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John Wycliffe was known as the “Morning Star” of the Reformation. His doctrines of strict adherence to the Bible and his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the Catholic Church would be the spark that would later ignite the fires of the Protestant Reformation.

James I of England and VI of Scotland was the first king to rule both countries. He was faced with division between his realms and caught between the religious wars of the Reformation. Spending most of his reign at odds with the religious and parliamentary powers around him, James did little to unite his people. Unable to take a firm stand on critical issues, he spent his life avoiding them.

In 1963, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and given two years to live. More than half a century later, Hawking had made some of the most significant contributions to our understanding of the universe since Albert Einstein. The world’s most famous physics professor, a best-selling author, and a father of three, Stephen lived his life to its fullest. Bridging the world of theoretical physics with the reach of pop culture, Stephen Hawking became an emblem of human determination and intellectual curiosity.

What would Russia look like today if there had never been a Peter the Great? Peter I did so much for Russia, including changing the education system to reach more people, reorganizing the government and the Russian Orthodox Church, and even modernizing the dress and social living standards of the Russian people. Peter grew up in a Russia that was stuck in archaic times, but he recognized the need for change, and when his time came to rule over his country he met the challenge head-on. Peter the Great turned Russia into one of the greatest powers of the world.

Discover the remarkable life of Virginia Woolf.... Virginia Woolf ranks among the most influential writers of the 20th century. Embracing the Post-Impressionist times in which she lived, her novels reflect the artistic shift from romanticism to abstract. Plot mattered very little to Woolf. Her writing was a stream of consciousness outside of time and place. Her novels, including her best-known work, Mrs. Dalloway, invariably dwell on gender roles and the concept of reality.

Subhas Chandra Bose was a revolutionary who sought Indian independence, but as many would contend, he ended up on the wrong side of history. In order to shake off the British yoke, Bose enlisted aid from Germany and Japan during World War II. This has led some to roundly condemn Bose as nothing more than a fascist cast in the same mold as Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Benito Mussolini. But is there more to this complicated figure than meets the eye?

Pierre-August Renoir, leader of the 19th-century Impressionist movement, spent his entire life perfecting his style. Rejected for decades, he depended on friends for a place to stay and money for painting supplies. Renoir lived in poverty until his 40's, and when he was finally discovered and hailed as a great artist, his health began to fail him. Still, Renoir never gave up his passion for painting. His need to create beauty was the driving force of his life, and throughout rejections and deteriorating health, Renoir retained an optimism that is reflected in his paintings.

George Orwell, the son of a British civil servant, spent his life promoting social justice and equality, while fighting against totalitarianism and elitism. His two best-known novels 1984 and Animal Farm depict the ultimate horror of a totalitarian government. Orwell wrote with passion about what he believed. Eighty years after their publication, his novels are as relevant as ever. Citizens are spied on by CCTV cameras. Smartphones track people’s movements and activities.

Richard III has gone down in history as one of the most hated and vilified British monarchs of all time. His two-year-long reign as king of England ended in 1485 when he was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth by Henry Tudor, making him the last English king to die on the battlefield. Despite the brevity of his reign, Richard III managed to earn an enduring - albeit unflattering - reputation which lives on to this day. William Shakespeare painted him as a ruthless, hunch-backed usurper, who killed not only his brother but also his two young nephews to get his hands on the crown.

William Wallace; if ever there was a champion in the annals of Scottish history, he was it. Known as a proud Scot who rose through the ranks to challenge the English king, Wallace was a mere man who became larger than life - large enough even for the likes of Mel Gibson to play him in Braveheart for movie-going audiences on the silver screen. But who was William Wallace? What separates the real man from the myth?

From working in a shoe-blacking factory as a 12-year-old to help his family while his father was in debtor’s prison, Charles Dickens rose to become one of the best-known novelists of all time. In this book, you’ll meet the author who not only wrote famous novels like Great Expectations and David Copperfield, but whose work also helped to develop and popularize the genre of the novel.

