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Book The Tyrannicide Brief

Download or read book The Tyrannicide Brief written by Geoffrey Robertson and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2008-12-10 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles I waged civil wars that cost one in ten Englishmen their lives. But in 1649 Parliament was hard put to find a lawyer with the skill and daring to prosecute a king who claimed to be above the law. In the end, they chose the radical lawyer John Cooke, whose Puritan conscience, political vision, and love of civil liberties gave him the courage to bring the king to trial. As a result, Charles I was beheaded, but eleven years later Cooke himself was arrested, tried, and executed at the hands of Charles II. Geoffrey Robertson, a renowned human rights lawyer, provides a vivid new reading of the tumultuous Civil War years, exposing long-hidden truths: that the king was guilty, that his execution was necessary to establish the sovereignty of Parliament, that the regicide trials were rigged and their victims should be seen as national heroes. Cooke’s trial of Charles I, the first trial of a head of state for waging war on his own people, became a forerunner of the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein. The Tyrannicide Brief is a superb work of history that casts a revelatory light on some of the most important issues of our time.

Book The Tyrannicide Brief

Download or read book The Tyrannicide Brief written by Geoffrey Robertson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2005 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a life of John Cook, the bravest of barristers, whose bowels were publicly burned as punishment for sending the King to the scaffold. In 1649, no lawyer in the country would accept the brief of prosecuting Charles I. All packed their bags and disappeared to the country, except one, the forty-year old John Cook. The charge was treason - not, of course against himself, the monarch, but against his people - bringing evidence to show that Charles had begun wars which cost the lives of innumerable Englishmen and had sanctioned murder, rape and pillage. Cook was a farmer's son from Leicestershire, who had studied at Oxford and travelled widely in Europe. He was a political visionary, concerned for social justice and liberty of conscience, and especially with reforming the old, barbaric legal system. His fate was sad. He had little sympathy with Cromwell's strict protectorate - and at the restoration in 1660, with the other 'regicides' who signed the king's death warrant, he was arrested, tried, and brutally hung drawn and quartered. -Geoffrey Robertson is one of Britain's leading counsels, famous for his battles for civil liberties. In this gripping account of a sensational life, which uses Cook's own moving speeches and letters, Robertson relates the call for a republic to the debates of today. More significantly, he presents the indictment of Charles I as a precedent for trials of modern war criminals and leaders - Goering, Pinochet, Milosevic - who have oppressed their own people. John Cook was not a regicide but a tyrannicide - the first to argue that brutal action by a head of state justified 'regime change'. Centuries after these brutal events, he is still a potent example to us all.

Book An Inconvenient Genocide

Download or read book An Inconvenient Genocide written by Geoffrey Robertson and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-16 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most controversial question that is still being asked about the First World War - was there an Armenian genocide? - will come to a head on 24 April 2015, when Armenians worldwide will commemorate its centenary and Turkey will deny that it took place, claiming that the deaths of over half of the Armenian race were justified. This has become a vital international issue. Twenty national parliaments in democratic countries have voted to recognise the genocide, but Britain and the USA continue to equivocate for fear of alienating their NATO ally. Geoffrey Robertson QC condemns this hypocrisy, and in An Inconvenient Genocide he proves beyond reasonable doubt that the horrific events in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 constitute the crime against humanity that is today known as genocide. He explains how democracies can deal with genocide denial without infringing free speech, and makes a major contribution to understanding and preventing this worst of all crimes. His renowned powers of advocacy are on full display as he condemns all those - from Sri Lanka to the Sudan, from Old Anatolia to modern Syria and Iraq - who try to justify the mass murder of children and civilians in the name of military necessity or religious fervour.

Book Et Tu  Brute

Download or read book Et Tu Brute written by Greg Woolf and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Then fall, Caesar!" -- Talking tyrannicide -- Caesar's murdered heirs -- Aftershocks.

Book Who Owns History

    Book Details:
  • Author : Geoffrey Robertson
  • Publisher : Biteback Publishing
  • Release : 2019-11-05
  • ISBN : 1785905422
  • Pages : 321 pages

Download or read book Who Owns History written by Geoffrey Robertson and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biggest question in the world of art and culture concerns the return of property taken without consent. Throughout history, conquerors or colonial masters have taken artefacts from subjugated peoples, who now want them returned from museums and private collections in Europe and the USA. The controversy rages on over the Elgin Marbles, and has been given immediacy by figures such as France's President Macron, who says he will order French museums to return hundreds of artworks acquired by force or fraud in Africa, and by British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has pledged that a Labour government would return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Elsewhere, there is a debate in Belgium about whether the Africa Museum, newly opened with 120,000 items acquired mainly by armed forces in the Congo, should close. Although there is an international convention dated 1970 that deals with the restoration of artefacts stolen since that time, there is no agreement on the rules of law or ethics which should govern the fate of objects forcefully or lawlessly acquired in previous centuries. Who Owns History? delves into the crucial debate over the Elgin Marbles, but also offers a system for the return of cultural property based on human rights law principles that are being developed by the courts. It is not a legal text, but rather an examination of how the past can be experienced by everyone, as well as by the people of the country of origin.

