The author has combed the works of contemporary Arab chronicles of the Crusades, eyewitnesses and often participants. He retells their story and offers insights into the historical forces that shape Arab and Islamic consciousness today.
This book strikes a beautiful balance between being a purely popular edition, and being something that people who study stuff like this for a living might read...
Amin Maalouf specifically disavows any intention to write a "history book" in his preface. His background is in journalism, and sure enough, he shows evidence of a journalist's ear and eye for the great story... for the gripping and/or galvanizing detail... for the telling gesture that provides the key to a character's persona.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe.
The tale opens with the unnamed narrator arriving at the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, having received a letter from him in a distant part of the country complaining of an illness and asking for his comfort. Although Poe wrote this short story before the invention of modern psychological science, Usher's symptoms can be described according to its terminology. They include hyperesthesia (extreme hypersensitivity to light, sounds, smells, and tastes), hypochondria, and acute anxiety. It is revealed that Usher's twin sister, Madeline, is also ill, suffering from catalepsy. The narrator is impressed with Usher's paintings, and attempts to cheer him by reading with him and listening to his improvised musical compositions on the guitar. Usher sings "The Haunted Palace", then tells the narrator that he believes the house he lives in to be sentient, and that this sentience arises from the arrangement of the masonry and vegetation surrounding it.
Here are 47 BBC radioshow episodes of the superb British Comedy; Dad's Army.
Dad's Army, the zenith of the British broad-comedy ensemble sitcom. Consistently good writing and a wonderful cast of old timers and newer talents combined to produce a whimsical period-piece that continues, justifiably, to be savoured and has now assumed a place in the 'hall of greats' pantheon, adored by new generations of the British public.
There are 7 rar files which unpack seperately. Please click "More" for details.
Last of the Summer Wine ~ BBC Audio BBC Comedy show starring; Bill Owen, Peter Sallis, Brian Wilde. Here are Compo, Foggy and Clegg in four episodes from television's long-running popular comedy series. They may be as wrinkled as Nora's stockings but their humour is as fresh as the Yorkshire air. The episodes featured are: 'Ferret Come Home'', 'Getting on Sydney's Wire', Flower Power Cut', and Who Made a Bit of a Spash in Wales Then?'.
These Audio Episodes have linking by Peter Sallis.
My Word ~ (BBC Radioshow)
Here is a 3 CD collection of the British radio show; "My Word".
Performed before an appreciative audience,
My Word! the Radio series, had several segments; word origins, word meanings, word themes with teams earning two points for each correct answer. The series was created by Edward J Mason and Tony Shryane and performed by Frank Muir & Denis Norden. The most popular segment was the stories of the confused origins of popular phrases.
Crusades Through Arab Eyes
