The National Archives is one of the most remarkable collections of documents in the world, holding over 120 miles of papers. In 2010 the staff at the Archives were asked to select their favourite document. The results of this poll form the basis of this book, skilfully curated by bestselling author Richard Taylor. Each of the documents has a timeless quality, acting as a true testament to a moment in history. The Magna Carta is a document sealed in a damp field in Surrey, yet is deferred to centuries later by Governments and Courts around the world; a parchment letter written by a terrified young girl pleading for her life paves the way for the girl to become Elizabeth I; the first example of musical notation is discovered on the back of another document; the actual telegram sent from a sinking Titanic remains heart-rending today; a ship's log written by Captain Cook, at anchor in Botany Bay, records his first encounter with Australian Aborigines. Far from being dusty documents from the past, these papers twinkle with life and resonate powerfully today. Fully illustrated, this book allows us to glimpse history as it really happened.
Richard Taylor (1826-1879), son of President Zachary Taylor and brother-in-law of Jefferson Davis, was a planter, politician, and general. Taylor's memoir of his Civil War and Reconstruction experiences is regarded as one of the best-written of the period. His recollections focus on his service in Virginia under Stonewall Jackson and later as commander of the department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana.
An intricate and brilliantly written psychiatric perspective on the most perplexing of crimes' Kerry Daynes, author of The Dark Side of the Mind 'Beautifully written and very dark' Nimco Ali OBE 'Whodunnit' doesn't matter so much, not to a forensic psychiatrist. We're more interested in the 'why'. In his twenty-six years in the field, Richard Taylor has worked on well over a hundred murder cases, with victims and perpetrators from all walks of life. In this fascinating memoir, Taylor draws on some of the most tragic, horrific and illuminating of these cases - as well as dark secrets from his own family's past - to explore some of the questions he grapples with every day: Why do people kill? Does committing a monstrous act make someone a monster? Could any of us, in the wrong circumstances, become a killer? As Taylor helps us understand what lies inside the minds of those charged with murder - both prisoners he has assessed and patients he has treated - he presents us with the most important challenge of all: how can we even begin to comprehend the darkest of human deeds, and why it is so vital that we try? The Mind of a Murderer is a fascinating exploration into the psyche of killers, as well as a unique insight into the life and mind of the doctor who treats them. For fans of Unnatural Causes, The Examined Life and All That Remains. MORE PRAISE FOR THE MIND OF A MURDERER: 'A fascinating insight into what drives criminality - and a punchy polemic against mental-health service cuts' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Telegraph 'A fascinating, well-written and compelling account of the mental state in homicide' Alisdair Williamson, TLS 'A dark, fascinating and often surprising glimpse into the minds of those who kill, from a forensic psychiatrist who's seen it all' Rob Williams, writer of BBC's The Victim 'An excellent, engaging and honest book, full of interesting, powerful and important observations' Alison Liebling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Cambridge
The fourth edition of the perennial best-seller. Fully updated, with everything the private pilot needs to know about flying IFR, such as handling emergencies, filing flight plans, understanding IFR communications, navigating, and flying more efficiently. Polish and improve your instrument-flight skills with the proficiency exercises. Glossary of aviation terms included.
In this fresh evaluation of Western ethics, noted philosopher Richard Taylor argues that philosophy must return to the classical notion of virtue as the basis of ethics. To ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, ethics was chiefly the study of how individuals attain personal excellence, or "virtue," defined as intellectual sophistication, wisdom, strength of character, and creativity. With the ascendancy of the Judeo-Christian ethic, says Taylor, this emphasis on pride of personal worth was lost. Instead, philosophy became preoccupied with defining right and wrong in terms of a divine lawgiver, and the concept of virtue was debased to mean mere obedience to divine law. Even today, in the absence of religious belief, modern thinkers unwittingly continue this legacy by creating hairsplitting definitions of good and evil.Taylor points out that the ancients rightly understood the ultimate concern of ethics to be the search for happiness, a concept that seems to have eluded contemporary society despite unprecedented prosperity and convenience. Extolling Aristotle''s Nicomachean Ethics, Taylor urges us to reread this brilliant and still relevant treatise, especially its emphasis on an ethic of aspiration.
Along with Benedict Arnold, Simon Girty was one of the most hated men in early America. The son of an Irish immigrant, he was raised on the western Pennsylvania frontier but was captured by the Senecas as a teenager and lived among them for several years. This able frontiersman might be seen today as a defender of Native Americans, but in his own time he was branded as a traitor for siding with First Nations and the British during the Revolutionary War. He fought fiercely against Continental Army forces in the Ohio River Valley and was victorious in the bloody Battle of Blue Licks. In this classic work, Richard Taylor artfully assembles a collage of passages from diaries, travel accounts, and biographies to tell part of the notorious villain's story. Taylor uses the voice of Girty himself to unfold the rest of the narrative through a series of interior monologues, which take the form of both prose and poetry. Moments of torture and horrifying bloodshed stand starkly against passages celebrating beautiful landscapes and wildlife. Throughout, Taylor challenges perceptions of the man and the frontier, as well as notions of white settler innocence. Simon Girty's bloody exploits and legend made him hated and feared in Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley, but many who knew him respected him for his convictions, principles, and bravery. This evocative work brings to life a complex figure who must permanently dwell in the borderland between myth and fact, one foot in each domain.
