Dark Histories
6 total works
The office of the American President has evolved dramatically over the last 200 years, from George Washington's heroic posturing as leader of a renegade nation, to calculated cunning as commander of a nuclear superpower. This colourful inventory of presidential transgressions reveals that every modern scandal is the descendant of remarkably similar predecessors. Detailing the disgraces of all forty-four Presidents, from sexual skirmishes to CIA cover-ups, Dark History of the American Presidents covers every dirty deed committed behind the White House fence, from financial profiteering and insider trading to illicit bugging of the opposition. Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy are all present, as are the more likely suspects such as Nixon. Running right up to the present and including the terms of Presidents Bush and Obama, Dark History of the American Presidents also tells the story of a nation's advancement: from post-Revolutionary days of anti-monarchy and slavery, through the bitter strife of internal wars, Reconstruction, boom and Depression, to her emergence onto the world stage as a superpower. Using reproductions of portraits in oil, period caricature and cartoons, as well as superbly-telling 20th century photojournalism, Dark History of the American Presidents reveals the true face behind what has become the most powerful job in the world.
From monarchy to the world’s first socialist state, from Communism to Capitalism, from mass poverty to Europe’s new super rich, Russia has seen immense revolutions in just the past century, including purges, poisonings, famines, assassinations and massacres.
In that time, it has also endured civil war, world war and the Cold War. But the extremes of Russian history are not restricted to the past 100 years. When Napoleon invaded in 1812, the Russians retreated, slashing and burning their own country and Moscow itself, rather than conceding defeat to Napoleon. They were victorious, but at immense cost.
Russia’s history is also spiked with mystery. Did Stalin shoot his wife? Who ordered the killing of Rasputin? Or the shooting of Anna Politkovskaya and the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko or the Skripals in Salisbury, England? What involvement and influence did Russian intelligence have on the 2016 US Election? In addition, it is a history of appalling disasters, such as at the Chernobyl nuclear power station and the sinking of the Kursk submarine.
Ranging from medieval Kievan Rus to Vladimir Putin, Dark History of Russia explores the murder, brutality, genocide, insanity and skulduggery in the efforts to seize, and then maintain, power in the Slav heartland. Illustrated with 180 colour and black-&-white photographs and artworks, Dark History of Russia is a fascinating, lively and wide-ranging story from the Mongol invasions to the present day.
In that time, it has also endured civil war, world war and the Cold War. But the extremes of Russian history are not restricted to the past 100 years. When Napoleon invaded in 1812, the Russians retreated, slashing and burning their own country and Moscow itself, rather than conceding defeat to Napoleon. They were victorious, but at immense cost.
Russia’s history is also spiked with mystery. Did Stalin shoot his wife? Who ordered the killing of Rasputin? Or the shooting of Anna Politkovskaya and the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko or the Skripals in Salisbury, England? What involvement and influence did Russian intelligence have on the 2016 US Election? In addition, it is a history of appalling disasters, such as at the Chernobyl nuclear power station and the sinking of the Kursk submarine.
Ranging from medieval Kievan Rus to Vladimir Putin, Dark History of Russia explores the murder, brutality, genocide, insanity and skulduggery in the efforts to seize, and then maintain, power in the Slav heartland. Illustrated with 180 colour and black-&-white photographs and artworks, Dark History of Russia is a fascinating, lively and wide-ranging story from the Mongol invasions to the present day.
'Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.'
The Lord's words to Cain, Book of Genesis
Human sacrifice, floods, plagues, murders, massacres, betrayal, wars, incest, sea monsters and dragons - how well do we really remember the stories we learnt in school scripture lessons?
From Genesis to the Book of Revelation, Dark History of The Bible explores some of the oldest stories in the world.
Whether we are believers or not, these are some of the most influential stories in life and in art. As well as looking at the historical roots behind the stories, the book examines their inconsistencies and how they can be interpreted in different ways.
From Jacob tricking his father Isaac over his brother's inheritance to the walls of Jericho tumbling down, from Moses crossing the Red Sea to Jesus's Flight into Egypt, from King David and Bathsheba to John the Baptist and Salome, from the sea monster Leviathan to the Beast and the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, Dark History of the Bible includes the most compelling stories from the King James's Authorised Version of the Old and New Testaments.
Easily accessible and illustrated with 180 colour and black-and-white photographs, maps and artworks, Dark History of the Bible examines the tales of skulduggery, vengeance and retribution in the world's most famous book."
