iBookstore Top World History Ebooks

Chart of the most popular and best selling world history ebooks at the Apple iBookstore.

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History Ebook Best Sellers

Top World History Ebooks

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Papillon - Henri Charrière Cover Art

Papillon

Papillon by Henri Charrière

“A modern classic of courage and excitement.” — The New Yorker • The source for the iconic prison-escape film starring Steve McQueen Henri Charrière, nicknamed "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was wrongfully convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the brutal French Guiana penal colony, he became obsessed with one goal:  escape . After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped . . . until Papillon. His flight to freedom in this true story of survival remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken. Charrière's astonishing adventure memoir,  Papillon , was first published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic—the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeated. “A first-class adventure story.” —  New York Review of Books How does a man framed for murder survive the world’s most notorious penal colony and plot an escape from a place no one has ever escaped before? A Prison Escape Classic: Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière, marked by a butterfly tattoo and an unbreakable will, faces life imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit. Devil’s Island: After years of failed attempts, Papillon is sent to the inescapable island prison. His determination to be free leads to one of history's most daring feats of endurance. Based on a True Story: This gritty, shocking, and ultimately inspiring autobiography chronicles a relentless quest for freedom against the brutal horrors of the French Guiana penal system. Survival and Endurance: An uplifting odyssey of an innocent man’s refusal to be broken, a treasured tale of cunning and perseverance that inspired the iconic film starring Steve McQueen.

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A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Cover Art

A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 by Bill Bryson

THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER, UPDATED FOR 2025 • A wonder-filled quest to understand everything that has happened in the history of the Earth, from the Big Bang theory to the rise of civilization and beyond—revised to reflect the last two decades of scientific advancement “Brims with strange and amazing facts . . . destined to become a modern classic of science writing.”— The New York Times How did we get from being nothing at all to where we are today? How did the age of the dinosaurs eventually give way to the age of the iPhone? In this completely revised update to the international phenomenon A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson returns to answer these questions and many more. Bryson brings a groundbreaking account of life itself to a new generation of readers, as he takes subjects often passed off as boring and incomprehensible and renders them accessible, fascinating, and outright amusing to anyone who’s ever wondered about the world around them. Introducing readers to a diverse cast of the world’s most impressive archaeologists, paleontologists, physicists, astronomers, anthropologists, and mathematicians—from their offices and laboratories to dig sites and field camps—Bryson embarks on a journey to discover answers to the biggest questions about the universe and ourselves. A Short History of Nearly Everything is a profoundly enlightening, surprisingly humorous, and charmingly clever adventure into the realm of human knowledge, as only Bryson can render it. His revamped Short History is a thrilling journey through time and space, and his writing will make readers both new and old see the world in a whole new way.

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Astoria - Peter Stark Cover Art

Astoria

Astoria John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark

In the tradition of The Lost City of Z and Skeletons in the Zahara , Astoria is the thrilling, true-adventure tale of the 1810 Astor Expedition, an epic, now forgotten, three-year journey to forge an American fur-trading empire on the Pacific Coast. Peter Stark offers a harrowing saga of survival in which a band of explorers battled nature, starvation, and madness to establish the first American settlement in the Pacific Northwest and opened up what would become the Oregon trail, a pivotal moment in U.S. westward expansion that permanently altered the nation’s landscape and its global standing. Six years after Lewis and Clark’s journey to the Pacific Northwest began, two of the Eastern establishment’s leading figures, John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson, turned their sights to founding a colony akin to Jamestown on the West Coast and transforming the nation into a Pacific trading power. Author and correspondent for Outside magazine Peter Stark recreates this pivotal moment in 19th-century American history for the first time for modern readers, drawing on original source material to tell the amazing true story of the Astor Expedition. Unfolding over the course of three years, from 1810 to 1813, Astoria is a tale of high adventure and incredible hardship on the American frontier, both in the wilderness and at sea. Of the more than one hundred-forty members of the two advance parties that reached the West Coast—one crossing the Rockies, the other rounding Cape Horn—nearly half perished by violence. Others went mad. Within one year, the expedition successfully established Fort Astoria, a trading post on the Columbia River. Though the colony would be short-lived, it opened provincial American eyes to the potential of the Western coast and its founders helped blaze the Oregon Trail. Drawing on firsthand accounts, this epic survival story uncovers the brutal reality of a venture that changed America forever: Two Epic Journeys: One party’s harrowing overland trek across the Rockies, and another’s perilous sea voyage around Cape Horn—both converging on a single, dangerous prize. High-Stakes Global Trade: The grand ambition of John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson to build a commercial empire that would rival the British and transform the United States into a Pacific power. A Brutal Fight for Survival: A gripping account of the battles against starvation, madness, and violence that claimed nearly half the expedition’s members. A Forgotten Chapter of History: The forgotten saga of Fort Astoria, the first American settlement in the Pacific Northwest, and how its founders helped blaze what would become the Oregon Trail.

