Paul Hill

In this the third part of his four-volume military and political history of early England Paul Hill explores the rise of Æthelstan, first-born son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great. His reign saw an expanded English kingdom thanks to the efforts of his aunt Æthelflæd and his father, but Æthelstan’s prestige had much to do with his own extraordinary ability. Courts across Europe felt the king’s influence through carefully planned marriages, while he firmly stamped his authority at home. This volume traces the challenges in Æthelstan’s reign after he established power in the north in 927 and explores the mystery surrounding his half-brother Edwin’s unusual death. But it also looks at the great military campaigns of the time. The English campaign in Scotland in 934 and the tumultuous encounter between Æthelstan’s forces and a northern alliance at the now lost - but perhaps found - battlefield of Brunanburh in 937 are examined. So too is the passionate history of the hunt for the battle site. Also told is a fresh account of the campaigns and fortunes of the king’s brothers Edmund and Eadred who succeeded Æthelstan in turn. The kingdom was by no means secure though. The warrior kings came again. Hill’s narrative portrays the deeds of the evocatively named Eric ‘Bloodaxe’ of York and the bitter end of an independent Viking northern kingdom which had so bedevilled the kings of the south. Were the fields of Britain finally consolidated into one (as one chronicler said) or was there more trouble ahead?

Tervetuloa Pohjoismaiden suurimpaan verkkokirjakauppaan! Adlibris kannattaa sananvapautta, ja haluamme edistää kirjallisuuden ja tiedon saatavuutta.

Etsitkö jännitystä, uusia näkökulmia tai rentouttavaa lukuelämystä? Tutustu kirjakategorioihimme ja löydä seuraava suosikkikirjasi.

There are many books about the Knights Templar, the medieval military order which played a key role in the crusades against the Muslims in the Holy Land, the Iberian peninsula and elsewhere in Europe. What is seldom explored is the military context in which they operated, and that is why Paul Hill's highly illustrated study is so timely, for he focuses on how this military order prosecuted its wars. The order was founded as a response to attacks on pilgrims in the Holy Land, and it was involved in countless battles and sieges, always at the forefront of crusading warfare. This absorbing study examines why they were such an important aspect of medieval warfare on the frontiers of Christendom for nearly two hundred years. Paul Hill shows how they were funded and supplied, how they organized their forces on campaign and on the battlefield and the strategies and tactics they employed in the various theatres of warfare in which they fought. Templar leadership, command and control are examined, and sections cover their battles and campaigns, fortifications and castles.

In the time of the great Anglo-Saxon kings like Alfred and Athelstan, (R)thelred and Edmund Ironside, what was warfare really like D how were the armies organized, how and why did they fight, how were the warriors armed and trained, and what was the Anglo-Saxon experience of war? As Paul Hill demonstrates in this compelling new study, documentary records and the growing body of archaeological evidence allows these questions to be answered with more authority than ever before. His broad, detailed and graphic account of the conduct of war in the Anglo-Saxon world in the unstable, violent centuries before the Norman Conquest will be illuminating reading for anyone who wants to learn about this key stage of medieval history. The role of violence and war in Anglo-Saxon society is explored, in particular the parts played by the king and the noblemen, and the means by which, in times of danger, the men of the fyrd were summoned to fight. The controversial subject of the Anglo-Saxon use of cavalry is also explored. Land and naval warfare are central sections of Paul HillOs book, but he also covers the politics and diplomacy of warfare D the conduct of negotiations, the taking of hostages and the use of treachery. The weapons and armour of the Anglo-Saxons are described D the spears, the scramsaxes, axes, bows, swords, helmets, shields and mail that were employed in the close-quarter fighting of the day. Among the most valuable sections of the study are those dealing, in vivid detail, with actual experience of battle and siege D with the brutal reality of combat as it is revealed by campaigns against the Danes, in the battles of Ashdown, Maldon and Stamford Bridge, and sieges at Reading and Rochester.

