New Releases by Alan Ereira

Gold is not what we think. It is usually discussed in the context of wealth and art but this book has a broader subject, so fundamental that it has been largely unremarked. Informed by a mass of recent discoveries and a South American indigenous perspective, it offers a new way of understanding the history of civilization. Gold has been coinage, treasure and adornment. But it has been much more, as the hidden driver of wars and revolutions, the rise and fall of empires and the transformation of societies. As the sun traveled east to west across the sky, gold, incorruptible and corrupting, flowed west to east, hand to hand across the world. That flow has brought empires to grow and collapse and driven plunder, conquest and colonization. It brought about wars and revolutions, empowered new forms of arts and science and created the capitalist consumer economy that dominates us now. All the gold people ever shaped still exists, shining as new; it can be mislaid but never decays. Right from its first appearance on the west shore of the Black Sea, long before the rise of Egypt and Mesopotamia, gold crowned the first proto-king. Ever since, it has been regarded as value incarnate with transcendental power. The quantity we take has been increasing steadily for 6,500 years. Now extraction accelerates. Our gold mountain has doubled in the last fifty years. Yet its price increases faster. While the quantity doubled, its buying power multiplied by six. What does gold do that makes us want it so much? As Alan Ereira reveals in this skilfully woven narrative, gold is the hidden actor that shapes our story.

Four hundred years ago, every barrister had to dance because dancing put them in harmony with the universe. John Ogilby''s first job, in 1612, was to teach them. By the 1670s, he was Charles II''s Royal Cosmographer, creating beautiful measured drawings that placed roads on maps for the first time. During the intervening years, Ogilby had travelled through fire and plague, war and shipwreck; had been an impresario in Dublin, a poet in London, a soldier and sea captain, as well as a secret agent, publisher and scientific geographer. The world of his youth had been blown up and turned upside down. Beset by danger, he carefully concealed his biography in codes and cyphers, which meant that the truth about his life has remained unknown... until today. In this enlightening book, Alan Ereira brings a fascinating hidden history to light, and reveals that Ogilby''s celebrated Britannia is far more than a harmless road atlas: it is, rather, filled with secrets designed to serve a conspiracy of kings and England’s undoing. The Nine Lives of John Ogilby is the story of a remarkable man, and of a covert journey which gave birth to the modern world.

In September 1931 the Royal Navy experienced its biggest modern mutiny. The largest warships in the Atlantic Fleet were gathering in Cromarty Firth, for their autumn exercises. Meanwhile Ramsay MacDonald’s newly formed national Government announced its emergency budget, introducing means tests, cutting umeployment benefit and reducing public sector pay. On arrival at Invergordon the sailors discovered the scale of the cuts they were supposed to bear. Their resulting strike, co-ordinated from ship to ship, swiftly achieved its objective. The Navy was badly shaked by the extraordinary efficiency of the action, and Britiains’ financial credit was so seriously damaged that within a few days the country was forced off the Gold Standard. Until this book was published little of the story was known; officially dexcribed as a case of ‘unrest’ it was hushed up and no Courts-Martial or Commission of Inquiry followed. This is the first detailed account of the Invergordon mutiny based on the personal testimony of those involved on the lower deck. Particular attention is given to the way the affair was organized, both centrally and in individual ships, to the structure of command and to the flash points when the use of force was considered and attempted. The dramatic story is hereput into its historical context: the background to the budget crisis of 1931, the implications of the cuts imposed, the conditions of the Fleet at the time: themes which remain as pertinent today as they were in 1931.

Terry Jones'' Barbarians takes a completely fresh approach to Roman history. Not only does it offer us the chance to see the Romans from a non-Roman perspective, it also reveals that most of those written off by the Romans as uncivilized, savage and barbaric were in fact organized, motivated and intelligent groups of people, with no intentions of overthrowing Rome and plundering its Empire. This original and fascinating study does away with the propaganda and opens our eyes to who really established the civilized world. Delving deep into history, Terry Jones and Alan Ereira uncover the impressive cultural and technological achievements of the Celts, Goths, Persians and Vandals. In this paperback edition, Terry and Alan travel through 700 years of history on three continents, bringing wit, irreverence, passion and scholarship to transform our view of the legacy of the Roman Empire and the creation of the modern world.

