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John Freely

    January 1, 1926 – April 20, 2017

    John Freely was an author who explored the rich tapestry of history and culture. His extensive writings delve into the fascinating past of places he lived and visited, offering readers a unique perspective on their historical evolution and cultural significance. Freely's work is characterized by its deep research and engaging narrative style, making complex historical subjects accessible and enjoyable for a wide audience. He brought distant times and places to life through his passionate exploration of their heritage.

    John Freely
    A Travel Guide to Homer
    The Grand Turk
    Light from the East
    The Lost Messiah
    Blue Guide Istanbul
    From Refugees to Royalty
    • 2024

      The hilarious must-have Murdle parody loo book for the puzzle lover in your lifeNo st SherlockLavatory, my dear WatsonCan you solve the ultimate 'poo- dunnit' whilst you do your business?

      Turdle
    • 2021

      From Refugees to Royalty

      • 256 pages
      • 9 hours of reading

      Nymans is one of the National Trust’s most popular properties, a vision of English tradition amid a landscape of rolling woodland. Yet appearances can be deceptive. The manor house is just a hundred years old, and the Messel family who built it were not English aristocracy but German Jewish immigrants. The vision was their triumphant creation. From Refugees to Royalty is the first book to chart the extraordinary journey of the Messel family from their roots in Germany to their new life in England. At the heart of the story lies an astonishing irony. The earliest Messels were turned into refugees by an edict of the British royal family, when George III issued a decree expelling the Jews. Two hundred years later, the wheel came full circle when the youngest Messel, Tony Armstrong-Jones, walked down the aisle with Princess Margaret, four times great-granddaughter of George III. John Hilary is a great-great-grandson of Ludwig Messel, who founded the garden at Nymans. In this beautifully illustrated book, full of colour, heartache and celebrity, he documents the rich cultural legacy of the Messels as world-famous designers, collectors, scientists and architects.

      From Refugees to Royalty
    • 2018

      The House of Memory

      Reflections on Youth and War

      • 276 pages
      • 10 hours of reading

      Reflecting on a life filled with adventure and resilience, John Freely shares his experiences from a childhood split between the U.S. and Ireland to his tumultuous upbringing in Brooklyn. After joining the Navy at seventeen, he found himself in remote Asia, serving alongside Chiang Kai-shek's forces during World War II. This memoir captures the essence of immigrant struggles and the pursuit of new experiences, offering a vivid tribute to a life richly lived and the enduring spirit of immigrant families.

      The House of Memory
    • 2018

      Colourful, cosmopolitan, hard-drinking, often outrageous characters throng this rollicking memoir by the late John Freely, who moved with his family to Istanbul in 1960 and changed travel writing for good with his 1972 guide, Strolling Through Istanbul. Dozens of books on travel, history and science would follow,

      Stamboul Ghosts
    • 2018

      Flame of Miletus

      • 256 pages
      • 9 hours of reading

      Miletus: one of the wealthiest and most important towns in ancient Greece. It was here, on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, in the 6th century BC, that the great traditions of Greek science and philosophy sparked into life, setting in motion a chain of knowledge that would change the world, forever. This is the extraordinary story of Greek science from its earliest beginnings through its development in classical Athens and Hellenistic Alexandria and its subsequent diffusion to the wider world. Most histories of Greek science end with the collapse of the Graeco-Roman world in late antiquity and the closing of all classical schools of 'pagan' philosophy in A.D. 529. But acclaimed historian John Freely here continues the story to tell of how the elements of Greek scientific and philosophical learning were adopted by the Islamic world and the transmission of Graeco-Islamic science to western Europe, as well as the preservation of Hellenic culture in Byzantium and its profound influence on the European renaissance and our modern world.'This is a magnificent book, covering an extraordinary range of topics and a vast sweep of time. John Freely has lived, written, and taught in Greece, Turkey, and Italy for a lifetime, and this experience has given him the rare ability to tell complex stories in a lucid and engaging manner. This is a book everyone should have.' John Camp, Professor of Archaeology, ASCS, Athens Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Classics, Randolph-Macon College

      Flame of Miletus
    • 2016

      Stone Seeds

      • 288 pages
      • 11 hours of reading

      STONE SEEDS is a beautifully crafted dystopian action thriller. Its all too real characters must use every last ounce of their courage, ingenuity and flawed humanity to keep hope alive in a world gripped by fear.

      Stone Seeds
    • 2016

      The Art of Exile

      • 256 pages
      • 9 hours of reading
      3.8(15)Add rating

      A memoir from the physicist, college professor, and travel writer that "takes the reader from the streets of New York to the corridors of provincial campus life; from World War II in the Pacific to the shores of the Bosphorus and from Ancient Troy to the isles of Dionysus and Ariadne. It is the story of a remarkable odyssey that has spanned nine decades, several continents, and one great love"--Amazon.com.

      The Art of Exile
    • 2015

      Sinan

      • 144 pages
      • 6 hours of reading

      Sinan was the greatest architect of the Ottoman Golden Age of the sixteenth century when the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith of power and magnificence. His style marks the apogee of Turkish art. This book deals with his life and work.

      Sinan
    • 2015

      Long before the European Renaissance, while the western world was languishing in what was once called the 'Dark Ages', the Arab world was ablaze with the creativity of its Golden Age. This is the story of how Islamic science, which began in eighth-century Baghdad, enhanced the knowledge acquired from Greece, Mesopotamia, India and China. Through the astrologers, physicians, philosophers, mathematicians and alchemists of the Muslim world, this knowledge influenced western thinkers from Thomas Aquinas and Copernicus and helped inspire the Renaissance and give birth to modern science.

      Light from the East
    • 2014

      With unparalleled knowledge and passion, John Freely guides the traveller through all of those places linked to Homer that can be identified and brings Homer and his world vividly to life, revealing how the Homeric epics continue to echo through the ages in literatuture, art, legend and folklore.

      A Travel Guide to Homer