

When Faith Shackleford found herself in the unenviable position of having to accompany her irascible father to convalesce in the genteel seaside town of Torquay, she envisioned three months of wearying monotony. She certainly wasn't expecting to be intrigued by the forlorn empty house situated next to their own elegant villa, especially when she discovered it belonged to a handsome captain in the Royal Navy who was currently away at sea. Unfortunately, she never imagined that fascination might cost her her life.

There was no doubt that things had definitely looked better for Gabriel Atwood, one time Viscount Northwood. Mainly because everyone who knew him or of him almost certainly believed him dead—the bastard who'd betrayed him had made sure of that. His only hope was to seek aid from Nicholas Sinclair, his former mentor, now the current Duke of Blackmore, before his enemies realised that news of his demise had been greatly exaggerated.

In the twelfth-century, Pisa was a thriving metropolis, a powerhouse of global trade, and a city that stood at the centre of Mediaeval Europe. But Pisa had a problem. It was running out of coins. In the face of financial crisis, it was here that the foundations of modern banking were born. In Money and Promises, the distinguished financier, entrepreneur and historian Paolo Zannoni examines the fascinating, complex relationship between states and banks.

Despite considerable concerns throughout England, the transition of the House of Tudor to the House of Stewart, from Elizabeth to James I (reigned 1603-1625) proved untroubled, not least because the queen left the country in ‘flourishing circumstances'. The new monarch moved to London and, despite being James VI of Scotland, made it his home for the next two decades. Unsurprisingly, his early distribution of honours benefitted more Scots figures than English, and coloured the nature of his English court, though he prudently left most of the main offices in the hands of Elizabeth's ministers.

Waiter by day, man about Paris by night; the young and good looking Felix Krull has created for himself a personality to charm and deceive the world of wealth. When the Marquis de Venosta makes him a proposal that he can't refuse, the young Felix finds himself on the pathway that will elevate him into the world of riches.

During the week of Dr. Agnes Stacey’s daughter’s wedding, each of the 11 attendees in the small family gathering brings their own simmering tensions. Agnes’s uncle, Professor Malcolm Miller, has harbored a family secret since Agnes’s parents died in a car crash when she was a young girl. Dr. Joseph Bradshaw, who married into the family, has nursed a private obsession with Agnes since his brief stint as her therapist. Agnes herself is returning to her ex-husband’s home for the first time, just as she’s trying to extricate herself from a potent new love affair.

Wormhole technology has revealed that our sun will die in 5,000,000 years. A race of superbeings, the fabulous Xeelee, owners of the universe, are thought to be responsible. The bizarre and wealthy cult, the Superet, funds two projects aimed at combatting the force that will murder the sun.