Guy Fawkes is amongst the most celebrated figures in English history and Bonfire Night is a remarkably long lived and very English tradition. But why is it that in a modern, multicultural society people still turn out every November to commemorate a planned act of treason and terrorism which was defeated four hundred years ago? Had the Gunpowder Plot succeeded and the Catholics managed to blow up the king, the royal family and Parliament, English history would have been shaped by a terrorist act of unprecedented proportions, shattering in terms of both the damage inflicted and its propaganda value. James Sharpe examines the fateful night of 5 November 1605 and the tangled web of religion and politics which gave rise to the plot. He uncovers how celebration of the event, and of Guy Fawkes, the one gunpowder plotter everyone remembers, has changed over the centuries. Today, although most of the religious connotations have long been ignored, the bonfires remain. The festival created in 1605 by the state and church to commemorate a failed act of Catholic terrorism, now provides an annual raison d'être for the firework industry and an annual source of concern for Britain's cat owners. Every year the crowds gather, the bonfires are lit and the firework displays dazzle again. Interestingly however, the tradition is fast changing and reverting to the pre-Gunpowder Plot festival (now much Americanised) of Halloween.

Kings and queens, British prime ministers, American presidents, countries of Europe... We should all know these things - but like me, you're probably resigned to being the kind of person that just never will. Now Grandmaster of Memory Ed Cooke offers up his memory secrets with a fun, quick and completely unforgettable way to remember the things you thought you never could. But this is no boring Willy, Willy, Harry, Ste. With Ed leading the way on unlikely adventures through people and places, Abraham Lincoln may become a circle of bra-wearing hams linking arms in your mind, and you may well encounter a fridge wearing Calvin Klein underpants. You could also soon find yourself rattling off the prime ministers to a rapt audience and adding, in a knowing tone, 'ah yes, Marquess of Rockingham, Whig I believe?'. What is for sure is that you’ll be bursting with knowledge that will stick in your mind and impress your friends for ever.

Egypt's January 25 revolution was triggered by a Facebook page and played out both in virtual spaces and the streets. Social media serves as a space of liberation, but it also functions as an arena where competing forces vie over the minds of the young as they battle over ideas as important as the nature of freedom and the place of the rising generation in the political order. This book provides piercing insights into the ongoing struggles between people and power in the digital age.

After being a British protectorate for about 96 years since the 1888 Treaty of Protection, the modern state of Negara Brunei Darussalam (Abode of Peace) eventually obtained its independence from Great Britain on 1 January 1984. Run by a royal family that established a kingdom in Brunei some 650 years ago, the first sultan, Muhammad Shah (Alak Betatar) was installed in c.1363. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the current ruler, is the 29th sultan of the lineage and is one of the richest men in the world. In spite of being called a mini-state, Brunei is well-known around the world because its population enjoys one of the highest gross national income per capita in the world, at an average of US$39,943 (2015) a year. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Brunei Darussalam contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Brunei Darussalam.

Dr. Seuss imagines a day when all your wishes come true in this classic Beginner Book. Octember the First is the day on which all your most outlandish wishes come true. If March is too dusty and April too gusty, if May is too early and June is too soon, just try to remember the first of Octember, when whatever you are hoping to get will be yours! From a balloon pool in the sky to a pickle tree in your backyard, Please Try to Remember the First of Octember! is a wildly silly story that will have readers laughing—and wishing—out loud. Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.