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The Day the World Came to Town - Jim Defede Cover Art

The Day the World Came to Town

The Day the World Came to Town 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede

The True Story Behind the Events on 9/11 that Inspired Broadway’s Smash Hit Musical Come from Away, Featuring All New Material from the Author When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news. Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness after the 9/11 attacks have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill. This unforgettable story of compassion and community details: The Real Come from Away Story: Discover the incredible true events behind the hit Broadway musical—a story of how a small town of 10,000 people welcomed nearly 7,000 stranded passengers into their lives. Overwhelming Kindness: How striking bus drivers abandoned their picket lines, townspeople cooked feasts around the clock, and neighbors stripped their own linen closets to provide comfort for thousands of strangers. Stranded Passengers: Follow the stories of the travelers—from mayors and corporate CEOs to a state trooper and a worried mother—who found unexpected safety and friendship in the middle of nowhere. Lasting Friendships: Learn how the bonds formed during those four days led to lifelong connections, international scholarship funds, and a powerful, enduring example of goodwill in the face of terror.

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Mankind - Pamela D. Toler Cover Art

Mankind

Mankind The Story of All Of Us by Pamela D. Toler

It takes more than 10 billion years to create just the right conditions on one planet for life to begin. It takes another three billion years of evolving life forms until it finally happens, a primate super species emerges: mankind. In conjunction with History Channel's hit television series by the same name, Mankind is a sweeping history of humans from the birth of the Earth and hunting antelope in Africa's Rift Valley to the present day with the completion of the Genome project and the birth of the seven billionth human. Like a Hollywood action movie, Mankind is a fast-moving, adventurous history of key events from each major historical epoch that directly affect us today such as the invention of iron, the beginning of Buddhism, the crucifixion of Jesus, the fall of Rome, the invention of the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, and the invention of the computer. With more than 300 color photographs and maps, Mankind is not only a visual overview of the broad story of civilization, but it also includes illustrated pop-out sidebars explaining distinctions between science and history, such as why there is 700 times more iron than bronze buried in the earth, why pepper is the only food we can taste with our skin, and how a wobble in the earth's axis helped bring down the Egyptian Empire. This is the most exciting and entertaining history of mankind ever produced.

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The Escape Artist - Jonathan Freedland Cover Art

The Escape Artist

The Escape Artist The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award · New York Times Bestseller "A brilliant and heart-wrenching book, with universal and timely lessons about the power of information—and misinformation. Is it possible to stop mass murder by telling the truth?" — Yuval Noah Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow A complex hero. A forgotten story. The first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust . . . Award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland tells the astonishing true story of Rudolf Vrba, the man who broke out of Auschwitz to warn the world of a truth too few were willing to hear. In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became one of the very first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and make his way to freedom—among only a tiny handful who ever pulled off that near-impossible feat. He did it to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world—and to warn the last Jews of Europe what fate awaited them. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly missed German bullets until they had smuggled out the first full account of Auschwitz the world had ever seen—a forensically detailed report that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the Pope. And yet too few heeded the warning that Vrba had risked everything to deliver. Though Vrba helped save two hundred thousand Jewish lives, he never stopped believing it could have been so many more. This is the story of a brilliant yet troubled man—a gifted “escape artist” who, even as a teenager, understood that the difference between truth and lies can be the difference between life and death. Rudolf Vrba deserves to take his place alongside Anne Frank, Oskar Schindler, and Primo Levi as one of the handful of individuals whose stories define our understanding of the Holocaust.

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Island at the Edge of the World - Mike Pitts Cover Art

Island at the Edge of the World

Island at the Edge of the World The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts

“ A crisp, confident, and convincing new account of the place and its chroniclers" — The New Yorker “A definitive history of the mysteries of Easter Island...compelling...[a] magisterial history.” — New York Times “Revelatory…fascinating… wholly convincing” — Daily Mail (UK) A vital and timely work of historical adventure and reclamation by British archeological scholar Mike Pitts—a book that rewrites the popular yet flawed history of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and uses newly unearthed findings and documents to challenge the long-standing historical assumptions about the manmade ecological disaster that caused the island’s collapse. Rapa Nui, known to Western cultures as Easter Island for centuries, has long been a source of mystery. While the massive stone statues that populate the island’s landscape have loomed in the popular Western imagination since Europeans first set foot there in 1722, in recent years, the island has gained infamy as a cautionary tale of eco-destruction. The island’s history as it’s been written tells of Polynesians who carelessly farmed, plundered their natural resources, and battled each other, dooming their delicate ecosystem and becoming a warning to us all about the frailty of our natural world. But what if that history is wrong? In The Island at the Edge of the World , archeological writer and scholar Mike Pitts offers a direct challenge to the orthodoxy of Rapa Nui, bringing to light new research and documents that tell a dramatic and surprising story about what really led to the island’s downfall. Relying on the latest archaeological findings, he paints a vastly different portrait of what life was like on the island before the first Europeans arrived, investigating why a Polynesian people who succeeded for centuries throughout the South Pacific supposedly failed to thrive in Rapa Nui. Pitts also unearths the vital story of one of the first anthropologists to study Rapa Nui, an Oxford-trained iconoclast named Katherine Routledge, who was instrumental in collecting firsthand accounts from the Polynesians living on Rapa Nui in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. But though Routledge’s impressive scholarship captured the oral traditions of what life had been like pre-1722, her work was widely dismissed because of her gender, her reliance on indigenous perspectives, and her conclusions which contradicted her historical peers. A stunning work of revisionism, this book raises critical questions about who gets to write history and the stakes of ignoring that history’s true authors. Provocative and illuminating, The Island at the Edge of the World will change the way people think about Easter Island, its colonial legacy, and where the blame for its devastation truly lies.