In a world where heroism and self-sacrifice sometimes seem to be in short supply, the exploits of the famed Admiral Horatio Nelson stand out to us as a refreshing reminder. His noble actions serve to show us of what it means to go above and beyond the call of duty and to put petty differences aside for the greater good. Despite the larger-than-life legend that two centuries have brought us, Horatio Nelson was not some swashbuckling caricature, he was a real flesh and blood human being, just as flawed as the rest of us.

King Edward VI, the only legitimate male heir of King Henry VIII, took his seat on the throne at the age of nine. His life would come to an end when he was only 15 years old, but the mark he would come to leave on England’s history has endured to this day. Edward VI led his country into a new age where the Church of England was no longer tied to the Catholic Church. Putting his efforts into spreading Protestantism throughout all of England, he continued his father’s work of freeing England from the Holy Roman Empire’s grasp.

Thor gefangen zwischen den gigantischen Kräften von Gut und Böse, als Andronicus und Rafi all ihre schwarze Magie anwenden, um Thors Identität zu zerstören und die Kontrolle über seine Seele zu übernehmen. Unter ihrem Zauber muss Thor seinen bisher größten Kampf ausfechten – aus dem Schatten seines Vaters zu treten, um sich von den Ketten der dunklen Magie zu befreien. Doch dazu ist es womöglich schon zu spät.

In Ritus Der Schwerter (Band #7 im Ring der Zauberei) ringt Thor mit seiner Herkunft: er muss sich damit abfinden wer sein wirklicher Vater ist, ob er sein Geheimnis verraten will und was er zu tun hat. Zu Hause im Ring mit Mycoples an seiner Seite und dem Schwert des Schicksals in der Hand ist Thor fest entschlossen, Rache an Andronicus‘ Armee zu neben und sein Heimatland zu befreien - und endlich um Gwendolyns Hand anzuhalten.

In Angriff Der Tapferkeit verfolgt Thor seine Mission, das gestohlene Schwert des Schicksals zurückzubringen, um den Ring zu retten, weiter. Sie führt ihn immer tiefer in das Reich des Empires. Als er und seine Freunde unerwartet eine Tragödie erleben und sie ein Mitglied ihrer Gruppe verlieren, schweißt sie das enger zusammen als je zuvor. Sie erkennen, dass sie nur gemeinsam die Widrigkeiten, die sich ihnen in den Weg stellen, überwinden können.

In Der Schwur des Ruhms (Buch #5 aus dem Ring der Zauberei) bricht Thor gemeinsam mit seinen Freunden aus der Legion auf eine epische Reise in die unendliche Wildnis des Empire auf um das uralte Schwert des Schicksals zu finden und den Ring zu retten. Thors Freundschaften vertiefen sich auf der Reise zu unbekannten Orten und stehen unerwarteten Monstern gegenüber während sie Seite an Seite in unvorstellbaren Schlachten kämpfen. Sie bereisen exotische Länder, treffen auf Wesen jenseits der Vorstellungskraft.

In Rückruf Null (Buch 6) ist die Übersetzerin des Präsidenten die einzige Eingeweihte einer geheimen Unterhaltung, die unsere Welt ändern könnte. Dadurch wird sie zum Ziel eines Mordanschlags, bei dem man sie zur Strecke bringen will. Agent Null, den wieder die Pflicht ruft, ist möglicherweise der Einzige, der sie noch retten könnte.

An early feminist, Louisa May Alcott fought for women’s rights throughout her life and became the first woman in Concord, Massachusetts to register to vote. Her most famous novel, Little Women, was a semi-biographical version of her life with her three sisters and how they grew up. While her father, the educator Amos Bronson Alcott, could make her life exasperating, her beloved mother, Abigail, always supported her daughters’ right to chart their own course in life, whether society approved or not.

The Mahdist War took place at the end of the 19th century between Sudanese rebels and their Egyptian colonizers. A religious leader claiming to be the Islamic Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, raised an army and led a movement to guide not only Sudanese Muslims, but Muslims worldwide. He and the Mahdists envisioned a future in which they would live by the teachings of the Qur’an. However, larger global forces, especially those of global imperialism, would stand in their way. From the Mahdist grassroots movement to independence to reconquest, this is the story of the Mahdist War.