In this the second part of his four-volume military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill follows the careers of thelfl d, Alfred the Great's eldest daughter, and Edward the Elder, Alfred's eldest son, as they campaigned to expand their rule after Alfred's death. They faced, as Alfred had done, the full force of Danish hostility during the early years of the tenth century, a period of unrelenting turbulence and open warfare. But through their military strength, in particular their strategy of fortress building, they retained their hold on the kingdom and conquered lands which had been under Danish lords for generations. thelfl d's forces captured Derby and Leicester by both force and diplomacy. Edward's power was always immense. How each of them used forts (burhs) to hold territory, is explored. Fortifications across central England became key. These included Bridgnorth, Tamworth, Stafford, Warwick, Chirbury and Runcorn ( thelfl d) and also Hertford, Witham, Buckingham, Bedford and Maldon (Edward), to name a few. Paul Hill's absorbing narrative incorporates the latest theories and evidence for the military organization and capabilities of the Anglo-Saxons and their Danish adversaries. His book gives the reader a detailed and dramatic insight into a very sophisticated Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

In this compelling military and political history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Paul Hill explores England's birth amidst the devastation and fury of the Danish invasions of the ninth century. He provides insight into the English response to the new challenges of warfare in these years of turbulence and danger. Alfred the Great, youngest son of King thelwulf, took control of the last surviving Anglo-Saxon kingdom, bringing Wessex and the English' parts of Mercia together into a new Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons'. This is a story of betrayal and of vengeance, of turncoat oath-breakers and loyal commanders, of battles fought and won against the odds. But above all, this is the story of how England came into being. Warfare in Alfred's England changed from attritional set-piece battles to a grander strategic concern. This is explored, demonstrating how defence-in-depth fortification networks were built across the resurgent kingdom in the wake of Alfred's victory at Edington in 878\. The arrival of new Danish armies into England in the 890s would lead to campaigns quite unlike those of the Great Heathen Army of the previous generation. This is a human, as well as a military story: how a king demonstrated his right to rule was important. Alfred sought to secure the succession on his son Edward, who led his own forces as a young man in the 890s. But not everybody was happy in Alfred's England. Despite the ever-present threat from the Danes, the greatest challenge facing Alfred arose from his own kin, centred deep in the heart of ancient Wessex. Alfred knew very well that his was not the only branch of the family who claimed a right to rule.

Fully updated and revised, this seminal book explains and illustrates what photographs are, how they were made and used in the past and, more particularly, what their place is in the creative arts and visual communications world of today. Paul Hill looks at photographs as modes of expression and explores the diversity of approaches taken when creating photographs and what these mean for a photographer’s practice and purpose. It emphasises the importance of contextualisation to the understanding of the medium, diving into the ideas behind the images and how the camera transforms and influences how we see the world. With an impressive collection of 200 full colour images from professional practitioners and artists, it invites us to consider the foundations of photography’s past and the digital revolution’s impact on the creation and dissemination of photographs today. Essential reading for all students of photography, it is an invaluable guide for those who want to make a career in photography, covering most areas of photographic practice from photojournalism to fine art to personal essay.

Fully updated and revised, this seminal book explains and illustrates what photographs are, how they were made and used in the past and, more particularly, what their place is in the creative arts and visual communications world of today. Paul Hill looks at photographs as modes of expression and explores the diversity of approaches taken when creating photographs and what these mean for a photographer’s practice and purpose. It emphasises the importance of contextualisation to the understanding of the medium, diving into the ideas behind the images and how the camera transforms and influences how we see the world. With an impressive collection of 200 full colour images from professional practitioners and artists, it invites us to consider the foundations of photography’s past and the digital revolution’s impact on the creation and dissemination of photographs today. Essential reading for all students of photography, it is an invaluable guide for those who want to make a career in photography, covering most areas of photographic practice from photojournalism to fine art to personal essay.