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Dominion - Tom Holland Cover Art

Dominion

Dominion How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland

An extraordinary account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination “A galloping tour of Christianity’s influence across the last 2,000 years.” — New York Times Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion—an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus—was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.

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The Lessons of History - Will Durant Cover Art

The Lessons of History

The Lessons of History by Will Durant

A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research from Pulitzer Prize–winning historians Will and Ariel Durant. With their accessible compendium of philosophy and social progress, the Durants take us on a journey through history, exploring the possibilities and limitations of humanity over time. Juxtaposing the great lives, ideas, and accomplishments with cycles of war and conquest, the Durants reveal the towering themes of history and give meaning to our own.

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The Silk Roads - Peter Frankopan Cover Art

The Silk Roads

The Silk Roads A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. "A rare book that makes you question your assumptions about the world.” — The Wall Street Journal From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts.   Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. Also available: The New Silk Roads , a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East.

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The Age of Napoleon - Will Durant & Ariel Durant Cover Art

The Age of Napoleon

The Age of Napoleon The Story of Civilization, Volume XI by Will Durant & Ariel Durant

The eleventh and final volume of the classic, Pulitzer Prize–winning series The Story of Civilization, covering Napoleon ’s reign and a history of European civilization from 1789 to 1815. A bold, comprehensive journey through history as a study of human nature, beginning with the chaos of the French Revolution and the improbable rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, The Age of Napoleon explores how power, belief, luck, and circumstance—not ideals—shape civilizations. Drawing on examples from every continent, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Will Durant argues that history reveals enduring patterns: religion, though repeatedly challenged by reason, proves indispensable to social cohesion; equality is an illusion incompatible with civilization, which has always depended on power, hierarchy, and the leadership of narrow-minded but decisive individuals; and progress is fragile as barbarism waits patiently at the edges, ready to reclaim what civilization forgets to defend. Even greatness offers no protection from oblivion, as time erases nearly every name it once celebrated. Clear-eyed, provocative, and deeply humane, this work shows why history matters—not to flatter our hopes, but to teach us how rare stability is, how quickly it can vanish, and how fortunate we are to live when we do.

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In Search of a Kingdom - Laurence Bergreen Cover Art

In Search of a Kingdom

In Search of a Kingdom Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire by Laurence Bergreen

“FASCINATING . . . Dramatic and timely.” —New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice In this grand and thrilling narrative, the acclaimed biographer of Magellan and Columbus reveals the singular adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history. “Entrancing . . . Very good indeed.” —Wall Street Journal Before he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth to circumnavigate the globe, or was called upon to save England from the Spanish Armada, Francis Drake was perhaps the most wanted—and successful—pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed “El Draque” by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queen—and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power. In 1580, sailing on Elizabeth’s covert orders, Drake became the first captain to circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake’s audacious around-the-world journey in the Golden Hind reached Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decade later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurring the British Empire’s ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival.  The relationship between Drake and Elizabeth is the missing link in our understanding of the rise of the British Empire, and its importance has not been fully described or appreciated. Framed around Drake’s key voyages as a window into this crucial moment in British history, In Search of a Kingdom is a rousing adventure narrative entwining epic historical themes with intimate passions.

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The World - Simon Sebag Montefiore Cover Art

The World

The World A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A magisterial world history unlike any other that tells the story of humanity through the one thing we all have in common: families • From the author of The Romanovs A Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, Smithsonian “ Succession meets Game of Thrones .” — The Spectator • “The author brings his cast of dynastic titans, rogues and psychopaths to life...An epic that both entertains and informs.” — The Economist, Best Books of the Year Around 950,000 years ago, a family of five walked along the beach and left behind the oldest family footprints ever discovered. For award-winning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, these poignant, familiar fossils serve as an inspiration for a new kind of world history, one that is genuinely global, spans all eras and all continents, and focuses on the family ties that connect every one of us. In this epic, ever-surprising book, Montefiore chronicles the world’s great dynasties across human history through palace intrigues, love affairs, and family lives, linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, and technology to the people at the heart of the human drama. It features a cast of extraordinary diversity: in addition to rulers and conquerors, there are priests, charlatans, artists, scientists, tycoons, gangsters, lovers, husbands, wives, and children. There is Hongwu, the beggar who founded the Ming dynasty; Ewuare, the Leopard-King of Benin; Henry Christophe, King of Haiti; Kamehameha, the conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, the Arab empress who defied Rome; Lady Murasaki, the first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, the Moroccan pirate-queen. Here too are moderns such as Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, and Volodymyr Zelensky. Here are the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, Bonapartes, Habsburgs and Zulus, Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Krupps, Churchills, Kennedys, Castros, Nehrus, Pahlavis and Kenyattas, Saudis, Kims and Assads. These powerful families represent the breadth of human endeavor, with bloody succession battles, treacherous conspiracies, and shocking megalomania alongside flourishing culture, moving romances, and enlightened benevolence. A dazzling achievement as spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the whole human story in a single, masterful narrative.

