Rupert Matthews

The papacy is a unique religious office. Lasting two millennia, it is one of the oldest and most enduring institutions in the world. The line of authority linking Pope Francis to the ministry of Jesus Christ has been unbroken over the centuries. In this book you will find facts and details of all 266 popes, from controversies to triumphs to reforms. A great reference guide for theological students and people of all faiths.

Beginning with the strategic situation in 1943, this compelling tale recounts the circumstances that led to this decisive battle that was a key turning point of the Second World War on the Eastern Front. Considered by both the Germans and the Soviets to be a highly unpromising place to fight a battle, Kursk would prove the undoing of the Germans. Never again would they be able to mount a major offensive to the east and never again was the end result...

The great spectacles of ancient Rome have become proverbial for their cruelty, bloodlust and glory. In the arena, the games were savage and brutal. Gladiators fought each other to the death, wild animals were put to fight each other and criminals were executed by barbaric means. Military victories were marked by the Triumphs when generals paraded through the city, the defeated were sacrificed to the gods and food and wine was offered free of charge...

This is the new Popular Reference edition of the fully-illustrated eBook, ISBN: 9781782122586. The bitter Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front was the turning point of World War II. The relentless and unstoppable German advances that had seen the panzers sweep hundreds of miles into Russia was finally brought to a halt. The elite German 6th Army was first fought to a standstill, then surrounded and forced to surrender. Over 1.5 million people...

Today the rivalry between St. Andrew and St. George may be fierce but at least it is limited to the sporting field. This was by no means always the case, before the Act of Settlement in the Eighteenth Century (400th Anniversary in March 2003). Author Rupert Matthews has researched more than twenty major battles between these two countries, over a period of 1,000 years. Each battle forms a chapter, explaining the causes of the conflict, the forces...

'Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie.' One of the most remarkable actions in ancient or modern military history took place at Thermopylae in 480BC. Rupert Matthews has personally examined the battlefield in order to try to explain how 300 Spartans could hold at bay the hordes of the Persian Emperor Xerxes. This was no vain sacrifice; the delay gave breathing space for the Greek states to organise their defence,...

The sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912 is one of the most dramatic stories in maritime history. The largest passenger steamship in the world, fitted with more advanced safety features than any of her rivals, she was proclaimed to be virtually unsinkable. Just how and why the Titanic foundered on such a beautiful April evening is the subject of this fascinating book. Author Rupert Matthews has written a highly readable account of...