History & Society

Originally published in 1639 The Distiller of London provides readers with an understanding of the evolution that distilling went through as it made its transformation in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries from a medicine to a social beverage. And it offers a brief tour of Stuart-era taste preferences.Although there were other books printed in England even earlier than the seventeenth-century that included juniper in recipes, this particular volume is of scholarly interest because it not only contained a few such recipes, but because it was published by the Worshipful Company of Distillers of London, the regulatory body that oversaw the emerging distilling trade before William and Mary ascended the English throne in 1688 and before the eighteenth-century Gin Craze brought illegitimate distillers and compounders before the public eye, soiling the budding industry's reputation for nearly a century.Written in code to protect its 'mysteries' from a curious lay readership, Miller and Brown have deciphered the recipes and provided a historical overview so that the present and future generations of distillers and rectifiers can find inspiration for their own creations and lay readers can capture a glimpse into this fascinating profession that continues to grow and evolve today.

This is a story that the charities don''t want you to read. This is the fate that can befall any of us that you don''t want to acknowledge. For years you have passed them on the streets, as much a part of your routine as your morning shower, your half-hearted scan of the world''s news - fake or otherwise - and the barista who artistically crafts the ┬ú4 cappuccino with soya milk, three drops of vanilla, and a flutter of chocolate sprinkles that has to be made just right or it throws your day off in ways that nobody else understands. You see them as often as you see your own family. The disenfranchised. The rough sleepers. The homeless. Camped out and befouling the sidewalks and alleyways of your daily commute, their worldly possessions, such as they are, spread around them -as dirty and worn out as the sleepers themselves, but as valuable to them as your ┬ú100 brogues are to you. Occasionally you get the urge to throw some loose change at them as a gesture of magnanimous humanity, but when push comes to shove you would rather tip the honest, hard-working barista who ensures your day gets off to a proper start. Better to support the successful rather than throw good money after bad trying to keep the great unwashed afloat. You have conditioned yourself to look through them - allowing your eyes to pass over them without actually seeing them. A defeated acceptance of lives gone wrong; uncomfortable reminders of what can happen when the best laid plans of mice and men go horribly awry. "Thank god I''m not like them," you think, sipping your ┬ú4 cup of liquid gold. "I could never let that happen to me." Until suddenly - inexplicably - it does. And you discover the life you have built was nothing more than a house of cards that crashed down around you with frightening ease. A spate of bad luck, a poor decision or two, and the ubiquitous ''circumstances beyond your control'' conspire to create a perfect storm of events that leaves you cast away on the streets feeling dazed, disjointed, and damned. This is Peter C. Mitchell''s story. But it could be your story. Not to mention the thousands of others, past and present, that have found themselves broken behind closed charity doors. Theirs are the stories that need to be heard. To be read. 

Contains last words of staggering confessions, bravery, humility and even humour.

25 December 1941 is known to this day by the people of Hong Kong as 'Black Christmas'. The battle for Hong Kong is a story that deserves to be better known.

By making a daily drawing since Boris Johnson was elected prime minister in December 2019. Jolie Goodman has made a visual record of the pandemic. This selection are her Covid Drawings in 2020.

This is the remarkable true story of the Marriage Bureau; its successes, its rare failures and its many clients, told with wit and honesty.

A brilliant new history that dramatically reassesses how far the Viking world extended. Dr Cat Jarman exposes the unexpected routes that Viking travel and trade took - and how these kings of the river were frequent travellers of the Middle East and the Silk Road.

A half-orphan, the town slut, unlovable by all. The one the boys liked enough to touch, but not enough to claim. Hands clasped in the dark of closets, but not in the hallway at school. Did you know you can get paid for touching boys in closets? Saddled with a bad reputation, grieving the death of her father, navigating a hostile world of religiosity, hypocrisy, and abuse, Lindsay escapes her ramshackle hometown of Evilland, Virginia, looking for redemption in all the wrong places.Journey across sweat-soaked stages dotted with wadded dollars and the dreams of a thousand women, to the hallowed halls of the ivory tower where florescent lights and tenured dinosaurs reign, to find out how one woman straddling worlds learns to love herself, despite all odds. Speaking with realness, rawness, and relatability, Too Pretty To Be Good is a love letter written directly from the heart of a woman to the people she's loved before-including, finally, herself. Anyone looking to find and forgive themselves regardless of their pasts should look no further than this book. Too Pretty To Be Good teaches us that we are whole and worthy in spite of-in fact, because of-who and where we've been before.

A biting and original history which places culture front and centre to explain how our country went to pieces

Jack West is Indiana Jones meet Jason Bourne with a rocket launcher. A secret mythological sect seeks to rule the world. History, legend and global conspiracy abound and Jack and his motley crew are the only people who can stop it.