Non Fiction Collection Series

Cleopatra tells the story of the girl queen who inherited the richest empire in the world - one that stretched from the scorching deserts of lower Egypt to the shining Mediterranean metropolis of Alexandria. This story of Cleopatra starts with a brief history of Egypt and the illustrious Ptolemies. By the time Cleopatra came of age, her life was already full of danger and intrigue, even before her romantic encounter with Julius Caesar. Under the protection of Caesar she enjoyed a few years of security on the throne of Egypt, but the death of Caesar led her to seek protection from his successor, Mark Antony. Their tragic story is one of the most dramatic liaisons in history.

There was much superstition and ignorance in 17th century England. Witchcraft had been illegal since 1563 and hundreds of women were wrongly accused and punished. 'Proof' of being a witch could be a third nipple, an unusual scar or birthmark, a boil, a growth, or even owning a cat or other pet (a 'witch's familiar', or evil spirit). Confessions were often made under torture, and suspects were tied up and thrown into a river or pond. Floating was proof of guilt. After a show trial, the victim was hanged. Professionals who exposed witches could make a lot of money, as local magistrates paid the witch finder the equivalent of a month's wages. And the busiest tradesman of all was Matthew Hopkins, a shadowy figure who called himself 'Witchfinder General' and had around 300 women executed in East Anglia during the turmoil of the English Civil War in 1645 and 1646. The book shown here is from Hopkins's 1647 book 'The Discovery of Witches', in which he describes his grim profession.

When Samuel Pepys began writing his secret journal in 1660 he was just a young clerk living in London. Over the next nine years, he became eyewitness to some of the most significant events in seventeenth-century English history, among them, the Restoration, the Great Plague of London in 1665, and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Pepys’s diary gives vivid descriptions of spectacular events, but much of the richness of the work lies in the details it provides about the minor dramas of daily life. While Pepys was keen to hear the king’s views, he was also always ready to talk with a soldier, a housekeeper, or a child rag-picker. He records with searing frankness his tumultuous personal life, including his marriage, infidelities, ambitions, and power schemes. He recounts with relish all the latest scandals, and reflects his voracious delight in music, food, books, scientific discoveries, and fashion. The result is a lively, often astonishing diary and an unrivaled account of life in seventeenth-century London.

Witches, magic and necromancy are the focus of ‘Daemonologie’ by the man who would become King James I of England, first published in 1597 when he was James VI of Scotland. In a world of suspicion and betrayal, this topic would have played a central role in society and became a very real threat to those accused of being involved in the ‘black arts’. There are three books in the publication: the first focusing on “the description of magie in special”, the second a “description of sorcerie and witchcraft” and the third a “description of all these kindes of spirites”. The book is in the “forme of a dialogue”.

When The Souls of Black Folk was first published in 1903, it had a galvanizing effect on the conversation about race in America—and it remains both a touchstone in the literature of African America and a beacon in the fight for civil rights. Believing that one can know the “soul” of a race by knowing the souls of individuals, W. E. B. Du Bois combines history and stirring autobiography to reflect on the magnitude of American racism and to chart a path forward against oppression, and introduces the now-famous concepts of the color line, the veil, and double-consciousness.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, Achilles storms back into battle to take revenge - although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.

Still a source of inspiration for soldiers on the battlefield and managers in the boardroom 2000 years after it was written, Sun-Tzu's The Art of War is the most influential book of strategy in the world, 'Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting' For more than two thousand years, Sun-Tzu's The Art of War has provided leaders with profound insights into the use of skill, tactics, psychology and discipline to outwit opponents. Said to have inspired Napoleon, and used by Mao Zedong and General Douglas MacArthur, as well as many famous business gurus, politicians and sports stars, its ancient words of wisdom provide a touchstone for today's managers and executives fighting their boardroom battles. This best-selling book offers ancient wisdom on how to use skill, cunning, tactics and discipline to outwit your opponent.

In this sequel to the landmark work Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington discusses his time spent at the school which would later become Tuskegee University. Washington was the founder and moral compass of the school, so these reflections on his work offer invaluable insight into his mind, the dreams realized and the real world struggles.

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American journalist Ambrose Bierce, consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions. The lexicon was written over three decades as a series of installments for magazines and newspapers. Bierce's witty definitions were imitated and plagiarized for years before he gathered them into books, first as The Cynic's Word Book in 1906 and then in a more complete version as The Devil's Dictionary in 1911.

One of the most important financial books ever written. Following the practical advice herein will lead to increased wealth. Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only to set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and the thing is easily done.

Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1886. It draws on and expands the ideas of his previous work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but with a more critical and polemical approach. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche accuses past philosophers of lacking critical sense and blindly accepting dogmatic premises in their consideration of morality. Specifically, he accuses them of founding grand metaphysical systems upon the faith that the good man is the opposite of the evil man, rather than just a different expression of the same basic impulses that find more direct expression in the evil man. The work moves into the realm "beyond good and evil" in the sense of leaving behind the traditional morality which Nietzsche subjects to a destructive critique in favour of what he regards as an affirmative approach that fearlessly confronts the perspectival nature of knowledge and the perilous condition of the modern individual.