Powerful, rich with details, moving, humane, and full of important lessons for an age when weapons of mass destruction are loose among us. -- Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb

The Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history--even more so now, when the notion of plague has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern.

The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general readers. Many books on the plague rely on statistics to tell the story: how many people died; how farm output and trade declined. But statistics can't convey what it was like to sit in Siena or Avignon and hear that a thousand people a day are dying two towns away. Or to have to chose between your own life and your duty to a mortally ill child or spouse. Or to live in a society where the bonds of blood and sentiment and law have lost all meaning, where anyone can murder or rape or plunder anyone else without fear of consequence.

In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people--one third of the known population--before it vanished.

A magisterial account of one of the worst disasters to strike humankind--the Great Irish Potato Famine--conveyed as lyrical narrative history from the acclaimed author of The Great Mortality

In this masterful, comprehensive account of the Irish Potato Famine, delivered with novelistic flair, Kelly gives us not only the startling facts of this disaster--one of the worst to strike mankind, killing twice as many lives as the American Civil War--but examines the intersection of political greed, bacterial infection, religious intolerance, and racism that made it possible. Kelly brings new material to his analysis of relevant political factors during the years leading up to the famine, and the extent to which Britain's nation-building policies exacerbated the mounting crisis. Despite the shocking, infuriating implications of his findings, The Graves Are Walking is ultimately a story of triumph--of one people's ability to remake themselves in a new land in the face of the unthinkable.

What happens when you're the threat?

Sergeant John Kelly discovered during his thirty-year career in law enforcement that the biggest threat to his own survival wasn't the multiple attempts on his life, but came from within. When facing external dangers, risks are mitigated, intelligence is gathered, and a plan is devised to address the threat. But when everyone turns to you for answers, and there's nothing left but pain and despair, sometimes heroes need help! This realization led John to develop a program that empowers individuals to address their personal, professional, financial, physical, and mental health.

Through a series of life experiences, John addresses the real issues and threats facing those in the law-enforcement profession. An alcoholic, addict, and adulterer, John tears open his life to expose the man for all his faults and shortcomings. Through the story of his life's journey, difficult topics are examined and discussed, such as relationships, addiction, PTSD, and suicide.

Although written based on John's time in the law enforcement profession, the lessons and life struggles are universal in nature. You can't be there for others if you're not there for yourself; you have to make yourself a priority. There's no world that exists that is better off without you in it! You can survive self-inflicted wounds; let John Kelly show you how.

Almost 80 years after Leon Trotsky founded the Fourth International, there are now Trotskyist organizations in 57 countries, including most of Western Europe and Latin America. Yet no Trotskyist group has ever led a revolution or built an enduring mass, political party. Contemporary Trotskyism looks in detail at the influence, resilience and weaknesses of the British Trotskyist movement, from the 1970s to the present day.

The book argues that to understand and explain the development, resilience and influence of Trotskyist groups, we need to analyse them as bodies that comprise elements of three types of organization: the political party, the sect and the social movement. It is the properties of these three facets of organization and the interplay between them that gives rise to the most characteristic features of the Trotskyist movement: frenetic activity, rampant divisions, inter-organizational hostility, authoritarian and charismatic leadership, high membership turnover and ideological rigidity.

Trotskyist groups have been involved in a wide range of important social movements including trade unions, student unions, anti-war, anti-racist and anti-fascist groups. While their energy and activity in civil society have had some success, their influence has never been reflected in votes or seats at elections even after the financial crisis.

Drawing on extensive archival research, as well as interviews with many of the leading protagonists and activists within the Trotskyist milieu, this is essential reading for students, activists and researchers with an interest in the far left, social movements and contemporary British political history.

London in April, 1940, is a place of great fear and conflict. The Germans have taken Poland, France, Holland, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. The Nazi war machine now menaces Britain, even as America remains uncommitted to providing military aid. Should Britain negotiate with Germany? The members of the War Cabinet bicker, yell, and are divided. Churchill, leading the faction to fight, and Lord Halifax, cautioning that prudence is the way to survive, attempt to usurp one another by any means possible. In Never Surrender, we feel we are alongside these complex and imperfect men, determining the fate of the British Empire, and perhaps, the world.

Drawing on the War Cabinet papers, other government documents, private diaries, newspaper accounts, and memoirs, historian John Kelly tells the story of the summer of 1940. Kelly takes readers from the battlefield to Parliament, to the government ministries, to the British high command, to the desperate Anglo-French conference in Paris and London, to the American embassy in London, and to life with the ordinary Britons. We see Churchill seize the historical moment and ultimately inspire his government, military, and people to fight. Kelly brings to life one of the most heroic moments of the twentieth century and intimately portrays some of its largest players--Churchill, Lord Halifax, Hitler, FDR, Joe Kennedy, and others. Never Surrender is a fabulous, grand narrative of a crucial period in World War II and the men and women who shaped it. For lovers of minute-by-minute history, it's a feast (Huffington Post).

The Twilight of World Trotskyism analyzes the reasons behind the historic failure of the Trotskyist movement around the world.