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The Enlightenment - Ritchie Robertson Cover Art

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment The Pursuit of Happiness, 1680-1790 by Ritchie Robertson

A magisterial work of intellectual history that recasts the Enlightenment as a period not solely consumed with rationale and reason, but rather as a pursuit of practical means to achieve greater human happiness. One of the formative periods of European and world history, the Enlightenment is the fountainhead of modern secular Western values: religious tolerance, freedom of thought, speech and the press, of rationality and evidence-based argument. Yet why, over three hundred years after it began, is the Enlightenment so profoundly misunderstood as controversial, the expression of soulless calculation? The answer may be that, to an extraordinary extent, we have accepted the account of the Enlightenment given by its conservative enemies: that enlightenment necessarily implied hostility to religion or support for an unfettered free market, or that this was “the best of all possible worlds”. Ritchie Robertson goes back into the “long eighteenth century,” from approximately 1680 to 1790, to reveal what this much-debated period of European history was really about. Robertson returns to the era’s original texts to show that above all, the Enlightenment was really about increasing human happiness – in this world rather than the next – by promoting scientific inquiry and reasoned argument. In so doing Robertson chronicles the campaigns mounted by some Enlightened figures against evils like capital punishment, judicial torture, serfdom and witchcraft trials, featuring the experiences of major figures like Voltaire and Diderot alongside ordinary people who lived through this extraordinary moment. In answering the question 'What is Enlightenment?' in 1784, Kant famously urged men and women above all to “have the courage to use your own intellect”. Robertson shows how the thinkers of the Enlightenment did just that, seeking a well-rounded understanding of humanity in which reason was balanced with emotion and sensibility. Drawing on philosophy, theology, historiography and literature across the major western European languages, The Enlightenment is a master-class in big picture history about the foundational epoch of modern times.  Go beyond the myths of the so-called Age of Reason to discover the real Enlightenment: A Pursuit of Happiness: Discover why the period’s great thinkers were more concerned with human well-being in this life than in the next. Reason and Emotion: Explore how the era’s philosophy sought a well-rounded humanity, balancing intellect with sensibility. Voices of the Enlightenment: Follow the campaigns of Voltaire, Diderot, and Kant as they challenged judicial torture, serfdom, and persecution. A Foundation for Modern Values: Understand the origins of religious tolerance, freedom of thought, and evidence-based argument that shape our world today.

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Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World - John Shelby Spong Cover Art

Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World

Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World by John Shelby Spong

In Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, bishop and social activist John Shelby Spong argues that 200 years of biblical scholarship has been withheld from lay Christians. In this brilliant follow-up to Spong’s previous books Eternal Life and Jesus for the Non-Religious, Spong not only reveals the crucial truths that have long been kept hidden from the public eye, but also explores what the history of the Bible can teach us about reading its stories today and living our lives for tomorrow. Sarah Sentilles, author of Breaking Up With God: A Love Story, applauds John Shelby Spong’s Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, writing that “pulsing beneath his brilliant, thought-provoking, passionate book is this question: can Christianity survive the education of its believers?…A question Bishop Spong answers with a resounding yes.”

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History of the Twentieth Century - Martin Gilbert Cover Art

History of the Twentieth Century

History of the Twentieth Century by Martin Gilbert

A chronological compilation of twentieth-century world events in one volume—from the acclaimed historian and biographer of Winston S. Churchill.   The twentieth century has been one of the most unique in human history. It has seen the rise of some of humanity's most important advances to date, as well as many of its most violent and terrifying wars. This is a condensed version of renowned historian Martin Gilbert's masterful examination of the century's history, offering the highlights of a three-volume work that covers more than three thousand pages.   From the invention of aviation to the rise of the Internet, and from events and cataclysmic changes in Europe to those in Asia, Africa, and North America, Martin examines art, literature, war, religion, life and death, and celebration and renewal across the globe, and throughout this turbulent and astonishing century.

