Piers Paul Read

the story of the Andes survivors

Alive

The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades

Templars

Documents the case of a successful Jewish captain in the French artillery command who was wrongly convicted of high treason, chronicling the twelve-year effort to secure his freedom and describing period anti-Semitism.

The Scandal That Tore France in Two

The Dreyfus Affair

A riveting account of the chilling precursors and deadly aftermath of the 1986 Soviet nuclear disaster from the bestselling author of Alive. This highly readable and deeply researched exposé draws upon unclassified data from the former Soviet Union and a wealth of firsthand interviews to give a complex and human account of one of the worst nuclear catastrophes in history. Starting in 1942, when a young Russian physicist named Georgi Flerov warned Stalin that the Americans were building an atomic bomb, author Piers Paul Read recounts the birth and growth of atomic energy in the USSR—and the construction of the V. I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station at Chernobyl. Embedded in this story are the KGB cover-ups, power grabs, safety oversights, and risky decisions that set the stage for the explosion of the station’s fourth reactor on April 26, 1986. According to Soviet authorities, only thirty-one people lost their lives due to the Chernobyl disaster, but its consequences were far too big for even the Kremlin to sweep under the rug—though the authorities certainly tried. Radiation burns and nuclear debris could not be concealed, and the cloud of radioactive material spewing from the damaged reactor was monitored throughout Europe. In the areas most immediately affected, there was a leap in the incidence of thyroid cancer. Moment by moment, Read takes us through the chaos and horror of the meltdown, and voice by voice, he records the stories that reveal the lasting repercussions of that day. Set in a regime where demotion was considered a fate worse than death and silence had the power to kill, Ablaze tackles the social and technological chain reactions that wreaked havoc not only on the USSR’s power supply but on the strength and stability of the nation. It is a must-read for anyone interested in Soviet-era history or the promises and perils of nuclear power.

The Story of Chernobyl

Ablaze

The Story of the Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl

Desde los misteriosos guardianes del Santo Grial en la opera Parsifal, de Wagner, hasta el demoniaco antiheroe Brian de Bois Guilbert, en Ivanhoe, de Walter Scott, los Caballeros del Templo de Salomon han sido fuente de constante fascinacion en la imaginacion contemporanea. Quienes eran los Templarios? Cuales eran las razones de su exito y su poder? Que provoco su declive? En esta cronica agil y atractiva, basada en las ultimas investigaciones historicas, Piers Paul Read separa el mito de la ficcion. Luego de un breve resumen de la historia del Templo y de las tres religiones -judaismo, cristianismo e islamismo- que pelearon tanto tiempo por poseerlo, describe en detalle esta fuerza de monjes guerreros que no solo fue unica en la historia de las instituciones cristianas, sino que fue ademas el primer ejercito estable uniformado del mundo occidental. El mantenimiento de los Templarios supuso la creacion de una suerte de poderosa "empresa multinacional" que prospero gracias al manejo eficiente de vastos bienes y a una forma precursora del sistema bancario internacional. Expropiada por el rey frances Felipe IV en 1307, la Orden fue finalmente suprimida en 1312 por el Papa Clemente V. Era culpable de los cargos de blasfemia, sodomia y herejia que sus miembros aceptaron bajo tortura? Que importancia tiene su historia para nuestros dias? En esta obra, que incorpora la historia de las Cruzadas y describe muchos de los atractivos personajes que tomaron parte en ellas, Piers Paul Read examina la reputacion postuma de la Orden y senala paralelos entre el presente y el pasado.

monjes y guerreros

Los Templarios

A portrait based on access to the late Oscar-winning actor's personal writings offers insight into his experiences as a soldier in World War II, his stage and film achievements, and his fiercely private personal life. By the author of Alive! and Alice in Exile. 20,000 first printing.