Book Nicholas of Cusa and Times of Transition

Download or read book Nicholas of Cusa and Times of Transition written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464) was active during the Renaissance, developing adventurous ideas even while serving as a churchman. The religious issues with which he engaged – spiritual, apocalyptic and institutional – were to play out in the Reformation

Book Liberty or Equality

Download or read book Liberty or Equality written by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn and published by Ludwig von Mises Institute. This book was released on 1952 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book The Case of the Pope

    Book Details:
  • Author : Geoffrey Robertson QC
  • Publisher : Penguin UK
  • Release : 2010-09-08
  • ISBN : 0141968893
  • Pages : 240 pages

Download or read book The Case of the Pope written by Geoffrey Robertson QC and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2010-09-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE CASE OF THE POPE delivers a devastating indictment of the way the Vatican has run a secret legal system that shields paedophile priests from criminal trial around the world. Is the Pope morally or legally responsible for the negligence that has allowed so many terrible crimes to go unpunished? Should he and his seat of power, the Holy See, continue to enjoy an immunity that places them above the law? Geoffrey Robertson QC, a distinguished human rights lawyer and judge, evinces a deep respect for the good works of Catholics and their church. But, he argues, unless Pope Benedict XVI can divest himself of the beguilements of statehood and devotion to obsolescent canon law, the Vatican will remain a serious enemy to the advance of human rights.

Book Coast of Dreams

    Book Details:
  • Author : Kevin Starr
  • Publisher : Vintage
  • Release : 2011-06-22
  • ISBN : 0307795268
  • Pages : 802 pages

Download or read book Coast of Dreams written by Kevin Starr and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-06-22 with total page 802 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this extraordinary book, Kevin Starr–widely acknowledged as the premier historian of California, the scope of whose scholarship the Atlantic Monthly has called “breathtaking”–probes the possible collapse of the California dream in the years 1990—2003. In a series of compelling chapters, Coast of Dreams moves through a variety of topics that show the California of the last decade, when the state was sometimes stumbling, sometimes humbled, but, more often, flourishing with its usual panache. From gang violence in Los Angeles to the spectacular rise–and equally spectacular fall–of Silicon Valley, from the Northridge earthquake to the recall of Governor Gray Davis, Starr ranges over myriad facts, anecdotes, news stories, personal impressions, and analyses to explore a time of unprecedented upheaval in California. Coast of Dreams describes an exceptional diversity of people, cultures, and values; an economy that mirrors the economic state of the nation; a battlefield where industry and the necessities of infrastructure collide with the inherent demands of a unique and stunning natural environment. It explores California politics (including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s election in the 2003 recall), the multifaceted business landscape, and controversial icons such as O. J. Simpson. “Historians of the future,” Starr writes, “will be able to see with more certainty whether or not the period 1990-2003 was not only the end of one California but the beginning of another”; in the meantime, he gives a picture of the place and time in a book at once sweeping and riveting in its details, deeply informed, engagingly personal, and altogether fascinating.

Book  O Horrable Murder

Download or read book O Horrable Murder written by Robert B. Partridge and published by Rubicon Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three-and-a-half centuries ago Charles Stuart, King of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, stepped through a window of the Banqueting House in Whitehall onto a scaffold erected in the street. In front of a silent crowd he was executed by the severing of his head from his body. This volume provides an account of the trial and execution.

Book Death to Tyrants

    Book Details:
  • Author : David Teegarden
  • Publisher : Princeton University Press
  • Release : 2013-11-24
  • ISBN : 1400848539
  • Pages : 278 pages

Download or read book Death to Tyrants written by David Teegarden and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-11-24 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Death to Tyrants! is the first comprehensive study of ancient Greek tyrant-killing legislation--laws that explicitly gave individuals incentives to "kill a tyrant." David Teegarden demonstrates that the ancient Greeks promulgated these laws to harness the dynamics of mass uprisings and preserve popular democratic rule in the face of anti-democratic threats. He presents detailed historical and sociopolitical analyses of each law and considers a variety of issues: What is the nature of an anti-democratic threat? How would various provisions of the laws help pro-democrats counter those threats? And did the laws work? Teegarden argues that tyrant-killing legislation facilitated pro-democracy mobilization both by encouraging brave individuals to strike the first blow against a nondemocratic regime and by convincing others that it was safe to follow the tyrant killer's lead. Such legislation thus deterred anti-democrats from staging a coup by ensuring that they would be overwhelmed by their numerically superior opponents. Drawing on modern social science models, Teegarden looks at how the institution of public law affects the behavior of individuals and groups, thereby exploring the foundation of democracy's persistence in the ancient Greek world. He also provides the first English translation of the tyrant-killing laws from Eretria and Ilion. By analyzing crucial ancient Greek tyrant-killing legislation, Death to Tyrants! explains how certain laws enabled citizens to draw on collective strength in order to defend and preserve their democracy in the face of motivated opposition.

