John Richards

The history of Wales' rich maritime heritage is explored and the remaining evidence of the fishing industry, the export of coal, iron and steel and the one-time transatlantic liner trade is put into its context.

This volume reveals the true-life experiences of a Landsknecht and one of his arch-enemies, the "Schweizer" using first-hand accounts to give a real "soldiers eye view". The book studies the habits and working life of a Landsknecht, in a time when there was no such thing as a military career. Chivalry was dead and the battlefield was ruled by the lower orders. What made a man give up a stable civilian life for the insecurities of a military existence? More importantly, what conditions of service could induce him to stay? Contemporary sources in German, Italian and Spanish are used to view the everyday life of the soldiers of this period.

The power of purchasers exposes the weaknesses of conventional thinking on the costs and benefits of priorities. Health policy analysts now have to develop rational criteria to support decisions in a process which may be inherently intuitive. This authoritative and practical text points the way towards clear choices in resource allocation and the implications of these choices on expenditure diverted among different health care programmes.