Showing results by narrator "Charles Armstrong" in All Categories

Credit Suisse was a 166-year-old bastion of global banking. But a veneer of high-class service disguised a darker, much dirtier reality. From its sterile Zurich headquarters, Credit Suisse banked dictators and drug dealers, hid stolen Nazi gold, and helped corrupt bankers fleece the firm's own clients of billions of dollars. Its top executives oversaw a global operation that laundered money for autocrats; they hired spies to track one another through the cobbled streets of the Swiss financial capital; and they helped clients hide their money from the world's tax authorities.

The Exorcists are a Space Marine Chapter unlike any other. To combat the forces of Chaos, they willingly accept daemonic possession, knowing that once it is purged their shattered souls will no longer be susceptible to corruption. Those who fail the banishment trials become Broken Ones – living prisons for the terrors expelled from their brethren. Should such desperate measures become known to the wider Imperium, the Chapter would stand accused of the vilest of heresies.

On October 15, 1958, Sotheby's of Bond Street staged an "event sale” of seven Impressionist paintings. The seven lots went for £781,000—at the time the highest price for a single sale. The event established London as the world center of the art market and Sotheby's as an international auction house. It began a shift in power from the dealers to the auctioneers and paved the way for Impressionist paintings to dominate the market for the next forty years.

This mystery novel follows Anthony Cade, a man who unknowingly finds himself in the middle of an international conspiracy and a murder investigation after accepting a simple delivery job from an old friend. As Cade slowly begins to realize his predicament has potentially put him in danger, he begins his own investigation into the strange series of events just as Inspector Battle of Scotland Yard begins the main, official investigation.

Discover the key battles, tactics, technologies, and turning points of the Second World War—the epic conflict that shaped the modern world.

Christo Lloyd was recognised as one of the foremost gardeners and garden writers of the 20th century. Here, for the first time, is the definitive collection of his best, most informative, and so often amusing garden writing. Christo on gardening: "ours, in its humble way, is an art as well as a craft. At the same time it keeps us in touch with the earth, the seasons, and with that complex of interrelated forces both animate and inanimate which we call nature. It is a humanising occupation."

This collection of 25 Hercule Poirot adventures is compiled from short stories written by Agatha Christie for The Sketch magazine in 1923 from March to December. In these stories, including "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim", "The Veiled Lady", and "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb", the eccentric private detective slowly and surely solves mysteries involving jealousy, revenge, and greed. These stories were well-received at the time and cemented Christie's reputation as the worthy successor to Arthur Conan Doyle.

Set aside your preconceptions of postcard scenery, chocolate and cheese, faceless bankers, and spotless cities. The real Switzerland is anything but bland. This small, multilingual, and fiercely independent country at the heart of Europe is full of surprises. Culture Smart! Switzerland reveals the human dimension of this enigmatic country. It provides a historical overview, explores Swiss values and attitudes, and looks at the cultural continuity of festivals and traditions.

War is coming - and nothing can stop it... Settled in his small island kingdom, Odysseus wants nothing more than to rule Ithaca in peace. Meanwhile, his warrior friend Eperitus, frustrated at his quiet life, dreams of glory in battle. But when Agamemnon’s fleet appears on the horizon, Odysseus knows that war is upon him. A Trojan prince has abducted Helen of Sparta, and the armies of Greece are gathering. As the greatest heroes flock to the crusade, only one is missing. Odysseus knows that without Achilles, the gates of Troy will never fall.

Something is troubling Inspector Henry Cutter. Sergeant Gideon Bliss is accustomed to his ill-tempered outbursts, but lately the inspector has grown silent and withdrawn. Then, the murders begin. The first to die is the elderly Sir Aneurin Considine, a decorated but obscure civil servant who long ago retired to tend his orchids. If the motive for his killing is a mystery, the manner of his death is more bewildering still. The victims that follow suffer similar fates, their deaths gruesome but immaculately orchestrated.

