Showing results by author "Melvyn Bragg" in All Categories

This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

When we think of great events in the history of the world, we tend to think of war, revolution, political upheaval, or natural catastrophe. But throughout history there have been moments of vital importance that have taken place not on the battlefield, or in the palaces of power, or even in the violence of nature, but between the pages of a book.

Beginning with three introductory episodes, this specially curated collection explores 25 of the most important individuals, ideas and discoveries that have transformed our understanding of mathematics over the past 5,000 years. We learn how Indian mathematics provided the foundations for much of our modern thinking, discover why Euclid's Elements is the most influential textbook ever written and hear of the epic feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz over who invented calculus.

This specially curated collection sees Melvyn Bragg and his panel of experts considering some of the central tenets of the Christian faith. Its wide-ranging scope incorporates key concepts including Heaven, Hell and Purgatory, angels and devils, prayers and miracles, the Fall of Man, the Apocalypse, the Trinity and the Nicene Creed. Also discussed are the most significant historical developments that shaped and influenced Christianity today, among them Gnosticism, Deism, Calvinism and Fundamentalism, the ontological argument, The Book of Common Prayer, papal infallibility and the Rapture.

In this captivating memoir, Melvyn Bragg recalls growing up in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from his early childhood during the war to the moment he had to decide between staying on or spreading his wings. This is the tale of a boy who lived in a pub and expected to leave school at 15 yet won a scholarship to Oxford. Derailed by a severe breakdown when he was 13, he developed a passion for reading and study - though that didn't stop him playing in a skiffle band or falling in love.

In this collection, Melvyn Bragg surveys how English has evolved over 1,000 years. He starts by looking at the disappearance of old dialects like that of Cumbria, and how English has been enriched by foreign languages, from Latin and Old French to dozens more as conquest, trade and immigration played their part in recent centuries. He also examines new coinages, puns and wordplay; how accents and social class are entwined; swear words; attempts to stop the evolution of language in its tracks and, lastly, the many varieties of English that are spoken around the world today.

The King James Bible has often been called ‘the Book of Books’ both in itself and in what it stands for. Since its publication in 1611 it has been the best-selling book in the world, and many believe it has had the greatest impact.The King James Bible has spread the Protestant faith. It has also been the greatest influence on the enrichment of the English language and its literature.

In Our Time is one of BBC Radio's most successful and best-loved programmes, with a weekly listenership of over two million. Since 1998, it has 'transformed the landscape for serious ideas at peak listening time' (The Times), introducing its audience to an astonishing array of intriguing topics, from the epic of Gilgamesh to the gin craze. This special thematic collection focusses on some of the most important rulers, philosophers and writers of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt.

In this special themed collection, Melvyn Bragg is joined by guest experts including Simon Schaffer, John Gribbin, Jim Al-Khalili and Sir Martin Rees to discuss 25 of the key laws, principles and problems of physics. Here are examinations of major concepts including plasma, radiation, matter and antimatter and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, as well as discourses on historical theories such as Zeno's paradoxes, the speed of light and relativity.

One of BBC Radio's flagship programmes, In Our Time is both highly acclaimed and immensely popular. First broadcast in 1998, it has built an audience of over 2 million listeners, who tune in each week to be enlightened and entertained by Melvyn Bragg and his expert panel as they tackle subjects ranging from macromolecules to the Muses. This special themed collection comprises the highlights of military history: 25 episodes exploring the most important conflicts of the past 3000 years, plus additional programmes discussing the history and future of war and key military themes.

In 1998, a brand-new culture show was launched on Radio 4, featuring Melvyn Bragg and a panel of leading academics discussing the ideas, individuals and events that have shaped our world. In Our Time rapidly became one of radio's most well-loved programmes, regularly attracting over 2 million listeners eager to learn more about the topic of the week—which could be asteroids, Zoroastrianism or anything in between. This specially curated collection charts the evolution of the novel as a literary form throughout the past four centuries.

Set in Cumbria and covering the period from 1898 to the early '20s, this is the powerful saga of John Tallentire, first farm labourer then coal miner, and his wife, Emily. John's struggle to break free from the humiliating status of a 'hired man' is the theme of a novel which has been hailed as a classic of its kind - as meticulously detailed as a social document, as evocative as the writings of Hardy and Lawrence.

Broadcaster and arts presenter Melvyn Bragg fronts The Written World, a five-part BBC Radio 4 series following the origins of writing from its first appearance 6,000 years ago and exploring how it has shaped the world's intellectual history. In the first programme, he looks at the technology of writing, and how making signs on clay, wood, or parchment enabled the development of human culture.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 25 scientific pioneers who have shaped the development of science over 500 years.

Douglas Tallentire has at last achieved what his father and grandfather before him fought for so bitterly. Educated and independent, he can carve out his own career and spread his wings. But success, freedom and happiness are more elusive than ever in the fiercely competitive '70s. From Cumbria to the frenetic whirl of sophisticated life in New York and London, Douglas, like all the Tallentires, must come to terms with private uncertainty and pain.

Joseph Tallantire has hope and ambition - like his father before him, he is determined to make something of himself and improve his lot. But life is not easy for an uneducated young man in Cumberland before and during World War II, and Joseph's struggle against the odds is the subject of this moving and evocative novel.

Melvyn Bragg follows his long historical exploration of the Routes of English with ‘Voices of the Powerless’, the BBC Radio 4 series in which he explores the lives of the ordinary working men and women of Britain at critical moments across the last 1,000 years. The Norman Conquest is his starting point, a time when William the Conqueror’s ‘harrying of the North’ affected the poor apprentice, the lowly ploughman and the humble shepherd.

In this special thematic anthology, we traverse the solar system, the galaxies and the multiverse, voyaging across space to explore 25 celestial objects and phenomena. Included are programmes on the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars and the planets - among them our near neighbours, Venus and Mars. Also featured are discussions on comets, asteroids and black holes, as well as eclipses, exoplanets and the mysterious, invisible substance known as 'dark matter'.

A major 60-part BBC radio series exploring the questions that have preoccupied philosophers through the ages, presented by Melvyn Bragg. With his landmark series In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg introduced an audience of over two million to big ideas across the realms of science, religion, culture, history and philosophy. Now, in A History of Ideas, he looks at the fundamental concepts that underpin our world, and the great thinkers who explored them - from Plato, Aristotle and Seneca to Freud, Rousseau, David Hume and John Stuart Mill.

In this captivating 10-part series, Melvyn Bragg brings all his enthusiasm, experience and expertise to a subject that has enthralled him his entire life: the importance of the North in shaping the United Kingdom. Joined by special guests, he charts the ebb and flow of Northern power and influence, examining how one smallish geographical region came to have such an enormous effect on our culture worldwide: from science and philosophy to music and sport.