julianworker

[julianworker]

The Book - Travels through History: The Peloponnese on sale.

The travelogue ‘Travels through History’ for The Peloponnese in Greece is available here at a discount. The Peloponnese offers a breathtaking mix of landscapes, from rugged mountains and lush valleys to idyllic coastlines and charming offshore islands. Visitors can explore mountain villages, seaside resorts, and hidden historical treasures off the beaten path.

[julianworker]

The Book - Travels through History: Armenia and Georgia - on sale.

The travelogue in the ‘Travels through History’ series for Armenia and Georgia is available here at a discount. Nestled between Turkey to the west and Russia to the east, Armenia and Georgia are two captivating countries in the Caucasus region, each offering a unique blend of history, culture, and stunning landscapes. Armenia , the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301…

[julianworker]

The Book - Travels through History: The Peloponnese on sale.

The travelogue ‘Travels through History’ for The Peloponnese in Greece is available here at a discount. The Peloponnese, a captivating peninsula in southern Greece, is connected to mainland Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow land bridge that separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. Rich in history and mythology, this region is home to iconic sites such as: Mycenae, the seat…

[julianworker]

Book Review - A Short History of Coffee by Gordon Kerr

If you like coffee this is the book for you. The coffee plant almost certainly originated in the Ethiopian highlands where it was used by the locals to give them energy. It was pounded into a pulp and spread on bread. It wasn’t really drunk until the end of the 10th Century, becoming popular in Arabia and the Ottoman Empire. Turkish ambassadors spread the coffee habit to France. When the…

[julianworker]

Book Review - The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Another superb book by Tove Jansson about Sophia, her father, and her grandmother who spend a summer at their small house on an island in the Gulf of Finland. Sophia is growing up quickly and can be charming and bad-tempered in the same minute. She has a good and solid relationship with her granny who is tolerant of the youngster’s personality development. They potter around the island,…

[julianworker]

Travel Canada: Your Guide to 9 Majestic Cities

I want to make you aware that the book 9 Canadian Cities is available for free until 18th January 2025. Canada is the world’s second-largest country and is justly famous for its great outdoors. This does not mean visitors should ignore the cities. Vancouver and Toronto are the best-known cities and are covered in great detail elsewhere. I’ve concentrated on nine cities in western and central…

[julianworker]

Book Review - The Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa

The difference a cat / pet can make to a human and their happiness has never been better expressed than in this book. Nana is the cat and Satoru the human. Satoru feels he won’t be able to look after Nana for much longer, though the reason is only hinted at. Satoru takes Nana to various potential new owners but he can never leave Nana with them and they head off to the next destination, hence the…

[julianworker]

Book Review - The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth - John Milton

I read this book…or probably pamphlet would be a better description…and wondered what difference this tract might have made if it had been published in 1650 rather than in 1660 after the restoration of the monarchy. It would have been another idea to throw into the maelstrom of competing factions milling around after the execution of King Charles I. As it is, it was a brave decision to publish…

[julianworker]

Book Review - The Disappearance of Josef Mengele by Olivier Guez

Most of this book is documented besides imagined dialogue and internal monologues. Josef Mengele was the angel of death for tens of thousands of people arriving at Auschwitz on trains for the eighteen months prior to the liberation of the camp. He decided who lived and who died. The first shocking revelation of the book is how depraved Mengele’s experiments were. Secondly, the German company…

[julianworker]

Book Review - An Analysis of Baruch Spinoza's Ethics

I read Spinoza’s Ethics many years ago and I didn’t think I understood the book at all. Reading this analysis confirms that I definitely didn’t understand the book at all. Benedictus de Spinoza’s aims in writing Ethics were to discredit teleological thinking regarding what the purpose that the existence of a ‘thing’ serves. He also wanted to show that God is not separate from the world. Above…

[julianworker]

The 2024 Shkreli Awards

Here are the 8th annual Shkreli Awards, the Lown Institute’s top ten list of the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in healthcare, named for the infamous “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, who rose to international notoriety after increasing the price of lifesaving anti-parasitic drug Daraprim 50-fold.

[julianworker]

Julian Worker - Newsletter Number 4 - Vincent the Crow

Welcome to the fourth newsletter for this Fact and Fiction blog.  Tree-Hugging Cats is published and the first draft of the second Dragon Lawyer book entitled Who Dumped Humpty is completed. Now it’s time to edit. 1) Tree-Hugging Cats is published and is available here. This is the third book in the series. Readers enjoyed the first two books in the series, Diary of a Buddhist Cat and Our Cats…

[julianworker]

Julian Worker - Travel Newsletter 4 - Portugal and Scotland

Welcome to the fourth newsletter of this travel blog.  My writing this month has been about Portugal and Scotland.  I’ve published a book about Portugal in the Travels through History series (similar to the ones for Northern Spain, The Balkans, Southern France, 9 Greek Islands, North-East England, Poland and The Baltics). These books are travelogues and not travel guides.  This is a chapter…

[julianworker]

Book Review - The Way of the Samurai - Inazo Nitobe

This book was written in 1900 in English and intended for a western audience. At that time, Japan was transforming from a feudalistic society largely unknown outside its own borders to a modern nation. Bushido means “the way of the samurai”. The principles of Bushido began to evolve by the 8th Century AD. These ideals evolved over the centuries and reached their zenith during the Edo / Tokugawa…

[julianworker]

New Book : Travels through History : Portugal

I’ve published a new book about Portugal in the Travels Through History series. This book is available here. Discover the Beauty and Diversity of Portugal From the vibrant city of Porto in the north to the serene charm of Tavira in the Algarve, this comprehensive guide takes you on an unforgettable journey through Portugal, including the enchanting islands of Madeira and Porto Santo. In…

[julianworker]

Julian Worker - Newsletter 4 - Islay

Welcome to the fourth monthly newsletter for my UK blog. I’ve started another book in the Travels through History series called Seven Scottish Islands.  I’ve already been to Lewis and Harris, Islay, and Jura. The next four islands I’ll visit in April / May 2025 are Barra, Mull, Iona, and Arran.  This is my first draft for Islay.  If you’re a lover of malt whisky or birdwatching then you will…

[julianworker]

New Book - Travels through History: Armenia and Georgia

The latest travelogue in the ‘Travels through History’ series for Armenia and Georgia is available here. Nestled between Turkey to the west and Russia to the east, Armenia and Georgia are two captivating countries in the Caucasus region, each offering a unique blend of history, culture, and stunning landscapes. Armenia , the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD, is…