{"title":"Books by Philip Freeman","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781801511162","title":"Two Lives of Saint Brigid","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306811928949,"sku":"9781801511162","price":17.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781801511162_fd1ffb29-4e5c-4d21-b48d-c3ac534af379.jpg?v=1786027224"},{"product_id":"9781789046328","title":"Ugly Beauty: Jazz in the 21st Century","description":"What does jazz “mean” 20 years into the 21st century? Has streaming culture rendered music literally meaningless, thanks to the removal of all context beyond the playlist? Are there any traditions left to explore? Has the destruction of the apprenticeship model (young musicians learning from their elders) changed the music irrevocably? Are any sounds off limits? How far out can you go and still call it “jazz”? Or should the term be retired? These questions, and many more, are answered in Ugly Beauty, as Phil Freeman digs through his own experiences and conversations with present-day players. Jazz has never seemed as vital as it does right now, and has a genuine role to play in 21st-century culture, particularly in the US and the UK.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312909169013,"sku":"9781789046328","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789046328_e0b428de-632a-4b6c-b029-3a29913a2da0.jpg?v=1786027145"},{"product_id":"9780300281873","title":"Julian – Rome`s Last Pagan Emperor","description":"The tragic life of Julian, the last non-Christian emperor of Rome, by award-winning author Philip Freeman  “When we think of ancient Rome, it’s impossible not to think of Christianity, one of its most notable exports—but what if it hadn’t been? This is the question provoked by classicist Philip Freeman in Julian, an appealing new entry in Yale’s Ancient Lives series, which tells the story of the old faith’s last imperial torchbearer.”—Anna Heyward, New York Times Book Review   Flavius Claudius Julianus, or Julian the Apostate, ruled Rome as sole emperor for just a year and a half, from 361 to 363, but during that time he turned the world upside down. Although a nephew of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome, Julian fought to return Rome to the old gods who had led his ancestors to build their vast empire.      As emperor, Julian (331–363) set about reforming the administration, conquering new territories, and reviving ancient religions. He was scorned in his time for repudiating Christianity and demonized as an apostate for willfully rejecting Christ. Through the centuries, Julian has been viewed by many as a tragic figure who sought to save Rome from its enemies and the corrupting influence of Christianity. Christian writers and historians have seen Julian much differently: as a traitor to God and violent oppressor of Christians. Had Julian not been killed by a random Persian spear, he might well have changed all of history.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56419555279221,"sku":"9780300281873","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780300281873_eab76386-8d50-4156-b1a4-530fdf9ad591.jpg?v=1786012156"},{"product_id":"alexander-the-great-1","title":"Alexander the Great","description":"Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) was one of history's great generals, a man studied by Caesar and Napoleon, among hundreds of others. He was born to the king of Macedon and educated by Aristotle, whose inquiring mind Alexander appreciated. After his father, Philip II, was assassinated, the 19-year-old Alexander succeeded to the throne and swiftly consolidated power. Over the next 13 years until his death at age 32, Alexander created one of the great empires of history, covering an area as far south as Egypt and as far east as Afghanistan and India. Most of the world that he conquered had been the province of the Persian Empire. Upon his death his empire was broken up and ruled by his generals, the best known were the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt until Cleopatra was defeated by Caesar. Alexandria, Egypt and many other Alexandrias throughout that part of the world were named in his honour. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlexander's greatest influence was not his leadership (his empire was eventually conquered by Rome), but spreading Greek culture throughout the lands east of the Mediterranean. He is the reason that gold coins from Afghanistan depicted Greek gods and heroes until as recently as several centuries ago. It is because of Alexander that St. Paul, a Jew who lived in modern-day Syria before travelling to modern-day Israel, spoke Greek, and it is because of Alexander that the earliest Christian documents, including the scriptures, were written in Greek.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483403592053,"sku":"9781416592815","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781416592815.jpg?v=1786178553"},{"product_id":"aristotle-2","title":"Aristotle","description":"The first modern biography of Aristotle—student of Plato, tutor to Alexander, and architect of ideas still studied around the worldAristotle stands among the most brilliant and influential figures in history, the inventor of almost every subject studied in universities today, from biology to political science to literary criticism to logic. Yet until now his life has remained a mystery.   In this book, Philip Freeman brings Aristotle (384–322 BCE) vividly to life, from his orphan childhood to his years as Plato’s student in Athens and his role as tutor to Alexander the Great in Macedonia. Drawing on ancient sources and modern scholarship, Freeman traces Aristotle’s journey through a world of political upheaval and intellectual revolution, revealing Aristotle not only as a philosopher but as a scientist, literary critic, and seeker of happiness—a man who dissected sea creatures, mapped the stars, and invented logic to make sense of life’s complexities.   Aristotle’s ideas still shape how we think about truth, virtue, and the good life. This is the definitive portrait of one of history’s greatest minds—the thinker Dante called “the master of those who know.”","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499296072053,"sku":"9780300279948","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780300279948.jpg?v=1791212792"},{"product_id":"marco-polo","title":"Marco Polo","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eAlexander the Great\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eJulius Caesar\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eHannibal\u003c\/em\u003e comes a vivid new biography of Marco Polo and his journey along the Silk Road, as recorded during his remarkable Travels and other medieval sources. It tells the story of his life and times from boyhood in Venice, his travels across Asia to China as a teenager, his years and adventures at the court of the great Kublai Khan, and his long voyage home to Italy. Along the way he encountered people, cultures, and marvels no one in Europe had ever seen or even imagined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s been twenty years since the last biography of Marco Polo. Now, drawing on new source material and discoveries, including material only recently made available in translation from Chinese and Mongolian sources, this biography promises to be an engaging and illuminating narrative. In addition, Freeman himself followed the Silk Road by train, jeep, and camel in the footsteps of Marco Polo from Venice to Jerusalem, the Middle East, the mountains of Central Asia, and the deserts of China, completing the journey by sailing as Marco did from China back to Italy by way of Vietnam, Sumatra, and India, to discover first-hand Marco Polo's world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhilip Freeman’s facility with ancient and medieval languages, his extensive personal travels, and years of teaching experience (including as an endowed chair of the humanities), make him the perfect author to bring Marco Polo and his journeys to life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57573219369333,"sku":"9781837054879","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-philip-freeman.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}