When Richard Taylor's novel, The Duration, was returned unopened by Charles Scribner & Sons in 1964, apparently Taylor didn't have the heart to ever send it out again and it sat in its original mailing wrapper for 46 years until his stepson found it. The Duration clearly was based at least in some part on Taylor's own experience working for a newspaper during World War II. The novel follows the amorous adventures of a reporter for the San Francisco Observer, "John Edwards," dealing with life in the City by the Bay, rationing, the manpower shortage, and women whose husbands and boyfriends are away in uniform. Taylor is a talented wordsmith who uses his prodigious vocabulary and arcane knowledge of history and literature to paint a very detailed picture what life was like for civilians in wartime, especially single men in a city replete with unpaired young ladies.
Writer, surfer, and househusband Richard Taylor is mad about beaches and islands, and was inspired by a house exchange that whisked him and his family from a freezing Ottawa winter to a year of some of the world’s best surf on the east coast of Australia. In an era of packaged paradises and cyber surfers, the forty-something writer’s first case of the mid-life blues seduced him into recapturing his youthful romance with surfing.
When former Kentucky Poet Laureate Richard Taylor took a job at Kentucky State University in 1975, he purchased a fixer-upper—in need of a roof, a paint job, city water, and central heating—that became known to his friends as "Taylor's Folly." The historic Giltner-Holt House, which was built in 1859 and sits close by the Elkhorn Creek a few miles outside of Frankfort, became the poet's entrance into the area's history and culture, and the Elkhorn became a source of inspiration for his writing. Driven by topophilia (love of place), Taylor focuses on the eight-mile stretch of the creek from the Forks of the Elkhorn to Knight's Bridge to provide a glimpse into the economic, social, and cultural transformation of Kentucky from wilderness to its current landscape. He explores both the natural history of the region and the formation of the Forks community. Taylor recounts the Elkhorn Valley's inhabitants from the earliest surveyors and settlers to artist Paul Sawyier, who memorably documented the creek in watercolors, oils, and pastels. Interspersed with photographs and illustrations—contemporary and historic—and intermixed with short vignettes about historical figures of the region, Elkhorn: Evolution of a Kentucky Landscape delivers a history that is by turns a vibrant and meditative personal response to the creek and its many wonders. Flowing across four counties in central Kentucky, Elkhorn Creek is the second largest tributary of the Kentucky River. Known for its beauty and recreational opportunities, Elkhorn Creek has become an increasingly popular location for canoeing, kayaking, and camping and is one of the state's best-known streams for smallmouth bass, bluegills, and crawfish. Like Walden Pond for Henry David Thoreau, the Elkhorn has been a touchstone for Taylor. A beautiful blend of creative storytelling and historical exploration of one of the state's beloved waterways, Elkhorn celebrates a gem in the heart of central Kentucky.
Here are three tragedies from early Kentucky history: the defeat of a small army of Kentuckians by Indians at Blue Licks in 1782, the murder of a slave by two of Thomas Jefferson's nephews in western Kentucky in 1807, and the bizarre Beauchamp-Sharp murder in Frankfort in 1825. Taylor mixes history with good storytelling and a look at how human shortcomings sometimes lead to ruin.
Newlyweds Theo and Lily Parker buy a bed-and-breakfast in the coastal town of Cambria. Soon after that, Lily is killed. In this novel of love, redemption, and second chances, Theo learns he can no more bring his beautiful new wife back than he can kill the guilt that's eating his soul or the thing that's haunting his new home.
Gall is a victory lap for multitudes of people who are struggling with spiritual and emotional strongholds. This book exposes the spiritual root of such strongholds as Bitterness, Rejection, Shame, Self-Pity, Fear and Pride, while prescribing the appropriate antidotes. This groundbreaking revelatory masterpiece unfolds corners of untold truths for the equipping of this present generation, while presenting dynamic tools for sustained freedom from dominating emotions.
An overview on one of the most successful infantry formations used by Alexander the Great and his successors to dominate the ancient world. The Macedonian pike phalanx dominated the battlefields of Greece and the Near and Middle East for over two centuries. It was one of the most successful infantry formations of the ancient world, only rivaled by the manipular formation of the Roman legions. The phalanx was a key factor in the battlefield success of Alexander the Great and after his death dominated the armies of his Successors (the Diadochoi), who ruled from Greece and Egypt to the borders of India. Richard Taylor gives an overview of the phalanx’s development, organization, equipment and training. He analyses the reasons for its success, with an emphasis on case studies of the many battles in which it was used, from Philip II’s reign to the Mithridatic Wars. He discusses whether the famous defeats by the Romans necessarily mean it was inherently inferior to the manipular legion tactics, and considers what other factors were in play. The clear, accessible and well-researched text is supported by diagrams and battle maps, making this an outstanding study of this mighty formation.
A practical overview and explanation of different things one would find in a church: architecture, design, artifacts, symbolism. Useful for anyone of any religious background who visits a church or cathedral.
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