Book On Royalty

    Book Details:
  • Author : Jeremy Paxman
  • Publisher : Penguin UK
  • Release : 2007-09-06
  • ISBN : 0141903767
  • Pages : 384 pages

Download or read book On Royalty written by Jeremy Paxman and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2007-09-06 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the point of Kings and Queens? What do they do all day? And what does it mean to be one of them? Jeremy Paxman is used to making politicians explain themselves – but royalty has always been off limits. Until now. In On Royalty he delves deep into the past and takes a long hard look at our present incumbents to find out just what makes them tick. Along the way he discovers some fascinating and little-known details. Such as: • how Albania came to advertise in England for a king • which English queen gave birth in front of 67 people • how easy it is to beat up future kings of England • and how meeting the Queen is a bit scary – whoever you are ... No other book will tell you quite as much about our kings, queens, princes and princesses: who they are and what they’re for.

Book The Sword of Judith

    Book Details:
  • Author : Kevin R. Brine
  • Publisher : Open Book Publishers
  • Release : 2010
  • ISBN : 1906924155
  • Pages : 511 pages

Download or read book The Sword of Judith written by Kevin R. Brine and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2010 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Judith tells the story of a fictitious Jewish woman beheading the general of the most powerful imaginable army to free her people. The parabolic story was set as an example of how God will help the righteous. Judith's heroic action not only became a validating charter myth of Judaism itself but has also been appropriated by many Christian and secular groupings, and has been an inspiration for numerous literary texts and works of art. It continues to exercise its power over artists, authors and academics and is becoming a major field of research in its own right. The Sword of Judith is the first multidisciplinary collection of essays to discuss representations of Judith throughout the centuries. It transforms our understanding across a wide range of disciplines. The collection includes new archival source studies, the translation of unpublished manuscripts, the translation of texts unavailable in English, and Judith images and music.

Book Brutus

    Book Details:
  • Author : Kathryn Tempest
  • Publisher : Yale University Press
  • Release : 2017-10-24
  • ISBN : 0300231261
  • Pages : 275 pages

Download or read book Brutus written by Kathryn Tempest and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-24 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This award-winning biography delves beyond the myths about Ancient Rome’s most famous assassin: “A beautifully written and thought-provoking book” (Christopher Pelling, author of Plutarch and History). Conspirator and assassin, philosopher and statesman, promoter of peace and commander in war, Marcus Brutus was a controversial and enigmatic man even to those who knew him. His leading role in the murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BC, immortalized his name, but no final verdict has ever been made about his fateful act. Was Brutus wrong to kill his friend and benefactor or was he right to place his duty to country ahead of personal obligations? In this comprehensive biography, Kathryn Tempest examines historical sources to bring to light the personal and political struggles Brutus faced. As the details are revealed—from his own correspondence with Cicero, the perceptions of his peers, and the Roman aristocratic values and concepts that held sway in his time—Brutus emerges from legend, revealed as the complex man he was. A Choice Outstanding Academic Title Winner

Book The World Encyclopedia of Christmas

Download or read book The World Encyclopedia of Christmas written by Gerry Bowler and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 1075 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At last, a truly comprehensive look at Christmas and all of its customs with its long history around the world. The World Encyclopedia of Christmas contains articles on the history of Christmas baking, drinking, and merrymaking, and Christmas dramas, music, literature, art, and films. It includes entries on the evolution of the Christmas tree and the Christmas card, gift-giving, and decoration of church and home. There are profiles of the many gift-bringers, from Santa Claus to Babouschka, and miraculous tales of the numerous saints associated with the season. And there are histories of seasonal celebrations and folk customs around the world, from the United States to Japan, from Egypt to Iceland. Who, for example, knew the links between the Punch and Judy show and Christmas? That the medieval Paradise tree hung with tempting apples was the forerunner of the Christmas tree? About the Peerie Guizers, who terrorized the Shetland Islands, going door-to-door for Christmas charity? Or what Freudians make of our interest in Christmas stockings and Santa’s entrance through the chimney? There are detailed accounts of Wren Boys and Star Boys, mumming and wassailing, the Feast of Fools and the origins of eggnog. And of course stories of the Nativity and legends of the Magi. With beautifully illustrated accounts ranging from the pagan roots of Yuletide, through the birth of Christ, and the long and fascinating history of the festival ever since, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, is a rich and continually surprising array of religious and secular history, trivia, literature, and art. This wonderful book deserves to find a home with every family that celebrates Christmas.

Book Killers of the King

    Book Details:
  • Author : Charles Spencer
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
  • Release : 2015-01-20
  • ISBN : 1620409127
  • Pages : 353 pages

Download or read book Killers of the King written by Charles Spencer and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-01-20 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the lives of the men who signed Charles I's death warrant and the far-reaching consequences for them, those present at the trial, and England itself.