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Walls - David Frye Cover Art

Walls

Walls A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick by David Frye

“A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society” ( Library Journal )—walls— and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live. With esteemed historian David Frye as our raconteur-guide in Walls , which Publishers Weekly praises as “informative, relevant, and thought-provoking,” we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed—to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone, and with them effectively divide humanity: on one side were those the walls protected; on the other, those the walls kept out. The stars of this narrative are the walls themselves—rising up in places as ancient and exotic as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Greece, China, Rome, Mongolia, Afghanistan, the lower Mississippi, and even Central America. As we journey across time and place, we discover a hidden, thousand-mile-long wall in Asia's steppes; learn of bizarre Spartan rituals; watch Mongol chieftains lead their miles-long hordes; witness the epic siege of Constantinople; chill at the fate of French explorers; marvel at the folly of the Maginot Line; tense at the gathering crisis in Cold War Berlin; gape at Hollywood’s gated royalty; and contemplate the wall mania of our own era. Hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “provocative, well-written, and—with walls rising everywhere on the planet—timely,” Walls gradually reveals the startling ways that barriers have affected our psyches. The questions this book summons are both intriguing and profound: Did walls make civilization possible? And can we live without them? Find out in this masterpiece of historical recovery and preeminent storytelling.

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El libro negro del Vaticano - Eric Frattini Cover Art

El libro negro del Vaticano

El libro negro del Vaticano Las oscuras relaciones entre la CIA y la Santa Sede by Eric Frattini

Frattini desvela los secretos de la política de la Santa Sede, desde 1939 hasta la actualidad. El libro negro del Vaticano  recoge el punto de vista de la CIA sobre las posiciones de la Santa Sede en diversos asuntos internacionales que abarcan desde 1944 hasta nuestros días, desde el pontificado de Pío XII al de Francisco.  Esta obra demuestra claramente que, además de dirigir la doctrina católica, el Vaticano ha influído en la política de las naciones y por lo tanto se ha convertido en una importante fuerza política.  «Todos los caminos llevan a Roma» dice la tradición, y analizando los acontecimientos políticos y diplomáticos de los últimos seis papados, está cada vez más claro que todos los caminos, desde 1939, llevan al «Vaticano». Este poder e influencia llevó a la CIA a convertir la Santa Sede, los papas, cardenales, obispos y demás funcionarios eclesiásticos, en «objetivos» susceptibles de ser espiados porque, como dijo un día el famoso cazanazis Simon Wiesenthal, «el lugar mejor informado del planeta es sin duda el Vaticano», y la Agencia Central de Inteligencia lo sabe.  El libro negro del Vaticano   contiene más de 300 documentos bajo clasificación de «Secreto», «Alto Secreto» y «Restringido»: cables, mensajes e informes de la Ofi cina de Servicios Estratégicos (OSS), del Cuerpo de Contrainteligencia (CIC) del Ejército de los Estados Unidos y de la CIA, en los que se revelan por vez primera incómodos asuntos vaticanos demasiado «secretos» y que abarcan los papados de seis Sumos Pontífices, Pío XII (1939-1958), Juan XXIII (1958-1963), Pablo VI (1963-1978), Juan Pablo II (1978-2005), Benedicto XVI (2005-2013) y Francisco (2013-). 

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Illuminati - Myron Fagan Cover Art

Illuminati

Illuminati by Myron Fagan

In 1967, Myron Fagan released a three-LP set titled Illuminati. This recording has been transcribed and the text has been used to create this edition, published in 2017 by A Distant Mirror in paperback, Kindle and epub formats. Myron Fagan reveals the plot for global enslavement launched two centuries ago by Adam Weishaupt when he created the organisation which he named the 'Illuminati'. Fagan describes how this group has been used by the House of Rothschild to work towards a world government, and how every war during the past two centuries has been instigated by them. This is the fascinating, horrifying - and factual - story of the most sensational plot in the history of the world. Fagan lays out the history of the Illuminati, exposing the plot for a single world government. The author gives names, dates, organizations, modes of operations - all exposing the Satanic octopus that to this day seeks to strangle the world in its grip.

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A Thirst for Empire - Erika Rappaport Cover Art

A Thirst for Empire

A Thirst for Empire How Tea Shaped the Modern World by Erika Rappaport

How the global tea industry influenced the international economy and the rise of mass consumerism Tea has been one of the most popular commodities in the world. Over centuries, profits from its growth and sales funded wars and fueled colonization, and its cultivation brought about massive changes—in land use, labor systems, market practices, and social hierarchies—the effects of which are with us even today. A Thirst for Empire takes a vast and in depth historical look at how men and women—through the tea industry in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa—transformed global tastes and habits and in the process created our modern consumer society. As Erika Rappaport shows, between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries the boundaries of the tea industry and the British Empire overlapped but were never identical, and she highlights the economic, political, and cultural forces that enabled the British Empire to dominate—but never entirely control—the worldwide production, trade, and consumption of tea. Rappaport delves into how Europeans adopted, appropriated, and altered Chinese tea culture to build a widespread demand for tea in Britain and other global markets and a plantation-based economy in South Asia and Africa. Tea was among the earliest colonial industries in which merchants, planters, promoters, and retailers used imperial resources to pay for global advertising and political lobbying. The commercial model that tea inspired still exists and is vital for understanding how politics and publicity influence the international economy. An expansive and original global history of imperial tea, A Thirst for Empire demonstrates the ways that this fluid and powerful enterprise helped shape the contemporary world.

