The King's Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria

 

The King's Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria



The King's Shadow: Obsession, Betrayal, and the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria



OTHER ARTICLES




For centuries the city of Alexandria Beneath the Mountains was a meeting point of East and West. Then it vanished. In 1833 it was discovered in Afghanistan by the unlikeliest person imaginable: Charles Masson, deserter, traveller, pilgrim, doctor, archaeologist, spy, and eventually one of the most respected scholars in Asia, and the greatest of nineteenth-century travellers. On the way into one of history's most extraordinary stories, he would take tea with kings, travel with holy men and become the master of a hundred disguises he would see things no westerner had glimpsed before and few have glimpsed since. He would spy for the East India Company and be suspected of spying for Russia at the same time, for this was the era of the Great Game, when imperial powers confronted each other in these staggeringly beautiful lands. Masson discovered tens of thousands of pieces of Afghan history, including the 2,000 year old Bimaran golden casket, which has upon it the earliest known face of the Buddha. He would be offered his own kingdom he would change the world, and the world would destroy him.This is a wild journey through nineteenth-century India and Afghanistan, with impeccably researched storytelling that shows us a world of espionage and dreamers, ne'er-do-wells and opportunists, extreme violence both personal and military, and boundless hope. At the edge of empire, amid the deserts and the mountains, it is the story of an obsession passed down the centuries.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miracle At Kitty Hawk: The Letters Of Wilbur and Orville Wright

Image
  Miracle At Kitty Hawk: The Letters Of Wilbur and Orville Wright Miracle At Kitty Hawk: The Letters Of Wilbur and Orville Wright OTHER ARTICLES On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright made the first controlled, sustained flights in a power-driven airplane. Relying on the facilities of a bicycle repair shop in Dayton, Ohio, they had constructed, alone, the world's first flying machines. Miracle at Kitty Hawk , an expert selection of 600 out of 10,000 existing letters, allows the reader to follow the excitement of discovery that kept the Wright brothers working on their incredible invention. With little formal education and the slight business background of selling and repairing bicycles, they overcame the problems that defeated the great scientific minds of the day, dealt with large corporations and governments on their own terms, and were recognized by their contemporaries as geniuses. Whether confronting adverse wea...
Read more

Conquistador’s Wake: Tracking the Legacy of Hernando de Soto in the Indigenous Southeast

Image
  Conquistador’s Wake: Tracking the Legacy of Hernando de Soto in the Indigenous Southeast Conquistador’s Wake: Tracking the Legacy of Hernando de Soto in the Indigenous Southeast OTHER ARTICLES The focus of Conquistador's Wake is a decade-long archaeological project undertaken at a place now known as the Glass Site, located in Telfair County, Georgia. This spot, near the town of McRae, Georgia, offers clues that place Hernando de Soto in Georgia via a different route than previously thought by historians and archaeologists.Rare glass beads--some of the only examples found outside Florida--are among the rich body of evidence signaling Spanish interaction with the Native Americans along the Ocmulgee River. An unusual number and variety of metal and glass artifacts, identified by their distinct patterns and limited production, are the calling cards of Soto and other early explorers.As a meditation on both the production of knowledge and the implications of findings at the Glass Site,...
Read more

Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects

Image
  Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects OTHER ARTICLES A celebration of the 50th anniversary of NASA's Apollo missions to the moon, this narrative uses 50 key artifacts from the Smithsonian archives to tell the story of the groundbreaking space exploration program.Bold photographs, fascinating graphics, and engaging stories commemorate the 20th century's most important space endeavor: NASA's Apollo program to reach the moon. From the lunar rover and a survival kit to space food and moon rocks, it's a carefully curated array of objects--complete with intriguing back stories and profiles of key participants.This book showcases the historic space exploration program that landed humans on the moon, advanced the world's capabilities for space travel, and revolutionized our sense of humanity's place in the universe. Each historic accomplishment is symbolized by a different object, from a Russian stamp honoring Yuri Gag...
Read more