This fascinating new book plots five millennia of the most powerful of all tools of persuasion.

Easily Led: A History of Propaganda

History

Thomson, Oliver

Europe

Sutton Pub Ltd

This is an account of the rivalry and sometimes-bloody conflict between two families from the west coast of Scotland, the Campbells and the McDonalds. Starting with the violent death of the Campbell chief in 1297, the feud then went on for 450 years in Scotland and Northern Ireland with numerous cullings and clashings inflicted by both sides, amongst which the incident at Glencoe just happens to be the best publicized. Despite the mutual antipathy, both families continued to grow, to scatter over the world and to produce a large number of talented descendants including two British Prime Ministers (Campbell Bannerman and Ramsay MacDonald) and the first Canadian Prime Minister. The second half of the book charts this more peaceful period after 1745 when large numbers of both clans spread rapidly around the world: transported as criminals, evicted in clearances, or simply seeking their fortune in peace or war.

The Great Feud: The Campbells & the Macdonalds

An account of the remarkable rivalry, sometimes bloody conflict, between two great families which originated on the west coast of Scotland - the Campbells and the MacDonalds. Starting with the violent death of the Campbell chief in 1297 the feud then went on for 450 years in Scotland and Northern Ireland, with numerous cullings and clashes inflicted by both sides, amongst which the incident in Glencoe just happens to be the best publicised. Yet despite the mutual antipathy both families continued to grow, to scatter over the world and to produce a large number of talented, energetic descendants including two British prime ministers (Campbell Bannerman and Ramsay MacDonald) and the first Canadian prime minister. The second half of the volume charts this more peaceful period after 1745 when large numbers of both clans spread rapidly around the world: transported as criminals, evicted in clearances, or simply seeking their fortune in peace or war. We follow the families in the American and Napoleonic wars, to India, the West Indies and Australasia. We meet politicians, poets, terrorists, sportsmen and women, entrepreneurs, world speed record holders and a mistress introduced to Kennedy by Sinatra. The fame of both families now rests on fast food (soup and burgers).

The History Press

In early medieval Scotland bitter rivalry grew up between two immigrant families from Flanders in their struggle for the crown: the Stewarts and the Douglases. This work covers the period from 1286 to what may be thought of as the "final" defeat of the Stewarts at Culloden in 1745.

From the Bloody Heart: The Stewarts and the Douglases

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

This is the 1,000-year saga of the remarkable Scottish family, who began as stewards, then became Stewarts, then Royal Stewarts, and finally Stuarts. They were remarkable not only for the continuity of the male line, which went for 26 generations without a break, but also for the 340 years that they held on to sovereign power. Yet, despite the longevity of the dynasty, the lives of many individuals were violent and short. Of the fourteen Stewart monarchs, eight failed to reach the age of fifty. Six of the fourteen died violent deaths, two were murdered, two executed and two killed in battle. Because of the tendency towards early death, the average age of accession was only twenty-three, and six came to the throne before they were ten. Of the non-royals, over 100 were murdered and over 200 executed. It is a remarkable tale of tenacity and adaptability that has seen the family survive for 1,000 years. The Rises and the Falls of the Royal Stewarts tells their fascinating tale with verve and drama.

The Rises & Falls of the Royal Stewarts

The Romanovsthe second and final dynasty to rule Russiahave captured the imagination of the world like no other royal family. The mysterious execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family in 1918 further fueled this fascination. Yet the intrigue surrounding the family began centuries earlier with another notorious tsarIvan the Terrible. So-called due to his dramatic change in temperament following the death of his wife, Ivan instigated one of the most terrifying periods in history as he and his death squad Oprichniki violently tortured his country's people. Tracing the ancestry back to the marriage of Anastasia Zakharyina and Ivan IV of Muscovy in 1547, through the demise of the House of Romanov and up to the present generation, Oliver Thomson delves deep into the family’s lineage. Including maps, portraits of family members, and stunning color photographs of the main surviving Romanov buildings, this absorbing book charts the rise and fall of one of the greatest families in history.

Romanovs: Europe's Most Obsessive Dynasty

Tempus

Mass Persuasion in History: an Historical Analysis of the Development of Propaganda Techniques

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Crane, Russak & Co.

Mass persuasion in history: An historical analysis of the development of propaganda techniques

Paul Harris

This is an innovative, controversial history of Scotland and Britain in the early modern period. Its originality lies in new research pin-pointing Fife, especially St Andrew's, as the area where a group of men instigated not just Scotland's wars of religion but also triggered three civil wars in England and Ireland. Oliver Thomson provides a detailed analysis of the church parishes and castles of Fife reveals a unique concentration of ex-mercenaries and rebel clergymen who together promoted the two Bishops Wars leading to a series of Scottish invasions of England, and consequentially all three of the English Civil Wars (The Wars of Three Kingdoms) and around 650,000 deaths.

Zealots: How a Group of Scottish Conspirators Unleashed Half a Century of War in Britain

Religion & Spirituality

Amberley Publishing

Gods at War examines the role played by religions in starting or supporting wars from ancient Egypt and Israel to the current conflicts in Yemen and the Ukraine. It does not just cover the traditionally recognised wars of religion such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years War or the many Islamic jihads, but also addresses the role played by nearly all religions in encouraging warrior kings, dictators and even democracies to wage wars, supporting them with money, promises of a good after-life, promises of victory (God is on their side), motivating slogans and symbolism, and supportive priests to keep up morale.The account assesses the level of religious involvement in wars, including less obvious ones such as the Spanish Armada, the Ming in China, the French Revolutionary Wars, World War 1 and the Japanese War in the Pacific. For example, the prime minster of Japan who launched the attack on Pearl Harbor was a devout Buddhist and Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge had trained as a Buddhist monk. Equally, there are examples of wars inspired by Judaism, rival Christian and Muslim sects, Sikhism and Japanese Shinto.The first section of the book discusses several different types of religious influence in conflicts, ranging from almost purely religious wars like the French or German wars of religion, to the many others where religion only played a supportive but still significant role. It also explores the reasons why religious support has been welcomed by war leaders and why religions chose to cooperate. And it draws distinctions between the documented faith of each religion and its manipulation by its leaders and priests when it suited them. So where it is necessay to assign blame, it applies not so much to the faith but to its human management.Four main sections cover wars from the pre-Christian era, the Middle Ages, the early modern period and finally the conflicts of the 21st century including the use made of the Russian church by Vladimir Putin, of Sunni Islam by Mohammed bin Salman or of the Pentecostals in Guatemala.

Gods at War: Understanding Three Millennia of Religious Conflict

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Books by Thomson, Oliver

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Thomson, Oliver. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Easily Led: A History of Propaganda

The Great Feud: The Campbells & the Macdonalds

The Great Feud: The Campbells & the Macdonalds

From the Bloody Heart: The Stewarts and the Douglases

The Rises & Falls of the Royal Stewarts

Romanovs: Europe's Most Obsessive Dynasty

Mass Persuasion in History: an Historical Analysis of the Development of Propaganda Techniques

Mass persuasion in history: An historical analysis of the development of propaganda techniques

Zealots: How a Group of Scottish Conspirators Unleashed Half a Century of War in Britain

Gods at War: Understanding Three Millennia of Religious Conflict