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Napoléon - tome 3 - L'empereur des rois - 1806-1812 - Max Gallo Cover Art

Napoléon - tome 3 - L'empereur des rois - 1806-1812

Napoléon - tome 3 - L'empereur des rois - 1806-1812 L'Empereur des rois by Max Gallo

Il est Napoléon le Grand : après Austerlitz, qui peut arrêter l'Empereur des Français ? Il bouscule les Rois, à Iéna, à Friedland, à Wagram. Il conquiert les femmes. Marie Walewska, la Polonaise, et Marie-Louise, l'Autrichienne, la petite-nièce de Marie-Antoinette ! Son fils, le Roi de Rome, descend donc de l'Empereur d'Autriche. Quel parcours ! Napoléon, que nous suivons pas à pas, s'humanise. Amant impérieux de Marie Walewska et mari attentionné de Marie-Louise, il voudrait retenir l'histoire, ne pas avoir à engager le fer contre le Tsar. Mais il est emporté : " Et ainsi la guerre aura lieu malgré moi, malgré lui ", confie-t-il. Max Gallo nous fait partager, à chaque instant de chaque jour, les bonheurs et les ardeurs du père, du mari, de l'amant, la volonté et l'esprit de décision de cet Empereur des Rois, lancé dans le ciel de l'Histoire comme un météore. Des milliers de livres ont été écrits sur Napoléon. Aucun ne ressemble à celui-ci. Napoléon de Max Gallo se compose de 4 tomes : - Le chant du départ : 1769 / 1799 - Le soleil d'Austerlitz : 1799 / 1805 - L'empereur des rois : 1806 / 1812 - L'immortel de Sainte-Hélène : 1812 / 1821

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When Fitness Went Global - Conor Heffernan Cover Art

When Fitness Went Global

When Fitness Went Global The Rise of Physical Culture in the Nineteenth Century by Conor Heffernan

Fitness, exercise and physical culture is a key part of our modern lives, but has this always been the case? In this book, Conor Heffernan shows how the 19th century was critical for the development of the modern fitness industry, and how the globalization of physical culture was entangled in, and spread by, concepts of nationalism, gender, race, empire and medicine. From yoga and gymnastics to Indian club swinging and Jiujitsu, When Fitness Went Global follows some of the most popular fitness practices from around the world as they were exported on a global scale during the long 19th century. Showing how this came about through imperial networks, military education, new print culture, faster trade networks and changing ideas about the body, it shows how beautiful bodies were linked to notions of national strength and imperial might. Exploring how both local and international understandings of exercise were negotiated, it asks why some practices became global while others did not, and shows how fitness was revolutionised during the 19th century.

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Après l'Occident ? - Hubert Védrine & Maurice Godelier Cover Art

Après l'Occident ?

Après l'Occident ? by Hubert Védrine & Maurice Godelier

Deux illustres intellectuels aux prises avec le passé, le présent et l'avenir de l'Occident dans une nouvelle collection Perrin/Robert Laffont. dirigée par Etienne de Gail.<br /> Critiqué de l'intérieur, menacé de l'extérieur, accusé de décadence ou déclaré mort, l'Occident ne cesse d'être contesté après cinq siècles de domination du monde et des esprits. Depuis la réélection de Donald Trump et sous les assauts de son approche unilatéraliste et brutale, l'unité même de l'Occident géopolitique né de la Seconde guerre mondiale se fissure. Pour éclairer ce basculement historique, l'ancien ministre des Affaires étrangères Hubert Védrine et le grand anthropologue Maurice Godelier croisent leurs analyses et leur parcours : D'où vient l'Occident ? Comment se définit-il –; et comment les autres le perçoivent-ils ? Peut-il encore exporter ses valeurs, ou doit-il se contenter de rayonner par l'exemple ? A-t-il tout simplement un avenir commun ? Et dans quelles conditions ? Déclin, éclatement, renaissance ou réinvention : ce dialogue "au sommet" explore lucidement les chemins possibles de l'avenir dans un monde chaotique.

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The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz - Jeremy Dronfield Cover Art

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz

The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz A True Story of Family and Survival by Jeremy Dronfield