Speech and audio processing has undergone a revolution in preceding decades that has accelerated in the last few years generating game-changing technologies such as truly successful speech recognition systems; a goal that had remained out of reach until very recently. This book gives the reader a comprehensive overview of such contemporary speech and audio processing techniques with an emphasis on practical implementations and illustrations using MATLAB code. Core concepts are firstly covered giving an introduction to the physics of audio and vibration together with their representations using complex numbers, Z transforms and frequency analysis transforms such as the FFT. Later chapters give a description of the human auditory system and the fundamentals of psychoacoustics. Insights, results, and analyses given in these chapters are subsequently used as the basis of understanding of the middle section of the book covering: wideband audio compression (MP3 audio etc.), speech recognition and speech coding. The final chapter covers musical synthesis and applications describing methods such as (and giving MATLAB examples of) AM, FM and ring modulation techniques. This chapter gives a final example of the use of time-frequency modification to implement a so-called phase vocoder for time stretching (in MATLAB). Features A comprehensive overview of contemporary speech and audio processing techniques from perceptual and physical acoustic models to a thorough background in relevant digital signal processing techniques together with an exploration of speech and audio applications. A carefully paced progression of complexity of the described methods; building, in many cases, from first principles. Speech and wideband audio coding together with a description of associated standardised codecs (e.g. MP3, AAC and GSM). Speech recognition: Feature extraction (e.g. MFCC features), Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and deep learning techniques such as Long Short-Time Memory (LSTM) methods. Book and computer-based problems at the end of each chapter. Contains numerous real-world examples backed up by many MATLAB functions and code.

Speech and audio processing has undergone a revolution in preceding decades that has accelerated in the last few years generating game-changing technologies such as truly successful speech recognition systems; a goal that had remained out of reach until very recently. This book gives the reader a comprehensive overview of such contemporary speech and audio processing techniques with an emphasis on practical implementations and illustrations using MATLAB code. Core concepts are firstly covered giving an introduction to the physics of audio and vibration together with their representations using complex numbers, Z transforms and frequency analysis transforms such as the FFT. Later chapters give a description of the human auditory system and the fundamentals of psychoacoustics. Insights, results, and analyses given in these chapters are subsequently used as the basis of understanding of the middle section of the book covering: wideband audio compression (MP3 audio etc.), speech recognition and speech coding. The final chapter covers musical synthesis and applications describing methods such as (and giving MATLAB examples of) AM, FM and ring modulation techniques. This chapter gives a final example of the use of time-frequency modification to implement a so-called phase vocoder for time stretching (in MATLAB). Features A comprehensive overview of contemporary speech and audio processing techniques from perceptual and physical acoustic models to a thorough background in relevant digital signal processing techniques together with an exploration of speech and audio applications. A carefully paced progression of complexity of the described methods; building, in many cases, from first principles. Speech and wideband audio coding together with a description of associated standardised codecs (e.g. MP3, AAC and GSM). Speech recognition: Feature extraction (e.g. MFCC features), Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and deep learning techniques such as Long Short-Time Memory (LSTM) methods. Book and computer-based problems at the end of each chapter. Contains numerous real-world examples backed up by many MATLAB functions and code.

"Transition expert Paul Hill changes the conversation about how to get hired with his innovative use of social media." --Libby Gill, best-selling author of You Unstuck Job seekers are frustrated. Online job applications through job boards and employer sites are leading to dead ends. Why? Employers are closing the last chapter on the online application playbook. Inundated by online applications and hampered by computer systems that are unable to select viable candidates from the masses of applicants, employers are now using innovative strategies to recruit and screen candidates online. Advances in technology make the way jobs are found and filled online distinctly different from just a few years ago. Employers are scanning the Web using advanced tools to capture signals from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, among others, to recruit candidates. Based on leading Internet strategies, "The Panic Free Job Search" shows you how to get hired: By developing a professional, Web-savvy profile By leveraging the power of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, TubeMogul, and even your own Website By sending the right signals through social networking sites By tapping into the hidden job market Don't panic You can get the job you want, even in this tough economy.

This work features detailed reconstructions of the battles at Ashdown in 871 and Edington in 878 as well as Alfred's later campaigns in the 890s. It incorporates historical and archaeological evidence to give insights into early medieval armies and warfare.