The Authorised Biography

Alec Guinness

Archaeologists in Jerusalem make a revolutionary discovery in this “beautifully written” thriller from a #1 New York Times–bestselling author (Ruth Rendell). John Lambert, Catholic priest and professor of biblical archaeology, returns to London from an archaeological dig in Israel—and not long after, he’s found dead, hanged in his room. It’s only the first shocking discovery for his assistant, Andrew Nash, a young friar. The second is the reason for the spiritual disillusionment that led his mentor to such a desperate act: irrefutable evidence of the skeletal remains of Jesus Christ excavated under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. The find could shake the core doctrine of the Catholic Church and destroy the very foundation of the Christian faith. But it also poses a grave threat to Nash and his associate, Israeli archaeologist Michael Dagan—because they’re not the only ones scrambling to piece together the clues to this ancient mystery. In their shadow are the KGB, the Israeli Secret Service, and an ambitious American cardinal. But are they collaborators in a diabolical hoax or coconspirators in a cover-up of the most damning discovery in history? The answer “chills the blood and makes the hair stand on end . . . confirming Read as one of our strongest novelists” (The Independent). “It’s hard to imagine a more provocative thesis,” said the New York Times of this forerunner to the biblical conspiracy thrillers of Dan Brown and Kate Mosse. On the Third Day is “an enthralling read—touch[ing] upon a number of current theological controversies” (Kirkus Reviews).

A Novel

On the Third Day

It is the late 18th century and Sicilian nobleman Vitello Scarpia finds himself penniless and in disgrace on the streets of Rome. After leaving his home in pursuit of a military career, his fiery passion has seen him expelled from the Spanish royal guard and left to seek his fortune in Italy; a fortune inseparably bound to the Pope, whose rule is put in question by the French Revolution. Scarpia enrolls in the papal army and is soon taken up by a countess eager to have a handsome young officer at her side. She introduces Scarpia into Roman society, and he is both enthralled and agitated by its mix of religiosity, sophistication, decadence, and intrigue. Then, on a mission to Venice, he meets the gifted, beautiful singer Floria Tosca. And as the armies of revolutionary France advance into Italy, and war and revolution engulf the whole peninsula, these two lives become entwined. Steeped in factual detail and exploring the lives--part historical, part fictional--of figures from Puccini's famous opera, Scarpia shines a light into dusty corridors of history and dark corners of the human soul.

Scarpia

Polonaise

A Season in the West

Alive (level 4)

the story of the Andes survivors]

Les Survivants

The Story of the Andes Survivors, Lesson Plans and Resources for Teachers

Translation of: Alive! sixteen men, seventy-two days, and insurmountable odds, the classic adventure of survival in the Andes.

Viven! El Triunfo Del Espiritu Humano / Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

ensimmäinen autenttinen kertomus Andien lento-onnettomuudesta - ihmisistä jotka kokivat helvetin ja selvisivät hengissä

Elossa!

Kaija Kauppi

July 20, 1894. The German Military Attache in Paris. Colonel Maximillien von Schwarzkoppen received a visit from a seedy-looking middle-aged Frenchman who would not give his name. He told Schwarzkoppen that he was a French army officer serving on the General Staff; that he was in desperate need of money; and was therefore prepared to sell military secrets to the Germans. Captain Alfred Dreyfus, then aged 35, was a high-flying career artillery officer. Shy, reserved, sometimes awkward, but intelligent and ambitious, Dreyfus had everything he might have hoped for: a wife, two enchanting children, plenty of money and a post on the General Staff. However, Dreyfus' rise in the army had not made him friends. Many of them came from the impoverished Catholic aristocracy and disliked Dreyfus because he was rich, bourgeois and, above all, a Jew. On October 13, Captain Dreyfus was summoned by the General de Boisdeffre to the Ministry of War. Despite minimal evidence against him he was placed under arrest for the crime of high treason. Not long afterwards Dreyfus was incarcerated on Devil's Island. But how did an innocent man come to be convicted? And why was he kept locked up for so long? The Dreyfus Affair uniquely combines a fast-moving mystery story with a snapshot of France at a moment of great social flux and cultural richness - the Belle Epoque, the Impressionists, novelists such as Flaubert, Zola, the Goncourts, Proust. It is a key to an understanding of later history; the Holocaust and Zionism: the virulent anti-Semitism of the anti-Dreyfusards and the decision that the Jews must have a state of their own.

Tabù

The dramatic, ultimately tragic history of the Knights Templar, the largest and most powerful military order of the Crusades. Sifting myth from history, Piers Paul Read reveals the Templars - the multinational force of warrior monks, in their white tunics with red crosses over chainmail. They were not only unique among Christian institutions but constituted the first uniformed standing army in the western world and became pioneers of international banking. Expropriated by Philip IV of France in 1307, and confessing under torture to blasphemy, heresy and sodomy, the Order was finally suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1312. In a narrative that incorporates the story of the crusades and the many colourful characters who had links with the Templars, Piers Paul Read examines the question of their guilt and identifies their relevance to our own times.

Piers Paul Read

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