“Brilliantly written, vivid, a powerful and often uncomfortable true story that deserves to be read and remembered. It beautifully captures the strength of the bond between a father and son.”—Heather Morris, author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz The #1 Sunday Times bestseller—a remarkable work of World War II nonfiction about the heroic and unbreakable bond between a father and son that is as inspirational as T he Tattooist of Auschwitz and as mesmerizing as The Choice. Where there is family, there is hope In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholster from Vienna, and his sixteen-year-old son Fritz are arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Germany. Imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp, they miraculously survive the Nazis’ murderous brutality. Then Gustav learns he is being sent to Auschwitz—and certain death. For Fritz, letting his father go is unthinkable. Desperate to remain together, Fritz makes an incredible choice: he insists he must go too. To the Nazis, one death camp is the same as another, and so the boy is allowed to follow. Throughout the six years of horror they witness and immeasurable suffering they endure as victims of the camps, one constant keeps them alive: their love and hope for the future. This unforgettable Holocaust true story, based on the secret diary that Gustav kept as well as meticulous archival research and interviews with members of the Kleinmann family, including Fritz’s younger brother Kurt, sent to the United States at age eleven to escape the war, The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz is Gustav and Fritz’s story—an extraordinary and inspirational story of courage, loyalty, survival, and love that is unforgettable. But how does a father keep his son from despair, and how does a son keep his father from death, in the most terrifying place on Earth? Father and Son Survival Story: Follows Gustav and Fritz Kleinmann, a Viennese upholsterer and his teenage son, through six years of horror in Nazi concentration camps from Buchenwald to Auschwitz. An Unbreakable Bond: When Gustav is sent to certain death at Auschwitz, Fritz makes an unthinkable choice: to go with him, refusing to let his father die alone. Based on a Secret Diary: Drawn from the hidden journal Gustav kept throughout his imprisonment, this is a raw, immediate, and unforgettable first-hand account of the Holocaust. Against All Odds: Witness the acts of resistance, moments of kindness, and the sheer force of will that kept a father and son together from their arrest in 1939 to their final liberation.

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The Ascent of Money - Niall Ferguson Cover Art

The Ascent of Money

The Ascent of Money A Financial History of the World: 10th Anniversary Edition by Niall Ferguson

The 10th anniversary edition, with new chapters on the crash, Chimerica, and cryptocurrency "[An] excellent, just in time guide to the history of finance and financial crisis."  — The Washington Post "Fascinating."  —Fareed Zakaria,  Newsweek In this updated edition, Niall Ferguson brings his classic financial history of the world up to the present day, tackling the populist backlash that followed the 2008 crisis, the descent of "Chimerica" into a trade war, and the advent of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, with his signature clarity and expert lens.   The Ascent of Money reveals finance as the backbone of history, casting a new light on familiar events: the Renaissance enabled by Italian foreign exchange dealers, the French Revolution traced back to a stock market bubble, the 2008 crisis traced from America's bankruptcy capital, Memphis, to China's boomtown, Chongqing. We may resent the plutocrats of Wall Street but, as Ferguson argues, the evolution of finance has rivaled the importance of any technological innovation in the rise of civilization. Indeed, to study the ascent and descent of money is to study the rise and fall of Western power itself.

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Kamehameha and Vancouver, Rendezvous in Paradise - Jack Kelly Cover Art

Kamehameha and Vancouver, Rendezvous in Paradise

Kamehameha and Vancouver, Rendezvous in Paradise by Jack Kelly

This essay, the second in Jack Kelly’s series of modern treatments of Hawaiian history, frames a historic alliance that would shape the future of Hawaii – between the famed British explorer Captain George Vancouver, and King Kamehameha of the Big Island. Arriving in Kealakekua Bay 15 years after Captain Cook’s bloody death, Vancouver was intent on the mission of the British Empire, to foster order and trade. But in dismissing the Hawaiians as uneducated savages, the great navigator failed to fathom Kamehameha’s true motive – to manipulate the British into providing the arms and warships he wanted to wrest control of the Islands from competing tribal leaders. Against a backdrop of countless disruptive political and economic changes set in motion by British colonialism, Kelly takes the perspective of each of these two leaders in turn to show how Vancouver’s choice of Kamehameha as an ally was a turning point in Hawaii’s political and economic destiny. The author relies on both original historical writings and oral histories from Hawaiian elders to bring the written record in line with truths known for generations by the people of the Islands. Kelly’s perspective as a longtime coffee farmer, journalist, photographer and cultural activist in the Kona region of Hawaii also informs these unique grassroots histories.

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The Widow Clicquot - Tilar J Mazzeo Cover Art

The Widow Clicquot

The Widow Clicquot The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J Mazzeo

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, and Sam Riley! "Narrative history that fizzes with life and feeling.” —  Benjamin Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of The Billionaire's Vinegar The New York Times bestselling biography of the visionary young woman who built a champagne empire, became a legend, and showed the world how to live with style Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour, style, and luxury. In The Widow Clicquot , Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life—for the first time—the fascinating woman behind the iconic yellow label: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who, after her husband's death, defied convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through the dizzying political and financial reversals of the Napoleonic Wars, she became one of the world's first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time. As much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered woman, The Widow Clicquot is the captivating true story of a legend and a visionary. This rich biography uncorks the story of a woman who changed everything: A Woman in a Man’s World: Discover how Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, widowed at 27, defied nineteenth-century convention to take control of her husband’s fledgling wine business. Navigating the Napoleonic Wars: Follow her journey as she steers her company through immense political and financial turmoil, risking ruin to get her champagne to the world. The Birth of an Empire: Learn the secrets behind the iconic yellow label and how one woman’s audacity and innovation in wine making created a global symbol of glamour and luxury. Rich French History: Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoléon, this is a story of survival, ambition, and the creation of a business legend.

