Showing results by narrator "Mark Elstob" in All Categories

Even on the most smog-bound of days, the rocky outcrop on which the Acropolis stands is visible above the sprawling roofscape of the Greek capital. Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically freighted panoramas of any of the world's cities: the pillars and pediments of the Parthenon – the temple dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, that crowns the Acropolis – dominate a city whose name is synonymous for many with civilization itself.

After his sudden rise to power in the summer of 2019 amid the Brexit deadlock, Boris Johnson presided over the most dramatic period of British history in almost a century. From the controversial prorogation of Parliament in August 2019 to the historic landslide victory later that year, the agonising upheaval of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic—and the scandals unleashed by both—the Afghanistan crisis, and the conflict in Ukraine, Johnson's premiership was more turbulent than any other in living memory.

England, 1351. The Pestilence has ravaged the land. Villages lie abandoned but for crows and corpses. Highways are patrolled by marauders and murderers. In these dark and dangerous times, the wise keep to themselves. But Gerard Fox cannot afford to be wise. The young knight has been robbed of his ancestral home, his family name tarnished. To regain his lands and reputation, he sets forth to petition the one man who can restore them. Fate places Fox on the wrong road at the wrong time as he hurtles towards a chance encounter.

Owner of Harrods, bereaved father of Dodi and instigator of the 'cash for questions' sensation, this book was originally published in 1998 to wide acclaim. But with the recent heinous accusations of sexual misconduct coming to light, this new and updated edition will offer a new focus of Tom Bower's trademark acerbic insight on this controversial figure.

The End of Money is an essential introduction to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain revolution, which has been hailed as the greatest advancement since the invention of the Internet. Murder for hire. Drug trafficking. Embezzlement. Money laundering. These might sound like plot lines of a thriller, but they are true stories from the short history of cryptocurrencies - digital currencies conceived by computer hackers and cryptographers that represent a completely new sort of financial transaction.

Reverend Augustus Shackleford's mission in life (aside from ensuring the collection box was suitably full every Sunday) was to secure advantageous marriages for each of his eight daughters. A tall order, given the fact that in the Reverend's opinion they didn't possess a single ladylike bone in the eight bodies they had between them. Quite where he would find a wealthy titled gentleman bottle headed enough to take any of them on remained a mystery and indeed was likely to test even his legendary resourcefulness.

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…

Liz Truss's disastrous premiership was the shortest and most chaotic in British history. In the space of just 49 days, Truss witnessed the death of the longest-reigning monarch, attempted to remould the economy, triggered a collapse in the value of Sterling and was forced on a series of embarrassing U-turns that ultimately led to her resignation. The aftershocks of her time in office are still felt today. How did she blow her opportunity so spectacularly?

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.

In the teeming underhive of Hive Primus, the de facto capital of Necromunda, untold billions clamour for scraps as they attempt to eke out something barely resembling an existence. While the gilded elite enjoy the trappings of luxury in the towering spires above and the lowest of the low barely survive, many turn to the streets and each other for survival, and these are some of their stories.

Hrolf the young Viking has left the service of Jarl Dragonheart and sails with Jarl Gunnar Thorfinnson. When they find a home off the Frankish coast they begin to accumulate a vast fortune which earns them the enmity of other Vikings. The novel culminates in a bloody battle where Viking fights Viking but Hrolf begins to fulfill his destiny as Hrolf the Horseman!

In this first volume subtitled ‘The Stories of Jacob', Mann begins with a meditative prelude named “Descent into Hell”, which contextualises the story against a variety of historical, mythological, and historical contexts, before moving on to the story of Joseph's father Jacob. The following chapters follow Jacob as we learn of him stealing his brother's birthright, before fleeing to his uncle Laban and his later marriages to Rachel and Leah.

In the annals of military history, the Western Front stands as an enduring symbol of the folly and futility of war. However, military Historian Nick Lloyd, reveals that the story is not, as so many assume, one of pointlessness and stupidity. Rather, it is an epic triumph against the odds. With a cast of hundreds and a huge canvas of places and events, Lloyd tells the whole tale, revealing what happened in France and Belgium between August 1914 and November 1918 from the perspective of all the main combatants - including French, British, Belgian, US and, most importantly, German forces.

How did we get here? All cultures have a creation story, but a little over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin introduced a revolutionary new one. We, and all living things, exist because of the action of evolution on the first simple life form and its descendants. In How Evolution Explains Everything About Life, leading biologists and New Scientist take you on a journey of a lifetime, exploring the questions of whether life is inevitable or a one-off fluke and how it got kick-started.

Experience the beginning of an epic, time-twisting saga of revenge, betrayal and attempted atonement. John French takes the Ahriman you know and love from the Horus Heresy in new and interesting directions, making him both deeply sympathetic and thoroughly evil.

Manor Farm has reinvented itself as the South of England's premium petting zoo. Now, instead of a working farm, humans and beasts alike are invited (for a small fee) to come and stroke, fondle, and take rides on the farm's inhabitants. But life is not a bed of roses for the animals, in spite of what their leaders may want them to believe. Elections are rigged, the community is beset by factions, and sacred mottos are being constantly updated. The Farm is descending into chaos. What's more, a mysterious ‘illness' has started ripping through the animals, killing them one by one.

Against all the odds, perfectly ordinary girl next door, Victory Shackleford has won the heart of Hollywood heartthrob Noah Westbrook. But after a whirlwind courtship, the dust is now settling and Tory is faced with the reality of life with the most famous actor in the world. And it's not all hearts and flowers, especially as the media seem intent on digging up every bit of dirt about her they can possibly find.

Kal Jerico returns to Hive Primus, chasing his biggest bounty yet: the maniacal preacher Desolation Zoon, racing downhive in a mining hauler bristling with stolen Guilder weaponry...but with a prize like this at stake, every other Venator worth the name will be hunting down the Redemptionist. Can Kal claim Zoon’s head, or will he find a rival’s knife in his back?

The Bible Book audiobook features breakdowns of some of the most well-known passages ever written from The Bible. Looking at more than 100 of the most important Old and New Testament stories, The Bible Book profiles key figures, from Adam and Eve to Peter and Paul, locations such as Jerusalem and Rome, and essential theological theories like the Trinity to help create a clear insight into Christianity.

Published over a ten-year period between the years 1933 and 1943 while the writer was in exile, Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers is an epic four-part novel that works as a retelling of chapters twenty-one to thirty of the Book of Genesis. Described as a “Mythological novel”, It took Mann over sixteen years to write the novel and was considered by the writer as his greatest ever literary achievement.