David Boyle

Unlocking the Enigma

Alan Turing

Andrew Simms

Corporate scandals and lack of confidence in our largest institutions mean that corporate social responsibility (CSR) now matters more than ever. Encroaching on CSR are concepts such as corporate sustainability and corporate citizenship, and older concern

A Bigger Picture

The New Economics

The capture of a working Enigma coding machine from the sinking U110 in May 1941, the pursuit of the battleship Bismarck later the same month, and the reason why British naval cryptographers won stole a march - when their own naval code had been cracked by the other side.

U110, the Bismarck and the Enigma Code

Operation Primrose

Catherine Mulligan

Stamatis Karnouskos

Vlasios Tsiatsis

Jan Holler

Technologies and Applications for a New Age of Intelligence

Internet of Things

The Capture and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart

The Troubadour's Song

PROMPT

Tickbox

BRANDS, FAKES, SPIN AND THE LUST FOR REAL LIFE

AUTHENTICITY

David Boyle guides us through the next big thing in Western living -- the determined rejection of the fake, the virtual, the spun and the mass-produced, in the search for authenticity.

Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life

Authenticity

On his way back from the crusades, one of England's most famous and romantic medieval kings was ship-wrecked and stranded near Venice. Trying to make his way home in disguise, he was arrested and imprisoned and effectively disappeared. He didn't return home for another fifteen months, and at enormous cost - a quarter of the entire wealth of England was paid to win his release. The extraordinary events surrounding Richard the Lionheart's disappearance provides the background to some of the most colourful and enduring legends - Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham, the discovery of King Arthur's grave, and above all, the story of Blondel, Richard's faithful minstrel, and his journey across central Europe - singing under castle towers - until he finds the missing king. Blondel's Song tells the tale of one of the most peculiar incidents of medieval history, and the background to the real Blondel and his fellow troubadours, as well as the courts of love, the Holy Grail, emergence of gothic cathedrals like Notre Dame and Chartres, and the unique moment of tolerance in the West - when Europe shared a language, and a new culture of music, romance and chivalry.

The capture, Imprisonment and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart

Blondel's Song

Exactly a century ago, the soldiers on both sides of the opposing lines came out of the trenches, sang and played football, sometimes for more than a week. It was one of the strangest, most inspiring, most controversial but spontaneous acts of war. But there remain unanswered, and sometimes uncomfortable, questions. This book uses first-hand accounts to answer some of them and explain why these extraordinary events took place.

The Christmas Truce of 1914

Peace on Earth

This book retraces and rediscovers Richard's secret journey across the Alps in winter, and uncovers the real story of the arrest of Europe's most powerful king, two thousand miles from home, and the effects of his gigantic ransom. It explains for the first time the real meaning of the legend of Blondel, the song that revealed Richard's lonely cell, and the truth about who Blondel was.

The Capture, Imprisonment and Ransom of Richard the Lionheart

Most Americans don't look far beyond Christopher Columbus when it comes to the discovery of America, yet the simple fact that we bear the name of Amerigo Vespucci suggests there is more to the story. And indeed, there is: a trio of young Italian pioneers who were merchants more than explorers and who, while in search of glory and vast profits, battled to become the first to cross the western ocean. David Boyle reveals in Toward the Setting Sun, that the race for America was as much about commerce as it was about discovery and conquest. When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, and of course, new fortune. The careers of three young men--Columbus, Vespucci and Giovanni Caboto (known to us as John Cabot) would change not only their personal destinies, but that of the New World. Contrary to popular belief, the three not only knew of each other, they were well acquainted--Columbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each other's ambitions and followed each other's progress. The intersection of their dreams and business ventures led the way to our modern world and ushered in the end of the medieval age. David Boyle skillfully brings together for the first time the three stories that shaped the race for America and in doing so adds a unique economic and business dimension to the earliest days of our country.

Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America

Toward the Setting Sun

This is a piece of popular narrative history about Richard the Lionheart's journey back from the crusades and his capture, imprisonment and ransom. The extraordinary events surrounding his disappearance provide the background to some of the most colourful and enduring legends. Originally published: London: Viking, 2005.

The Township of Scarboro 1796-1896

Never before have we attempted to measure as much as we do today. Why are we so obsessed with numbers? What can they really tell us?

The Tyranny of Numbers: Why Counting Can’t Make Us Happy

If you thought being middle-class meant your own home, something set aside for the kids and a comfortable retirement – think again.

Broke: Who Killed the Middle Classes?

Considere la posibilidad de un mundo donde el oro no sirviese para nada, todo el mundo ganase la misma cantidad de dinero, los bancos no existiesen y el comercio internacional estuviese prohibido. ¿Sería nuestra vida mejor si todo trabajo fuese divertido, la deuda fuese liquilada y cualquiera pudiese vivir donde quisiera? ¿Qué pasaría si se prohibiesen los anuncios, se paralizaran las compras y se racionasen los combustibles? Todas estas ideas y muchas más son analizadas y debatidas en esta obra. Entre todas estas especulaciones, también hay espacio para siete «¿Qué pasaría si...?», que examinan las consecuencias de experimentos económicos aplicados a la vida real, tales como «¿Qué pasaría si se aboliese la esclavitud?» y «¿Qué pasaría si sólo se imprimiesen billetes?». ¿Qué pasaría si el dinero creciese en árboles? le dará las claves necesarias para entender el funcionamiento del mundo financiero actual y para reflexionar acerca de la forma que podría adoptar este en el futuro.

Y si el dinero creciera en los árboles?

Eleanor Burton

A Guide for Donors and Grant-Makers

Making Sense of Sen: Special Educational Needs

This readable and provocative look at the public's numbers obsession is a reminder that the unmeasurable is sometimes best left unmeasured--a timely reminder that one risks his humanity when substituting data for meaning.

David Boyle

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