The Little Book of Crime and Punishment is a repository of fascinating, obscure, strange and entertaining facts and trivia about the history of the British criminal justice system. Learn of the days when noses, hands and heads were cut off, heretics were burned at the stake and rebels were hanged, drawn and quartered. A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the various forms of punishments; from ducking scolds, imposing curfews, tagging persistent offenders and, of course, imprisonment
For millennia the normal, natural and pleasurable activity of eating has been surrounded by fear and anxiety. Religious traditions have long decreed what foods are right for their followers to eat, but secularisation and scientific progress have not made the situation easier. Our present obsession with health, obesity, ethics and science has seemingly developed from a society that is over-supplied with the necessities of life. For the first time, social historian Stephen Halliday looks at the history of our fascinating relationship with food, from Galen in the first century AD declaring that fruit was the worst kind of food to eat, to John Kellogg's belief that eating wholegrain cereals would prevent masturbation and bring people closer to God. Through modern fears and food scares such as mad cow disease to our current fascination with superfoods, 'friendly' bacteria and organic farming, Our Troubles with Food is a thorough analysis of our changing attitudes towards food and a reminder that we are not so very different from our forbears after all.
Victorian Britain was the world's industrial powerhouse. Its factories, mills and foundries supplied a global demand for manufactured goods. As Britain changed from an agricultural to an industrial ecomony, people swarmed into the towns and cities where the work was; by the end of Queen Victoria's reign, almost 80 per cent of the population was urban. Overcrowding and filthy living conditions, though, were a recipe for disaster, and diseases such as cholera, typhoid, scarlet fever, smallpox and puerperal (childbed) fever were a part of everyday life for (usually poor) town-and city-dwellers. However, thanks to a dedicated band of doctors, nurses, midwives, scientists, engineers and social reformers, by the time the Victorian era became the Edwardian, they were almost eradicated, and no longer a constant source of fear. Stephen Halliday tells the fascinating story of how these individuals fought opposition from politicians, taxpayers and often their own colleagues to overcome these diseases and make the country a safer place for everyone to live.
Why did London have to wait so long for a main-line railway beneath its streets? For a few years in the mid-nineteenth century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad-gauge Great Western trains ran from Reading to Faringdon. Now, after many false starts, his vision is being realised as the Elizabeth Line prepares to carry passengers from Reading to the City once again, and beyond to Essex and Kent, using engineering that would have earned the admiration of the greatest Victorian engineers. London historian Stephen Halliday presents an engaging discussion of Crossrail's fascinating origins and the heroic engineering that made it all possible.
There have been more prisons in London than in any other European city. Of these, Newgate was the largest, most notorious and worst. Built during the twelfth century, it became a legendary place - the inspiration of more poems, plays and novels than any other building in London. It was a place of cruelty and wretchedness, at various times holding Dick Turpin, Titus Oates, Daniel Defoe, Jack Sheppard and Casanova. Because prisons were privately run, any time spent in prison had to be paid for by the prisoner. Housing varied from a private cell with a cleaning woman and a visiting prostitute, to simply lying on the floor with no cover. Those who died inside - and only a quarter of prisoners survived until their execution day - had to stay in Newgate as a rotting corpse until relatives found the money for the body to be released. Stephen Halliday tells the story of Newgate's origins, the criminals it held, the punishments meted out and its rebuilding and reform. This is a compelling slice of London's social and criminal history.
London is a City of Markets: markets in meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, money, insurance, shipping and, occasionally, in stolen goods. Stephen Halliday’s book is a comprehensive account of the often lurid and controversial history of its markets from Roman Londinium to the London of Boris Johnson as well as a guide to visiting them (and emerging with a bargain).
‘An extraordinary history’ PETER ACKROYD, The Times ‘A lively account of (Bazalgette’s) magnificent achievements. . . graphically illustrated’ HERMIONE HOBHOUSE ‘Halliday is good on sanitary engineering and even better on cloaca, crud and putrefaction . . . (he) writes with the relish of one who savours his subject and has deeply researched it. . . splendidly illustrated’ RUTH RENDELL In the sweltering summer of 1858, sewage generated by over two million Londoners was pouring into the Thames, producing a stink so offensive that it drove Members of Parliament from the chamber of the House of Commons. The Times called the crisis ‘The Great Stink’. Parliament had to act – drastic measures were required to clean the Thames and to improve London’s primitive system of sanitation. The great engineer entrusted with this enormous task was Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who rose to the challenge and built the system of intercepting sewers, pumping stations and treatment works that serves London to this day. In the process, he cleansed the Thames and helped banish cholera. The Great Stink of London offers a vivid insight into Bazalgette’s achievements and the era in which he worked and lived, including his heroic battles with politicians and bureaucrats that would transform the face and health of the world’s then largest city.
