How to get sparks back in your life and keep them burning. The blaze of a log fire on a cold night speaks to the heart in a way no other flame can. It has character and ever-changing form; it has vibrant colour and a balletic movement. Indeed, it was the flame that transformed the way life was lived on earth, but now that primary driver of evolution finds itself being extinguished in a modern world of microwaves, induction hobs and central heating. Gradually the flames are going out, as houses are now built without fireplaces, bonfires are banned, and schoolchildren are forbidden to use the Bunsen burner. But the sight of a flame remains as evocative as ever. Playing with Fire wants to inspire, and teach, looking at the history of fire and showing the wonders that the burning flame can conjure.

"For an astounding two millennia-from the Etruscans of the seventh century BCE, then through the Romans under all their forms of government, indeed down to the last Byzantine dynasty-political authorities used the device known as the 'fasces' to induce respect as well as fear. This was a bundle of wooden rods and a single-bladed axe bound with leather straps-in essence, a mobile kit for punishment. In the Renaissance, some writers and artists found it irresistable to associate the fasces with an old (and unrelated) didactic tale from Aesop illustrating how sticks are stronger once bundled. And so, over the course of the sixteenth through the early twentieth centuries, the Roman emblem came to represent not just expected concepts such as power, punishment, and justice, but now also strength, unity, and liberty against tyranny. The "Fascist" movement of Benito Mussolini, which seized power in Italy in October 1922, purported to revive the Roman emblem in its original form. But it retained aspects of the modern reimagining of the fasces, and introduced still further novelties, such as glorification of the 'lictors', the lowly attendants who carried the fasces in antiquity. Since World War II, the fasces has seen widespread but uneven eradication, in the context of a public that has grown progressively unconversant with the symbol. It is precisely the fasces' long history and relative present-day unfamiliarity that has given an opening to right-wing extremists searching for a symbol that is potent, but not widely provocative at first glance"--

The 1920s is often recognised as a decade of fascism, flappers and film. Covering the political, economic and social developments of the 1920s throughout the world, The Global 1920s takes an international and cross-cultural perspective on the critical changes and conditions that prevailed from roughly 1919 to 1930. With twelve chapters on themes including international diplomacy and the imperial powers, film and music, art and literature, women and society, democracy, fascism, and science and technology, this book explores both the ‘big’ questions of capitalism, class and communism on the one hand and the everyday experience of citizens around the globe on the other. Utilising archival sources throughout, it concludes with an extensive discussion of the circumstances surrounding the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression, the effects of which were felt worldwide. Covering topics from the oil boom in South America to the start of civil war in China, employment advances and setbacks for women across the globe, and the advent of radio and air travel, the authors provide a concise yet comprehensive overview of this turbulent decade. Containing illustrations and a selection of discussion questions at the end of each chapter, this book is valuable reading for students of the 1920s in global history.

Respublica recreates the teeming world of pre-Christian Rome with all its drama and sensualism, and it mirrors the strife and crises of contemporary America. Marcus Cicero, a respected but marginalized statesman, describes in his own voice, complemented by omniscient narrative, his life-long struggle against subversion and tyranny. Cicero combats the intrigues of the renegade, Catalina, and then fends off the attacks of the wild demogogue, Clodius. He idolizes the military hero, Pompeius, while distrusting the ambitions of the emergent Caesar. In the midst of civil war, Cicero strives to hold his family together. Devoted to his strong-willed wife, Terentia, he is alternately tempted and repelled by the wanton, Clodia Pulchra. He writes his personal history for the benefit of his son, Marcus, but the very light of his life is his beloved daughter, Tullia. Cicero's brother, Quintus is loyal despite a simmering envy of his older sibling. In his ultimate struggle against the usurpations of Marcus Antonius, Cicero is fated to live or perish with the free Repubic. Respublica is powerful historical fiction written with heart and mind and spirit... and guts.