The book begins this assessment by briefly recapitulating the origins of Trotskyism, as a political current within the communist movement, and elaborating its major elements, before describing the historical development of Trotskyism in the four countries where it has sunk the deepest roots and which house the clear majority of the world's Fourth Internationals: Argentina, Britain, France and the USA. It then proceeds to map the current state of the global Trotskyist movement. Whatever their current size and status, Trotskyist organizations aspire to become mass political parties and lead revolutionary seizures of power. It is therefore appropriate to examine them through the metrics applied to mainstream parties, namely organization, membership and political influence.

The author looks at the dynamics of the Trotskyist movement, focusing in particular on the supposedly harmful effects of the communist movement before then turning to examine the role of Trotskyist organizations in the many revolutionary situations that have appeared since the 1920s and in the various 'cycles of protest' that have occurred in the latter half of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century. The final section examines the two success stories frequently cited in Trotskyist literature, namely the cases of Bolivia and Sri Lanka. The book concludes by setting out and examining a wide variety of explanations for the chronic and sustained weaknesses of the Trotskyist movement, including its flawed appraisals of contemporary politics and economics, ultra-radical programmes and policies, failures in understanding the dynamics of protest and the baleful legacy of Soviet communism. It is argued that these weaknesses are rooted in Trotskyist doctrine and are therefore integral, not peripheral, features of world Trotskyism.

This volume will be essential reading for activists and scholars interested in the transnational history and politics of the radical left.

The 'space' of John Kelly's second collection of poems is, to begin with, the marvellous unknown that fascinates his younger self. But it's also very much an earthly realm - the place where daily life occurs, the small territories each of us claims and clears, and from which we attempt to make sense of the world.

As with space, time too proves elastic, and full of openings onto unexpected discoveries. 'It's not that I don't know where I am, exactly, ' one poem begins, only to travel back some fifty years, prompted by no more than the barking of a dog.

While the past insists on casting its shadow, and certain spaces reveal themselves as traps, the poet's memory is nevetheless drawn to the light, to the stars, to the comforting presence of the dead, and to the many birds that move throughout these pages.

Intense, humorous, and with the poet's eye for the telling detail, these poems take us from the wonders of the everyday to the deep and mysterious spaces beyond - and beyond again.

The 'space' of John Kelly's second collection of poems is, to begin with, the marvellous unknown that fascinates his younger self. But it's also very much an earthly realm - the place where daily life occurs, the small territories each of us claims and clears, and from which we attempt to make sense of the world.

As with space, time too proves elastic, and full of openings onto unexpected discoveries. 'It's not that I don't know where I am, exactly, ' one poem begins, only to travel back some fifty years, prompted by no more than the barking of a dog.

While the past insists on casting its shadow, and certain spaces reveal themselves as traps, the poet's memory is nevetheless drawn to the light, to the stars, to the comforting presence of the dead, and to the many birds that move throughout these pages.

Intense, humorous, and with the poet's eye for the telling detail, these poems take us from the wonders of the everyday to the deep and mysterious spaces beyond - and beyond again.

Praise for Notions

... poems of great tenderness

and linguistic skill ...

-Caitríona O'Reilly, The Irish Times

Discovering Lazarus is one man's attempt at finding redemption from his evil way of life. I started my descent into a dark abyss while in my teen years, and it continued until I was thirty-two years old and homeless. I lost everything--my home, my wife, my cars, trucks, and my businesses.

Self-destruction and exhaustion coupled with financial ruin, despair, and depression led me to a point where I found myself on my knees. I found myself in St. Francis Church in Metuchen, New Jersey, asking for forgiveness from God and praying for a second chance at redemption and a new life. I prayed, God, I am sorry for abandoning you and living an evil life. Please forgive me and take control of my life and direct it for me. If you won't do this for me, O Lord, please take my life from me and let me die.

God was listening and heard my pleas for atonement, redemption, and a second chance. He helped me rise up from the ashes of spiritual death, so I could begin to help others in many different ways. I became a nationally-known addiction counselor who, in partnership with my wife, Marilyn, opened several extremely successful outpatient counseling centers in New Jersey. Over a twenty-five-year period, our counseling centers helped thousands of families experience recovery from destructive addictive illness.

However, it was only the beginning of God's planed journey for me. I also became an international criminal profiler who hunted some of the most evil serial killers in the world.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This grammar book provides a practical guide to the ancient Gaelic language of the Isle of Man, commonly known as Manx. It is an invaluable resource for students of Gaelic and anyone interested in the linguistic history of the British Isles.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Forgotten Olmec: Mexico's Pre-Aztec Civilization Uncovered is an eye-opening exploration into a riveting but often overlooked chapter of Mesoamerican history. Authored by the virtuoso storyteller and seasoned explorer, John Kelly, this special report paints a vibrant portrait of the enigmatic Olmec civilization, bringing alive the echoes from the forgotten corners of Mexico's past.

From the origin of the Olmecs to the captivating tales of their societal structure, art, symbols, and end, each chapter in this report spins a thrilling yarn. Readers will experience first-hand the excitement of decoding architectural masterpieces and peeking at the sacred rituals seeped in age-old traditions. Kelly's narrative weaves through the heart of the Olmec world, their influences, and lasting legacy. Take a journey into the underworld through the burial practices, then resurface to the influence the Olmec culture subtly exerts on modern Mexico.

Unveil the mystique of a civilization that existed millennia ago, understand their rituals, relive their past and share their wisdom. The Olmec civilization might have been forgotten - but through this engrossing special report, they live again.

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Self-Published
• Language: English