Was medieval England full of knights on horseback rescuing fainting damsels in distress? Were the Middle Ages mired in superstition and ignorance? Why does nobody ever mention King Louis the First and Last? And, of course, those key questions: which monks were forbidden the delights of donning underpants... and did outlaws never wear trousers? Terry Jones and Alan Ereira are your guides to this most misrepresented and misunderstood period, and they point you to things that will surprise and provoke. Did you know, for example, that medieval people didn''t think the world was flat? That was a total fabrication by an American journalist in the 19th century. Did you know that they didn''t burn witches in the Middle Ages? That was a refinement of the so-called Renaissance. In fact, medieval kings weren''t necessarily merciless tyrants, and peasants entertained at home using French pottery and fine wine. Terry Jones'' Medieval Lives reveals Medieval Britain as you have never seen it before - a vibrant society teeming with individuality, intrigue and innovation.

The Kogi people, the "Elder Brothers" of humanity, live hidden on a mountain they call "The Heart of the World." This is the true story of how they revealed themselves to warn us of the impending calamity we are creating.

The Kogi people, the "Elder Brothers" of humanity, live hidden on a mountain they call "The Heart of the World." This is the true story of how they revealed themselves to warn us of the impending calamity we are creating.

I denne boken forsøker forfatterne Terry Jones og Alan Ereira å gi et mer nyansert bilde av barbarene. De baserer seg på den nyeste forskningen og viser blant annet at romernes styrke lå i at de i stor grad kopierte teknologi fra de erobrede folkeslagene, som på forskjellige måter var vel så avanserte som romerne innenfor områder som teknikk, vitenskap og filosofi. Boken tar leseren med på en reise gjennom Europa og gjennom 700 års historie. Terry Jones er tidligere mest kjent som filmregissør og medlem av den legendariske, britiske komediegruppen Monty Pyton. Alan Ereira er prisvinnende britisk forfatter og filmprodusent.

Este es un libro sorprendente y divertido. No podía ser de otro modo tratándose de una obra de Terry Jones, el director de películas de los Monty Phyton como “La vida de Brian”. Pero es también un libro serio, que, como ha dicho el profesor Cunliffe, de la Universidad de Oxford, “restablece el equilibrio y sitúa a los romanos en una perspectiva correcta”. Escrito con pasión e irreverencia, pero basado en los resultados más recientes de la investigación histórica, su propósito es subvertir la visión tradicional, elaborada por los romanos, que nos habla de unos bárbaros salvajes e incivilizados, para mostrarnos que celtas, germanos, godos, sasánidas o vándalos eran pueblos organizados e inteligentes, y que fueron, por el contrario, los propios romanos quienes realizaron las matanzas más salvajes y quienes acabaron saqueando la ciudad de Roma.

Geïllustreerde geschiedenis van de kruistochten die tussen 1100 en 1300 plaatsvonden om de heilige plaatsen in Palestina te redden uit handen van de ongelovigen.

Surveys the history of the crusades, looks at the motivations and political manipulations behind them, and discusses their impact on modern history

A la découverte des derniers survivants de la haute civilisation précolombienne. Le récit d''une incroyable expédition aux portes de l''Eldorado des conquistadores, un reportage ethnologique unique au monde. Perdus dans les montagnes colombiennes où ils vivent volontairement coupés du monde depuis quatre siècles, les Indiens Kogi ont su garder intactes des traditions et une philosophie disparues partout ailleurs en Amérique latine. Aujourd''hui, ils ont décidé qu''il était temps de sortir de leur isolement. Eux qui se considèrent comme les " Grands Frères " du genre humain veulent nous mettre en garde : nous devons réapprendre à respecter les grands équilibres entre l''humanité, la nature et le monde spirituel avant qu''il ne soit trop tard. A l''occasion d''un reportage sur les vestiges d''une fabuleuse cité perdue, Alan Ereira, historien et réalisateur renommé en Angleterre pour ses émissions à la BBC, a eu le privilège de les rencontrer, de les écouter et de les filmer durant plusieurs mois. Récit de cette extraordinaire aventure humaine au cœur du monde, ce livre établit un dialogue par-delà les siècles entre une civilisation miraculeusement préservée et la nôtre, terriblement en péril.

Skildring af Kogi-folket i Colombias bjerge, som forfatteren besøgte i forbindelse med optagelsen af en TV-serie