The Last King of the New World
In 1810 during the Napoleonic occupation of Spain an independence movement broke out in Mexico. At the time, there were enough Spaniards there loyal to the crown to crush the rebellion. Rather than acquiesce, the rebels kept the revolutionary fire alive – an effort supported by U.S. leaders like Henry Clay who represented the American consensus that European monarchy had no place in the New World.
How Did a Sneaky Villain Become a Noble Hero?
Every spy fiction lover knows about James Bond, George Smiley, Harry Palmer and other favorite heroes of the worldwide popular genre. Writers like Ian Fleming, John Le Carre and Len Deighton made these characters the favorites of readers. But, a long time ago, much before the Cold War, the spies were usually seen as sneaky villains. However, things change in the 19th and especially the early 20th century when the spy was not seen as being creepy and evil anymore, but as noble man who saves the world or believes in a certain cause. The following books prove that theory very easily.
From Compromise to Envy: The Rise and Fall of the First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate, an informal alliance agreed in 60 BC, was an agreement between the three powerful men of the late Roman Republic, Gauius Julius Caesar, Gnaeius Pompeius Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. The three men didn’t have equal political beliefs and values. All of them entered the alliance for their own personal interests.