“Halliday is a pass master at assembling golden nuggets of fact . . . amusingly written . . . a fun way to brush up on your Olympic history” (Londonist). Who reprimanded Hitler during the 1936 Olympic Games? When did the Olympic event “shin-kicking” get banned? Which Shakespearean play refers to the Olympic Games? Who was the first official cheat in 388 BC? Find the answers to these questions and many other intriguing aspects of the Olympic Games in this absorbing collection of stories and trivia. Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: The Olympics reveals the beguiling stories behind the well-known history of the Games. It delves into ancient origins in Greece, the predecessors to the modern Games from the seventeenth century onwards, and the little-known facts behind the Olympics in our era. Brush up on the hidden history and unusual facts of the “Greatest Show on Earth,” past and present.
Willie Waddell, the subject of this biography, will always be remembered by fans of Rangers Football Club, as the man who delivered the much-coveted winners' cup to the club.
London's Underground is one of the best-known and most distinctive aspects of the city. Since Victorian times, this remarkable feat of engineering has made an extraordinary contribution to the economy of the capital and played a vital role in the daily life of generations of Londoners. Stephen Halliday’s informative, entertaining, wide-ranging history of the Underground celebrates the vision and determination of the Victorian Pioneers who conceived this revolutionary transport system. His book records the scandal, disappointments, and disasters that have punctuated the story and the careers of the gifted, dedicated, sometimes corrupt individuals that have shaped its history. It also gives a fascinating insight into the neglected, often unseen aspects of this subterranean system - the dense network of tunnels, shafts and chambers that have been created beneath the city streets.
Who reprimanded Hitler during the 1936 Olympic Games? When did the Olympic event "shin kicking" get banned? Which Shakespearean play refers to the Olympic Games? Who was the first official cheat in 388BC? Find the answers to these and many other intriguing aspects of the Olympic Games in this absorbing collection of stories and trivia. Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: The Olympics reveals the beguiling stories behind the well-known history of the Games. It delves into the ancient origins in Greece, the modern predecessors to the Games from the 17th century onwards, and the little-known facts behind the Olympics in the modern era. As the "Greatest Show on Earth" graces the City of London, it is the time to swot up on the hidden history and unusual facts behind the Olympic Games, past and present.
This is a fascinating and useful reference to the history of the London Underground that reveals new insights into the history of the iconic transport system - the perfect gift for commuters, tourists and railway enthusiasts alike. For anyone who has lived, worked, visited or even passed through London, the tube is one of the iconic and defining characteristics of the city. Amazing & Extraordinary London Underground Facts takes you from the famous roundel symbol and standing on the right of the escalators, to the instantly recognizable and hugely influential route map. This title helps to discover the tales of the building of the first lines in the mid-nineteenth century and the steam trains that ran along them, the ever expanding network of routes, the abandoned ghost stations, the notorious incidents and colorful characters that have all played a part in the amazing and extraordinary history of the London Underground.
DIVWhen Drum picks up a hitchhiker, trouble follows her into the car/divDIV A monsoon is hammering Washington, DC, when Chester Drum spots Anita Sparrow on the roadside in the middle of the night. Sixteen, frail, and soaking wet, she is trying to find help for her brother, Donny, a photographer with cerebral palsy who was beaten nearly to death a mile up the road. Drum takes Donny to the hospital and drives Anita home, where he finds her house ransacked, her brother’s darkroom destroyed. It seems Donny took a picture of something he wasn’t supposed to see, and powerful men will kill to ensure the negative is never developed./divDIV /divDIVOn top of it all, Drum soon learns that the Sparrows have ties to some of the biggest names inside the Beltway, and Anita is not as innocent as she appears. Her family story simmers with pornography, corruption, and murder—not polite topics for dinner table conversation, but ones that make Chester Drum feel right at home. /div
Amazing & Extraordinary Facts about Great Britain unearths the hidden legends, laws, landscapes, discoveries, adventures and locations that have shaped Britain's compelling, and at times, tumultuous past. Explore how Britain was formed - its geology and climate, the quirky characters and events of its history and the origin of British institutions, such as public schools, fish and chips and driving on the left hand side."--Publisher's description.
Tells the story of how scientists, engineers and doctors overcame three of the deadliest diseases rife in Victorian Britain: cholera, typhoid and puerperal fever.
Water is essential to human life yet has received little attention in historical accounts. This book explores the effects of H20 on the course of modern history.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Stephen Hawking has dazzled readers worldwide with a string of bestsellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, perhaps the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inward for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution. My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking’s improbable journey, from his postwar London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. Lavishly illustrated with rarely seen photographs, this concise, witty, and candid account introduces readers to a Hawking rarely glimpsed in previous books: the inquisitive schoolboy whose classmates nicknamed him Einstein; the jokester who once placed a bet with a colleague over the existence of a particular black hole; and the young husband and father struggling to gain a foothold in the world of physics and cosmology. Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time—one of the iconic books of the twentieth century. Clear-eyed, intimate, and wise, My Brief History opens a window for the rest of us into Hawking’s personal cosmos.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.