Not long after the Norman invasion, William of Malmesbury was seeing it as an unmitigated disaster, while Geoffrey of Monmouth cast the Anglo-Saxons as cruel invaders and resurrected the old Arthurian myths. This last of the trilogy on the Anglo-Saxons explores their legacy, and asks whether they have any meaning in modern multi-cultural England.

The dramatic confrontation between Harold of England and William of Normandy at Senlac Ridge in 1066 was the result of almost a century of political and dynastic struggles. Paul Hill explores the prolonged death-throe of Anglo-Saxon England - a story of murder, treachery and ambition - and of a foreign predator with a talent for organisation.

In an age of evocative names like Eric Bloodaxe and Egil Skallagrimson, one name has been lost in the mists of time: that of Athelstan, ruler of all Britain. From the first raids of the Vikings on the shores of Britain and Ireland, the book traces the response to threat across the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic worlds. The rise of the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and later, of the English, built from the debris of Viking destruction is analysed in detail and compared to the struggle for independence in Northumbria. Athelstan's achievement in establishing an empire for which he became famous is a key focus of the tale, along with the extraordinary history of the hunt for the lost battle of Brunanburh (AD 937), a clash which defined a people. For hundreds of years, no king would rule as much of Britain as Athelstan. His reputation survived the medieval period in the form of histories, songs and poems only to be lost at a later date, and yet its essence can still be found today all over the country.

From the earliest evidence of human aggression to the mordern era of sophisticated warfare, this book covers the archaeological aspects of war in the landscape using a multi-period thematic approach incorporating worldwide material. The book discusses the evidence for warfare from Ancient Sumeria to the fall of the Roman Empire in the west and then concentrates on the form and types of defences adopted by different cultures and communities from the level of family projection up to that of national defence, using the archaeology of Britain as a major source of evidence. Drawing on a wide variety of research including excavated evidence, historical sources and in some cases oral testimony, the authors analyse the importance of archaeology as a took for interpretation and take a close look at the influence of terrain in some specially chosen military campaigns across the globe. The patterns of warfare which repeat themselves in the forms of arms races and technological advances from prehistory to the present are examined in terms of the cycles of aggressive and defensive measures, and case studies are used to exemplify how and why territorial frontiers were held or lost in different periods. Both authors have been involved in teaching historical and archaeological material at the University of Surrey on a Continuing Education degree course as well as undertaking their own research in the field. Paul Hill, formerly curator at Kingston Museum in Surrey, has a background of Anglo-Saxon weapongs and warfare and Julie Wileman has been researching into prehistoric warfare at UCL and has worked as Assistant Director and Finds Officer at a number of archaeological sites in Surrey.

This is a discussion of the heated debate raging on the American nation's schools, with proposals ranging from imposing national standards to replacing public education altogether with a voucher system for private schools. This study proposes a solution to the problem by finding a middle ground between these extremes. The book seeks to show how contracting would radically change the way schools are operated, keeping them public and accessible to all, and making them better able to meet standards of achievement and equity. Using public funds, local school boards would select private providers to operate individual schools under formal contracts specifying the type and quality of instruction. The authors also show how contracting would free school boards from operating schools, allowing them to focus on improving educational policy; how it would allow parents to choose the best school for their children; and finally, how it would ensure that schools are held accountable and academic standards are met.

This is a discussion of the heated debate raging on the American nation's schools, with proposals ranging from imposing national standards to replacing public education altogether with a voucher system for private schools. This study proposes a solution to the problem by finding a middle ground between these extremes. The book seeks to show how contracting would radically change the way schools are operated, keeping them public and accessible to all, and making them better able to meet standards of achievement and equity. Using public funds, local school boards would select private providers to operate individual schools under formal contracts specifying the type and quality of instruction. The authors also show how contracting would free school boards from operating schools, allowing them to focus on improving educational policy; how it would allow parents to choose the best school for their children; and finally, how it would ensure that schools are held accountable and academic standards are met.