Geoffrey Hindley

Describes the history of the English people, from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman Conquest in 1066.

A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons

Black Dynasty is a story of African-American life and ambition set in the first seventy years after the Civil War. It is a family saga about a black storekeeper in a remote company town in Kentucky, and how he exploits the business possibilities opened up by a modification in kerosene-lamp design, which he appropriates from his inventive young black shop assistant, to build a multi-million dollar family business, with repercussions far into the future.The book’s broad social and geographical sweep offers a mini history of post Civil War African American life, in-depth research means that the rounded, highly believable (sometimes controversial) characters play out their loves, ambitions, rivalries, triumphs and sufferings, against a credible and vivid background. Details of everyday life – artefacts, street scenes, characters and incidents from the historical record – pitch the reader into the dangerous realities of 1920s South Side Chicago, the horrors of Ku Klux Klan white ‘justice’ and the sometimes dubious politicking of evangelical religion. We crowd into Mott’s Chicago Pekin Theater, for the running commentary by ticker tape from Reno Nevada on black heavy-weight Jack Johnson’s championship triumph; cruise the Mississippi by river boat to the seedy nightlife violence of Natchez-under-the-Hill; tour Harlem’s elegant nightclub scene with sensation seeking white socialites.Through it all we see the ruthless commercial ambition of Willard Stone, creator of Stone’s Kerosene Lamp Corporation, powerfully offset by the impassioned commitment and campaigning of Elsie ‘Blaze’ Marre, black women’s rights activist, his childhood sweetheart turned remorseless critic. Meanwhile, music-crazy son and heir Willard Jnr, disowned by his father, is blowing his ‘jass’ horn all across Prohibition club-land.Geoffrey Hindley worked in London publishing, then freelance as writer, lecturer and teacher in UK, Europe and the US. As visiting professor, he travelled pretty widely, seeing something of poorer neighbourhoods and riding railroad sleeping car from Chicago to New York.

Black Dynasty

Why did the medieval Church bless William of Normandy's invasion of Christian England in 1066 and authorise cultural genocide in Provence? How could a Christian army sack Christian Constantinople in 1204? Why did thousands of ordinary men and women, led by knights and ladies, kings and queens, embark on campaigns of fanatical conquest in the world of Islam? The word 'Crusade' came later, but the concept of a 'war for the faith' is an ancient one. Geoffrey Hindley instructively unravels the story of the Christian military expeditions that have perturbed European history, troubled Christian consciences and embittered Muslim attitudes towards the West. He offers a lively record of the Crusades, from the Middle East to the pagan Baltic, and fascinating portraits of the major personalities, from Godfrey of Bouillon, the first Latin ruler of Jerusalem, to Etienne, the visionary French peasant boy who inspired the tragic Children's Crusade. Addressing questions rarely considered, Hindley sheds new light on pressing issues surrounding religious division and shows how the Crusades have helped to shape the modern world and relations between Christian and Muslim countries to this day.

A Brief History of the Crusades

Thayer Willis

Carl Proujan

The Last Frontiers

Süleyman Genç

Bir islam kahramanı Selahaddin

In 1215, the Barons of England forced King John to sign a revolutionary document which would change the political landscape of Britain and beyond for the next 800 years. Magna Carta was the forerunner of the Constitution that limited the powers of the crown and its echoes can be found in the seventeenth century Civil Wars, the struggles for American Independence, the work of Thomas Paine and in the bedrock of all contemporary liberal nations. As civil liberties and the rule of law are increasingly under question as part of the 'War on Terror', it has never been more essential to return to the original document, signed at Runnymede in June 1215. Leading medieval historian Geoffrey Hindley retells the story of events leading up to the conference and looks at the document itself, showing how it has resonated over centuries and throughout the world.

A Brief History of the Magna Carta

Starting AD 400 (around the time of their invasion of England) and running through to the 1100s (the 'Aftermath'), historian Geoffrey Hindley shows the Anglo-Saxons as formative in the history not only of England but also of Europe. The society inspired by the warrior world of the Old English poem Beowulf saw England become the world's first nation state and Europe's first country to conduct affairs in its own language, and Bede and Boniface of Wessex establish the dating convention we still use today. Including all the latest research, this is a fascinating assessment of a vital historical period.

"Many people saw the Crusades as pilgrimages, many believed they were doing the will of God, and many too went for the booty. This was an institution that for more than five centuries punctuated European history, troubled Christian consciences and embittered Muslim attitudes towards the West, Geoffrey Hindley takes us from the Middle East and Muslim Spain to the pagan Baltic when 'Crusaders' reclaimed or extended Europe's frontiers, and offers lively portraits of major personalities who took part, from Godfrey of Bouillon, the first Latin ruler of Jerusalem, to Etienne the visionary French peasant boy who inspired the tragic 'Children's Crusade'." "Addressing aspects rarely considered, Hindley's penetrating study sheds light on some of the most pressing issues of religious division and shows how the Crusades helped to shape Europe, the modern world and relations between Christian and Muslim countries to this day."--Book jacket.

From Jericho to Troy, medieval Europe knew siege warfare as a tradition of antiquity. Long before the advent of city culture, rivaling civilizations had relied on siege tactics as a means of taking over fortified palaces, temples, and defensive walls. But the dawn of the medieval period brought the “golden age” of siege warfare, as the proliferation of formalized cities made siege tactics the ideal choice from a militaristic standpoint. In Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft, Geoffrey Hindley looks at the subject from every angle. He traces the development of strong points, castles, and fortified towns and considers the architects and masons who built them; describes the problems of medieval logistics and food supply that confronted both sides during a siege (and which often decided the outcome); and pens vivid portraits of the machinery of warfare—from towers, mines, trebuchets, and mangonels to boiling oil and Greek fire; and considers the parts played by women and camp followers in battle. With the support of fifty illustrations printed throughout the text, Hindley shows siege tactics in action through real-life case studies of famous sieges that changed the course of history in medieval Europe and the Holy Land. A definitive account of an often overlooked portion of military history, this stimulating and accessible study will be fascinating reading for medieval specialists and for anyone who is interested in the history of warfare. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft

Great sieges changed the course of medieval history, yet siege warfare, the dominant military activity of the period, is rarely given the attention it deserves. Geoffrey Hindley's highly readable new account of this vital but neglected aspect of medieval warfare looks at the subject from every angle. He traces the development of fortifications and siege equipment, explores the psychological dimension and considers the parts played by women and camp followers. He also shows siege tactics in action through a selection of vivid case studies of famous sieges taken from the history of medieval Europe and the Holy Land. His stimulating and accessible study will be fascinating reading for medieval specialists and for anyone who is interested in the history of warfare.

Geoffrey Hindley

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