Terry Breverton

A superbly illustrated guide to the mysteries of myth, legend, and—gulp!—real life.

A Compendium of Monsters, Myths and Legends

Phantasmagoria

A compendium of fascinating information about the great waters that cover two-thirds of our Earth and the men and women that sailed them. 'Breverton's Nautical Curiosities' is about ships, people and the sea. However, unlike many other nautical compendiums, the focus of this book is on the unusual, the overlooked or the downright extraordinary. Thus, someone most of us do not know, Admiral William Brown, is given equal coverage to Admiral Nelson. Without Admiral Brown releasing Garibaldi, modern Italy might not exist. And without the barely known genius John Ericsson designing the Monitor, the Confederacy might have won the American Civil War. The sea has had a remarkable effect upon our language. In the pages of this book, the reader will find the origin of terms such as 'steer clear of', 'hit the deck', 'don't rock the boat', 'to harbour a grudge', and many more. Other colourful terms, which have passed out of common usage, such as 'bring one's arse to anchor' (sit down), 'belly timber' (food) and 'bog orange' (potato) are also included, as well as important pirate haunts, technical terms, famous battles, maritime inventors and ship speed records.

Breverton's Nautical Curiosities

From dragons and wyverns to vampires, werewolves and mischievous gremlins, pixies and fairies, Breverton's Phantasmagoria is a unique compendium of over 250 mythical animals. Prepare to revisit familiar myths, such as vampires, werewolves and the Loch Ness Monster, the Minotaur and Medusa from Greek legend, and Biblical beasts such as Behemoth and Leviathan. Discover new mysterious animals like the giant serpents of Central America, the lethal Mongolian death worm, and the Ennedi tiger in Africa, and investigate the evidence for sightings of Bigfoot and the reclusive Yeti. Packed with quirky line illustrations and a wealth of weird and wonderful information, Breverton's Phantasmagoria surveys the globe to uncover over 250 imaginary creatures passed down from generation to generation.

Breverton's Phantasmagoria

Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions

We hear the terms steer clear of, hit the deck, don't rock the boat, and to harbor a grudge and give little thought to their origin. Left together on ships for months, and often for years, pirate crews developed expressions that made their way into common usage. Terms for things related to life at sea became idioms used by land lubbers, a term derived from the holes in the platforms surrounding the mast that allowed sailors to avoid climbing the rigging around the platforms. A lubber was someone who was very clumsy, so a land lubber is someone who knows nothing about sailing and rigging.Centuries ago, men wore wigs of length denoting their wealth and importance. Soon, many naval captains, including Sir Henry Morgan and Captain Chaloner Ogle, who killed Black Bart Roberts, began to adopt the style. A law was passed in England declaring that only nobility, judges, and bishops could wear full-length wigs and so was born the term bigwig .Reading through these words and phrases is an abbreviated trip through history, with lists of major naval mutinies, a summary of the slave trade, and even jokes. This dictionary is written to be entertaining as well as informative, to give a flavor of the interesting times from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries when pirates controlled many sealanes. It also contains a treasure trove of factual information about life aboard the ship, important pirate haunts, and technical terms.

The Pirate Dictionary

A popular and "unashamedly pro-Welsh" history of Wales, with a strong focus on the pre-modern era. A lively and opinionated narrative is peppered with liberal quotation from primary sources, and the story of warfare, resistance and rebellion alternated with reflections on the development of Welsh culture, language and poetry.

The Biography

The Welsh

Nicholas Culpeper's The English Physitian: or an Astrologo-physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of This Nation is more commonly known as Culpeper's Complete Herbal. It was first printed in September 1653 (Culpeper died in January 1654) and immediately became a classic reference that is as fascinating today as it was over 350 years ago. Breverton's Complete Herbal is a reworking of Culpeper's classic text for a modern day audience. Arranged alphabetically, this book describes over 250 herbs and spices as well as feature entries on scented herb/medicinal gardens, the great herbalists and New World Herbs not included in Culpepper's original text. Each entry provides a description of the herb: its appearance and botanical features, a brief history of its uses in medicine, dyeing and cuisine to bizarre remedies and concoctions designed to get rid of all manner of real and imaginary ailements. As informative as it is entertaining, this incredibly diverse compendium contains just about everything you'll ever need to know about the properties and provenance of herbs and spices of the world. From amara dulcis to yarrow, all-heal to viper's bugloss, Breverton's Complete Herbal is a modern day treasury of over 250 herbs and their uses.

A Book of Remarkable Plants and Their Uses

Breverton's Complete Herbal

The first ever biography of Jasper Tudor, the only man who fought from the first battle of the Wars of the Roses to the last and lived to forge a new dynasty, the Tudors, by placing his nephew on the throne as Henry VII.

Dynasty Maker

Jasper Tudor

From anti-slavery heroes and privateers to evil murderers, from Viking longships to Somali raiders today, the 1000-year roll call of the pirates.

From Alfhild the Shield Maiden to Afweyne the Big Mouth

A Gross of Pirates

The life of the king of England who defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and founded the glittering Tudor royal dynasty.

The Maligned Tudor King

Henry VII

The Wars of the Roses were a bitter and bloody dispute between the rival Plantagenet Houses of York and Lancaster. Only one man, Jasper Tudor, the Lancastrian half-brother to Henry VI, fought from the first battle at St Albans in 1455 to the last at Stoke Field in 1487 and lived to forge a new dynasty the Tudors. Fighting the Yorkists, rallying the Lancastrians and spending years in exile with his nephew, the future first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, Jasper was the mainspring for continued Lancastrian defiance. Jasper was twenty-four years old in his first battle, and fifty-three when he won at Bosworth Field in 1485. Now he could style himself the high and mighty prince, Jasper, brother and uncle of kings, duke of Bedford and earl of Pembroke . Without the heroic Jasper Tudor there could have been no Tudor dynasty. This is the first biography of the real kingmaker of British history."

The Book of Welsh Saints

The book comes in an accessible, comprehensive, illustrated dictionary format, from an author who has written more than twenty entertaining and informative books upon the Welsh and their achivements.

A Historical Companion

Wales

Has history gone full circle? Was Richard III really as evil as Shakespeare would have us believe?

The King in the Car Park

Richard III

The first ever full-scale biography of the last native Prince of Wales who fought to maintain an independent Wales.

The Story of the Last Prince of Wales

Owain Glyndwr

Invention and innovation are what distinguish the human race from all of the other species on Earth. Throughout history the imagination and pioneering spirit of human kind has compelled us to question why we do things in a certain way and, more importantly, how we can do things better. Celebrating the ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness that has led to some of the most amazing technological leaps through the ages, Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions examines the key innovations and breakthroughs of all time and the genius behind them. Starting with the building of the pyramids in ancient Egypt and the discovery of the solar system, moving through surgery, dynamite and rockets, to modern technology such as the smart card and genetic engineering, Terry Breverton springs many surprises. He uncovers fascinating and little-known facts: for example, that Price, not Fleming, discovered penicillin; that Swan, not Edison invented the electric light, and that Wallace, not Darwin first advanced the theory of evolution. Tracing the sheer persistence of brilliant men and women across the globe, who fought the prevailing ideas of their times and advanced technology, Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions will inspire anyone interested in the history and developments that have changed our lives and shaped our planet's future.

A Compendium of Technological Leaps, Groundbreaking Discoveries and Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World

nieśmiertelne słowa i historie, które się za nimi kryją

Niezapomniane cytaty

A compendium of facts, myths, and surprising secrets of the most infamous British royal family

Terry Breverton

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