There are funny things in it and we’ve got to laugh from time to time, but if you are trying to convince them that that’s how life is going to be, then you’re just going to create disappointed children.”

But this stranger was neat, and there was nothing neat about my grandpa. My grandpa was a scarecrow, with his hair always tousled—what there was of it—his hands and face grimy from delivering his coal, and that was after he had washed. This stranger had clean hands, and clean nails too, as well looked after as the rest of him. His cousin Julian was brought up by his own parents as Julian's were forced to commit suicide by a usurping Roman Emperor. Julian also grows up to be a soldier, but at this point the cousins' paths diverge. Maximus and Julian represent two sides of a Roman coin - on one side is Maximus: the Empire, staunch, disciplined, loyal and forever Roman. On the other side is Julian: the Empire in decline, resentful, living-on-the-fringe, and consumed by hatred. Michael's books have been translated into many languages including Chinese, Bulgarian and Hungarian, Hebrew and Japanese. He travels all over the UK and abroad talking to people of all ages at literary festivals, telling his stories and encouraging them to tell theirs. Ya sabéis cómo acaba la cosa, ¿no? Entonces nos queda disfrutar de la ambientación, de la forma de narrar y de los personajes. Morpurgo added: “Storymakers and storytellers like Barrie, and like all the previous winners of this award, have given us the hope and faith children need, we need, to keep flying, have sustained us through dark and troubled times, have banished doubt. To touch the lives of children, to witness their listening and reading silence, is reward enough in itself. This is simply the icing on the cake.”travers l’histoire incroyable et stupéfiante de Billy Byron, Michael Morpurgo illustre la très scientifique « théorie du chaos ». Il montre aux plus jeunes qu’il suffit parfois d'un rien, d'un chouïa, d'une relation causale infime pour que tel phénomène, inattendu, surgisse tandis qu'on ne l'attendait pas et inversement, pour que telle situation se profile alors qu'elle n'était aucunement escomptée. Banished to the Empire's farthest outpost, veteran warrior Paulinus Maximus defends The Wall of Britannia from the constant onslaught of belligerent barbarian tribes. Bravery, loyalty, experience, and success lead to Maximus' appointment as General of the West by the Roman emperor, the ambition of a lifetime. But with the title comes a caveat: Maximus needs to muster and command a single legion to defend the perilous Rhine frontier. In iarna anului 1940, un tren ce se indrepta catre Londra a fost atacat de raidul aerian al trupelor germane, mecanicul locomotivei fiind obligat sa adaposteasca trenul intr-un tunel, pentru a salva viata calatorilor. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.

This is the story of the Roman leader Paulinus Maximus, who first serves on the frontier in Britain along Hadrian's wall, where he suppresses a bloody revolt by the Picts led by a former childhood friend. While contending with the Picts he hears word of the loss of two legions along the Danube, with the chilling realization that the Empire and even civilization itself may not last forever. Maximus ultimately receives no support from any other Roman legion, reflecting the fractured, disaggregated and self-interested nature of the Empire's far-flung nations. The ending is inevitable - though such is the emotive monologue by Maximus that one can't help but feel hope and optimism at each turn in the ultimate series of battles. Eagle in the Snow ( ISBN 1-59071-011-8) is a 1970 historical fiction novel, written by Wallace Breem, which revolves around the Roman general Paulinus Gaius Maximus, a Mithraist in an age of Christianization, in Britannia and Germania, between the late 4th century and the early 5th century. Wallace Breem is clearly a knowledgeable person with great writing ability. This story was absolutely gripping. I loved the feel throughout the whole thing, as the dread built and built before finally breaking. Breem is a great writer, and I wish more people knew about this book. It should absolutely be a classic in the genre. I had just come off reading Colleen McCullough’s wonderful First Man In Rome, thinking this was going to be an entertaining little book, but not imagining I would love it nearly just as much. The books are totally different, but about equally as good.During the waning days of the Roman Empire, commander Maximus and his friend Quintus have been commanding the defence of Hadrian's Wall against the Picts and other tribes, who unite under the guidance of Maximus's archenemy, when the news of an impending Germanic invasion across the Rhine breaks. Henry Tandey is a hero and I wish he will be remembered for all his heroism and all the good things he did and not as "the man who didn't shoot Hitler." Sure, if he would've killed him in the first world war, maybe there wouldn't have been a second war, maybe there wouldn't have been so many death, misery, suffering, pain, grief and horror.. (that is, if it the soldier he spared really was Hitler, which no one can know with certainty now) But in a subtle way, Morpurgo’s books are instructional. He says he “can’t do fantasy” like children’s writers including JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books. “I think there’s room for all of us. I deal with issues, history, and also there’s an element of adventure in my books. I have to have my books rooted in something that is true and real. Otherwise, I can’t seem to grow my stories.

With discipline, deception, persuasion, and surprise, Maximus holds the line against an increasingly desperate and innumerable foe. Friends, allies, and even enemies urge Maximus to proclaim himself emperor. He refuses, bound by an oath of duty, honor, and sacrifice to Rome, a city he has never seen. But then circumstance intervenes. Now, Maximus will accept the purple robe of emperor, if his scrappy legion can deliver this last crucial victory against insurmountable odds. The very fate of Rome hangs in the balance. Desi a fost o lectura usoara, scriitura m-a emotionat indeajuns incat sa ma faca sa empatizez cu Billy si cu remuscarile lui, dar m-a lasat si cu multe semne de intrebare, al caror raspuns sigur nu il voi afla niciodata. La ambientación soberbia. Lo grueso de la trama se desarrolla en diciembre, con nieve y frio para aburrir (el título del libro ya lo dice) y realmente nos mete el libro en faena. La angustia de la defensa en inferioridad de condiciones, el sufrimiento, el orgullo, el valor o la cobardía, las lealtades y las traiciones, las penalidades y los sentimientos de los personajes, de la legión XX en su conjunto …eso es lo que más vale, ahí se lleva las cinco estrellas y eso es lo que hace a este libro algo digno de ser leído. The powerful new novel from the master storyteller - inspired by the true story of one man who might have stopped World War II, it bears all the hallmarks of the next Morpurgo classic and is another stunning and resonant story of war and its impact on ordinary people.And it could've also been that one of the other soldiers he saved was one who smuggled Jewish ppl out of Germany during the war and or was in a resistant group and fought against Hitler.. and that would've also been thanks to him.. oh man.. we will never really know how or what happened and how exactly it influenced the course of history.. but I feel sorry for him to only be remembered as the one who didn't shoot Hitler..