A musical scholar is challenged to find and explore an area different from his colleagues. During the summer of 1972, Dr. Otto Henry, a musicologist in his third year at East Carolina University, accepts an invitation on the spur of the moment to accompany some old anthropologist friends from Tulane University, to the amazing little Mediterranean island of Malta. His friends have just completed a definitive study of Maltese folk music. However, he is encouraged to find an area of his own. And to stay out of the library! After a few false starts, Henry accidently discovers the significance of the ubiquitous church bells that ring from their stone towers all day long and part of the night. Bells that celebrate the time of day, the season, religious services, and occasions; bells that, with their individual tones, rhythms, and colors, musically mark off and enhance the times, the days, and the seasons of Maltese life. And then, as it turns out, their passing as well. Henrys daily field notes capture the wonder and majesty of these huge bronze implements, some of which have been melted and recast as cannons and then back into bells. Then there are those who ring the bells, a special lot, sometimes a little apart and distant from ordinary folk, but people who are always glad to help explain their lives and duties to a strange Inglese with a beard.

Deborah Manley's selection of extracts reveals how generations of writers have viewed the landscapes of Malta and Gozo, the people of the islands, the splendours of Valletta and its famous harbour, and the celebrated festas, the village festivals that celebrate the island's Catholic identity. An introduction places these extracts in context, while the anthology also considers how Maltese writers have imagined and depicted their homeland.

Malta and the End of Empire (1971) examines the now-forgotten moment in 1956 when the people of Malta, Gozo and Comino were asked by the British and Maltese Governments to decide whether they wanted full integration with the United Kingdom – a remarkable proposal which ran quite contrary to colonial policy at the time. This possibility of an end to empire by the absorption of a colony into the state system of the imperial power was being attempted by France and Portugal, but this instance was the sole case in British colonial history.

The author has written this novel with a sentimental feeling about the land of his ancestors, the Maltese people. A people who have shown remarkable courage and faith on many occasions in the history of the Mediterranean. The story of this book tells of their courage during the Great Siege of 1565, just as Voltaire said, "No siege is better known than that of the Great Siege of Malta." The five-century-old religious fight between Christians and Muslims, known as the battle between the Cross and the Koran, drifted to the shores of Malta where the Order of St. John of Jerusalem had their headquarters. It produced many heroes and tyrants, several of these are the subject of our novel. The great Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, unchallenged emperor of the Great Ottoman Empire, tries to impose Islam over Christian Europe. During five centuries, the Christian Crusaders were slowly expelled from the Holy Land, and now the great Sultan drives out the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from their last stronghold, the fortress in the island of Rhodes. Then the battle shifts to the brave Island of Malta where its people play an important role in helping La Valette and the Order fight the Turks. Jean De La Valette, commander of the Order's Christian navy, knight-adventurer, and defender of the faith, engages famous Muslim pirates, like Barbarossa and Dragut Reis, and harasses on the huge Turkish navy. He seeks to recover the Holy Cross taken by the Saracens. The secret of a forbidden romance in the paradise island of Rhodes haunts this warrior monk of eighty-four battles--a unique man enslaved by the Saracens and then escapes. He is later elevated to the position of grand master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Rhodes. He was considered by his peers to be "the man for the moment" restoring the order to its former glory. One man, Jean De La Valette, the greatest of the grand masters, "the rarest of human beings," defeats the Sultan's Ottoman army in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. La Valette became known as the Scourge of Africa and Asia, the Shield of Europe, fearless and indomitable, by his Holy Arms. With only seven hundred Knights and several thousand Spanish, Italian, Portuguese soldiers and fifteen thousand Maltese civilians (men, women, and children alike), he repels the great Turkish army of over forty thousand troops. A great historical novel of a great man and a valiant and victorious people, the people of Malta.

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Malta Recent Economic and Political Developments Yearbook

Malta: Island Under Siege not only relates the decisive military action from World War II but also details the religious, historical and political events that led to the Axis forces' attempts to conquer and occupy Malta, putting the reader in the meeting rooms of the military leaders and politicians, on board the convoys, in the cockpits of the bombers and with the civilian population sheltering beneath Malta's fortresses while trying to live as normal a life as possible.Wartime locations on the island, many often ignored by the guidebooks and tourist maps, are explored and their relevance to Malta's resistance examined alongside the people, on both sides of the conflict, who helped shape the Mediterranean island's destiny before, during and after the Second World War. Malta is now a holiday destination to many, but it's easy to forget how much the people of the island, its British garrison and the sailors of the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy had to endure to ensure the Allies kept a toe-hold in North Africa and southern Europe at a time when Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy were threatening to sweep all before them.

There's so much to see and do in Malta: from the Unesco World Heritage Site of Valetta; to the deep blue lagoon on the uninhabited island of Comino; to the ancient Ggantija temples, which date back to 3,600BC. Get inspired to visit Malta with the new edition of Insight Guide Malta, a comprehensive full-colour guide to this historic country. Inside Insight Guide Malta: � A fully overhauled edition by our expert Malta author. � Highlights of the country's top attractions, including the lively city of Valetta on the main island, to the cultural hub that is Victoria, located on the island of Gozo. � Descriptive region-by-region accounts that cover the two islands that make up Malta, together with all the main sights and attractions. � Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip to Malta, including our independent selection of the best hotels and restaurants. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guidebooks and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure. 'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Written with entrepreneurs in mind, "Executive Malta" introduces Malta's principal captains of industry in a unique and personable manner. Revealing insider information about the business landscape and providing competitive insights into the crucial factors affecting decision makers in the region. This is the definitive resource for the discerning investor and seasoned business traveller. "Executive Malta" features a compendium of qualitative executive biographies from the islands leading executives and corporate profiles from the companies they represent. An overview of the political and economic climate will be given by the foremost government officials, academics and industrialists of the Republic of Malta. With viewpoints from award-winning journalists and perspectives from tomorrow's business leaders, this prestigious edition seeks to get to the heart of corporate philosophies and define the challenges facing the country, which has long been framed by virtue of where it is whilst overlooking what it offers in terms of commercial opportunities. The book aims to transfer the knowledge and experience of established Maltese businessmen to the younger generation at the same time as introducing their companies to their European counterparts with a static, fixed point of reference on bookshelves all year round. By taking this rare people-first approach, the readers will learn about the personalities driving the companies that are shaping the economy and discover the secrets of their success. These influential individuals are the proof which other executives seek as they consider the Republic of Malta as a viable destination for their business interests.