Long Walk To Freedom

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country.

History of Classical Music, The

From Gregorian Chant to Henryk Gorecki, the first living classical composer to get into the pop album charts, here is the fascinating story of over a thousand years of Western classical music and the composers who have sought to express in music the deepest of human feelings and emotions. Polyphony, sonata form, serial music - many musical expressions are also explained - with the text illustrated by performances from some of the most highly praised recordings of recent years.

Great Chicago Fire, The

From the nearly forgotten files of a great Chicago newspaper, this on-the-scene account brings to life the all-encompassing fire of 1871. Covered by a reporter on the street, it describes in graphic detail the destruction, fear and heroism coupled with history’s most famous fire.

History of Opera, The

Opera, said Moliere, is the most expensive noise known to man. From its beginnings in the 16th century, through to today when there are as many musical styles as there are composers, opera has fascinated, infuriated, delighted, been censored, been banned, excited riots, even won a nation its freedom. Here is the colourful story of sometimes temperamental composers and even more temperamental singers working in an art form which has produced some of man's noblest artistic creations.

Lees of Virginia, The: Seven Generations of an American Family

ThThe descendants of Richard and Anne Lee have occupied a preeminent place in American history.
They were among the first families of Virginia. Two were signers of the Declaration of Independence,
several others distinguished themselves during the Revolutionary War, and one, Robert E. Lee,
remains the most widely known.

Ireland

The isle of poets and scholars has known almost constant warfare for centuries.In 1920, it was divided into North and South; yet this purely political solution left a religious and cultural schism intact.

Famous People in History

Here are the stories of nine people whose energy, imagination, courage and determination changed the world.

From Christopher Columbus who set off into unknown seas in a small ship in the 15th century, to a young girl, Anne Frank, caught in the turmoil of the 20th, who wrote a remarkable diary while in hiding in Amsterdam during the Second World War. Their personalities and their achievements make them heroes and heroines for our time also.