{"title":"Peter Spring","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"great-walls-and-linear-barriers-book-peter-spring-9781848843776","title":"Great Walls and Linear Barriers","description":"Everyone has heard of the Great Wall of China and knows of Hadrian's Wall and the other barriers lining stretches of Rome's imperial frontiers. But Peter Spring's original new study demonstrates that far from being exceptional, the building of walls and other linear defences was commonplace among the peoples and states of pre-modern era.  He finds examples virtually all across the globe and analyses their forms and strategic functions. He finds patterns for their distribution, an important recurrent theme being the divide between settled agriculture and nomads. The author argues that it is mistaken to view such undertakings as necessarily purely defensive measures that might be evidence of insecurity or a 'maginot line mentality', as they were in fact often about aggressive assertion of control over a region or strategic routes. This original and thought-provoking study brings new light and insight to a fascinating and neglected aspect of human political and military history. It The clear text is supported by numerous, specially drawn maps and photographs.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49590648930577,"sku":"GOR009441678","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50601720611089,"sku":"GOR010682957","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848843771.jpg?v=1751249142"},{"product_id":"spitfire-mustang-and-the-meredith-effect-book-peter-spring-9781526773500","title":"Spitfire, Mustang and the 'Meredith Effect'","description":"This book by Peters Spring examines the life of the remarkable, and controversial, F.W. Meredith, an individual who has largely been forgotten by history despite the brilliant advances he made  advances which helped the Allies win the war against Hitlers Third Reich.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49747496698129,"sku":"NGR9781526773500","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53126340935953,"sku":"GOR013670905","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1526773503.jpg?v=1751435750"},{"product_id":"sir-john-tiptoft-butcher-of-england-book-peter-spring-9781783463824","title":"Sir John Tiptoft-'Butcher of England'","description":"John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, is arguably the most intriguing, controversial and possibly misunderstood figure of the Wars of the Roses period. Politically adept, he occupied a string of important offices, first under the Lancastrian Henry VI and then the Yorkist Edward IV.  A man of action, he held commands on both and sea, in England, Ireland and Wales.  As Constable of England he acted as Edward's enforcer and earned the sobriquet 'Butcher of England' for his beheadings and impalements. Yet he was also an outstanding Renaissance scholar who studied at Oxford, Padua and Ferrara, a collector of books and patron. This, in conjunction with his political actions, makes him a proto-Machiavellian Prince.  Peter Spring also looks beyond the Earl's public life to glean insights into the man himself, concluding that the available information generally reveals an attractive personality. He presents a balanced reappraisal, seeing him, as did many contemporary Europeans and some fellow countrymen, as a man of great intellect and capability who did not shirk the hard tasks imposed by a merciless age.  Worcester's execution for the application of Roman law, lampooned as the 'laws of Padua', demonstrated the danger of indentification with continental influences in an England increasingly defining itself�through common law, Parliament, and soon religion�against Europe. The contemporary denigration of his character by little Englander chroniclers reflected a deepening antipathy towards the cosmopolitan � a recurring trait in the English character � perhaps re-emerging with Brexit.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49808873914641,"sku":"GOR009784966","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51113401483537,"sku":"GOR010048350","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783463821.jpg?v=1751426929"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-ie\/collections\/author-books-by-peter-spring.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}