The Lord's words to Cain, Book of Genesis
Human sacrifice, floods, plagues, murders, massacres, betrayal, wars, incest, sea monsters and dragons - how well do we really remember the stories we learnt in school scripture lessons?
From Genesis to the Book of Revelation, Dark History of The Bible explores some of the oldest stories in the world.
Whether we are believers or not, these are some of the most influential stories in life and in art. As well as looking at the historical roots behind the stories, the book examines their inconsistencies and how they can be interpreted in different ways.
From Jacob tricking his father Isaac over his brother's inheritance to the walls of Jericho tumbling down, from Moses crossing the Red Sea to Jesus's Flight into Egypt, from King David and Bathsheba to John the Baptist and Salome, from the sea monster Leviathan to the Beast and the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, Dark History of the Bible includes the most compelling stories from the King James's Authorised Version of the Old and New Testaments.
Easily accessible and illustrated with 180 colour and black-and-white photographs, maps and artworks, Dark History of the Bible examines the tales of skulduggery, vengeance and retribution in the world's most famous book."
Five of the first eleven emperors of Rome were assassinated and another two killed themselves rather than face the fury of their subjects. Nero sang while Rome burned. Caligula proclaimed himself a god. If not mad enough already, he also gave one of his horses a place on the senate. Rome rejoiced when many emperors died, only to find that they hated the next one just as much. From the death of Julius Caesar in 44BC to the fall of Rome in 476AD, Dark History of the Roman Emperors presents a wry and witty look at five centuries of Roman mayhem, murder, incest, infanticide, sadism, sexual depravity and madness. Featuring such notorious names as Claudius, Tiberius and Commodus, this book retells all of the most eye-opening accounts of imperial misdeeds, drawing on many original Roman sources. Illustrated with striking images of the protagonists and their deeds, from ancient statues to medieval engravings and renaissance paintings, Dark History of the Roman Emperors is an entertaining and visually spectacular account of the skulduggery of the greatest empire the world has ever known - and the hubris that came with it.
The history of China is rich in episodes of slaughter, sometimes perpetrated by invaders like the Manchu, or by the Mongols in the 13th century, or much later by the Japanese at Nanking in 1937. China was capable of drumming up darkness of its own, too. An entire era of early Chinese history is known as the time of the Warring States on account of its chronic civil strife. The so-called 'Three Kingdoms' period was even worse. Then there was a bitter and bloody civil war between Communists and Nationalists in the mid-20th century, while Chairman Mao's Great Leap Forward (1958-62) and the famine it brought with it cost tens of millions of lives.
China: A Dark History offers an uncompromising and entertaining account of one of the oldest and most enduring civilisations in the world, from the cruel King Zhou of the Second Millennium BCE to the suppression of the Uighur minority today. In between the author covers everything from barbarian invasions, the Battle of the Red Cliffs and foot binding to the Opium Wars, the last emperor Puyi and internet censorship in the 21st century.
China: A Dark History offers an uncompromising and entertaining account of one of the oldest and most enduring civilisations in the world, from the cruel King Zhou of the Second Millennium BCE to the suppression of the Uighur minority today. In between the author covers everything from barbarian invasions, the Battle of the Red Cliffs and foot binding to the Opium Wars, the last emperor Puyi and internet censorship in the 21st century.
The world's largest Christian organization with 1.2 billion members, the Catholic Church is one of the world's oldest institutions and has played a crucial part in the development of Western civilization. But in its rise from Jewish sect to global faith, it has been both the persecuted and the persecutors; it has become powerful but guilty of corruption; and it has preached moral purity but has been marred by abuse scandals.
From the persecution of the early Christians in ancient Rome, through the terrors of the anti-heresy witchhunts of the notorious Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, to papal collaboration with the Nazis during World War II, Dark History of the Catholic Church tells the stories of heretics and pogroms, Mother Teresa and martyred priests, papal purges and crooked clergy, false prophets and faithless pontiffs.
Illustrated with 180 photographs, paintings, and illustrations, Dark History of the Catholic Church reveals the infamous underside of the world's oldest Christian faith.
From the persecution of the early Christians in ancient Rome, through the terrors of the anti-heresy witchhunts of the notorious Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, to papal collaboration with the Nazis during World War II, Dark History of the Catholic Church tells the stories of heretics and pogroms, Mother Teresa and martyred priests, papal purges and crooked clergy, false prophets and faithless pontiffs.
Illustrated with 180 photographs, paintings, and illustrations, Dark History of the Catholic Church reveals the infamous underside of the world's oldest Christian faith.