Varangantua is in turmoil. After the district of Korsk is obliterated in a fiery cataclysm, the city’s enforcers must pick up the pieces. As sanctioner teams comb the wreckage for survivors, dogged probators such as Agusto Zidarov and Lycia Calix seek to uncover the truth about what happened. Their stories become intertwined with those of petty criminals and desperate citizens, even drawing the vaunted attention of agents beyond Alecto itself, painting a picture of sprawling conspiracy.

In the popular imagination, Spain conjures up a picture of rapacious conquistadores, fiery flamenco dancers, and brilliant artists. All true enough - but how closely does everyday life in modern Spain conform to these dramatic stereotypes? This book explores the complex human realities of contemporary Spanish life. It describes how Spain's history and geography have created both strongly felt regional differences and shared values and attitudes. It reveals what the Spaniards are like at home and in business, how they socialize, and how to build lasting relationships with them.

Italy delights and stimulates with its magnificent cities and monuments, stunningly beautiful landscapes, the glory of its art and architecture, the richness and variety of its food, the elegance of its design and fashion, and the vitality and charm of its people. Italian style and culture have been exported all over the world. At home, however, Italian society and politics are facing challenges as the country struggles to maintain its standard of living, the stability of its currency, and its ability to provide jobs.

Squeezed between Colombia in the north and Peru in the south, Ecuador is named for its location on the Equator and has a landscape so varied that it has been described as a microcosm of every microclimate found in South America. This diversity makes it a magnet for tourists, mountain trekkers, volunteers, and increasing numbers of US retirees looking for a warm, culturally interesting, economical, and safe place to spend much of their time.

Originally published as a series of short stories in Sketch magazine, this tale of international intrigue and espionage begins when a visitor stumbles into detective Hercule Poirot's bedroom. In the final moments before his death, he tells Poirot of the crime cartel known only as the Big Four. What follows is Hercule Poirot's biggest case yet, taking him and his sidekick Arthur Hastings on the trail of the Big Four before their plans to take control of the world unfold.

India's huge population of 1.2 billion people is as varied and colorful as the spice markets of Old Delhi. Each region, caste, and community has its own culture, reflecting unique histories shaped by conquest, creativity, and religion. Steeped in ancient traditions, exceptionally fatalistic, and intensely passionate about their culture, the Indians are also ingenious, creative, and world leaders in cutting-edge science and technology. Show interest in their country, and it will be reciprocated with genuine warmth and friendship.

The Nepalese attitude toward life is essentially religious. Hindu and Buddhist values predominate and help to maintain social harmony despite the divisions between rich and poor, urban and rural, highlands and lowlands. Culture Smart! Nepal sets out to explain the complexities of Nepalese life, from home to business to the marketplace. It tells you what to expect and provides insights that will help you to go beyond friendly smiles and turn your visit into an enlightening and rewarding experience.

For centuries past, and all across the world, there are words for a certain kind of woman. Words that raise our hackles, fire up our blood. Words that tell a story. In this blazing cauldron of a book, the boldest writers of our day take up these words and take up their pen, celebrating fifty years of Virago.

The French thinker and political theorist Georges Sorel (1847-1922), fired up by his interest in Marxism and his anger at the injustice of the Dreyfus case, faced this challenge and in the seven chapters of Reflections on Violence he explored the question. It proved sufficiently stimulating over succeeding decades to be espoused by both Marxists and Fascists alike: class struggle, revolution and above all radical change were central to Sorel’s thought.

On November 21, 1914, after sailing more than ten thousand miles from Norway to the Antarctic Ocean, the Endurance finally succumbed to the surrounding ice. Ernest Shackleton and his crew had navigated the 144-foot, three-masted wooden vessel to Antarctica to become the first to cross the barren continent, but early season pack ice trapped them in place offshore. They watched in silence as the ship’s stern rose twenty feet in the air and disappeared into the frigid sea, then spent six harrowing months marooned on the ice in its wake.