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Strongmen - Ruth Ben-Ghiat Cover Art

Strongmen

Strongmen Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

New York Times Bestseller What modern authoritarian leaders have in common (and how they can be stopped). Ruth Ben-Ghiat is the expert on the "strongman" playbook employed by authoritarian demagogues from Mussolini to Putin—enabling her to predict with uncanny accuracy the recent experience in America and Europe. In Strongmen, she lays bare the blueprint these leaders have followed over the past 100 years, and empowers us to recognize, resist, and prevent their disastrous rule in the future. For ours is the age of authoritarian rulers: self-proclaimed saviors of the nation who evade accountability while robbing their people of truth, treasure, and the protections of democracy. They promise law and order, then legitimize lawbreaking by financial, sexual, and other predators. They use masculinity as a symbol of strength and a political weapon. Taking what you want, and getting away with it, becomes proof of male authority. They use propaganda, corruption, and violence to stay in power. Vladimir Putin and Mobutu Sese Seko’s kleptocracies, Augusto Pinochet’s torture sites, Benito Mussolini and Muammar Gaddafi’s systems of sexual exploitation, and Silvio Berlusconi and Donald Trump’s relentless misinformation: all show how authoritarian rule, far from ensuring stability, is marked by destructive chaos. No other type of leader is so transparent about prioritizing self-interest over the public good. As one country after another has discovered, the strongman is at his worst when true guidance is most needed by his country. Recounting the acts of solidarity and dignity that have undone strongmen over the past 100 years, Ben-Ghiat makes vividly clear that only by seeing the strongman for what he is—and by valuing one another as he is unable to do—can we stop him, now and in the future.

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A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn Cover Art

A People's History of the United States

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

“A wonderful, splendid book—a book that should be read by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future.” —Howard Fast, author of Spartacus and The Immigrants “[It] should be required reading.” —Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review Library Journal calls Howard Zinn’s iconic A People's History of the United States “a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those…whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories.” Packed with vivid details and telling quotations, Zinn’s award-winning classic continues to revolutionize the way American history is taught and remembered. Frequent appearances in popular media such as The Sopranos, The Simpsons, Good Will Hunting, and the History Channel documentary The People Speak testify to Zinn’s ability to bridge the generation gap with enduring insights into the birth, development, and destiny of the nation.

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The March of Folly - Barbara W. Tuchman Cover Art

The March of Folly

The March of Folly From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Barbara W. Tuchman, author of the World War I masterpiece The Guns of August, grapples with her boldest subject: the pervasive presence, through the ages, of failure, mismanagement, and delusion in government.   Drawing on a comprehensive array of examples, from Montezuma’s senseless surrender of his empire in 1520 to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Barbara W. Tuchman defines folly as the pursuit by government of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives. In brilliant detail, Tuchman illuminates four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain’s George III, and the United States’ own persistent mistakes in Vietnam. Throughout The March of Folly, Tuchman’s incomparable talent for animating the people, places, and events of history is on spectacular display.   Praise for The March of Folly   “A glittering narrative . . . a moral [book] on the crimes and follies of governments and the misfortunes the governed suffer in consequence.” —The New York Times Book Review   “An admirable survey . . . I haven’t read a more relevant book in years.” —John Kenneth Galbraith, The Boston Sunday Globe   “A superb chronicle . . . a masterly examination.” —Chicago Sun-Times

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Worlds of Islam - James McDougall Cover Art

Worlds of Islam

Worlds of Islam A Global History by James McDougall

A sweeping global history of Islam, tracing the 1,400-year evolution of a diverse community of faith and its place in the modern world “Anyone who wants to understand not just the past of Islam but its present and future should read  Worlds of Islam .”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God From its birth in seventh-century Arabia, Islam has been a faith on the move. Over the span of a thousand years, armies, missionaries, and merchants carried it to the edges of Europe, the coasts of Southeast Asia, and the remote interior of China. By the nineteenth century, Islam encompassed a world of great diversity, from Muslim-ruled empires to new nations where Muslims lived out their faith among many others. As empires fell and new superpowers rose, Muslims proved to be as adaptable and dynamic as modernity itself. In Worlds of Islam , historian James McDougall explores Islam’s origins and transformations as Muslims adapted to changing times and conditions, from Late Antiquity to the digital age. In the twentieth century, while monarchs in the Gulf asserted dynastic privilege and fundamentalists in Egypt and Pakistan preached social morality, revolutionaries from Algeria to Indonesia fought for national self-determination, and activists in North America and Europe campaigned for civil liberties and social justice. Sweeping and authoritative, Worlds of Islam narrates the epic story of how Muslims emerged as a community, built empires, traversed the globe, came to number in the billions, and became modern.

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The Breath of the Gods - Simon Winchester Cover Art

The Breath of the Gods

The Breath of the Gods The History and Future of the Wind by Simon Winchester

New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style. What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service. In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency. While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power. Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular. The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid.

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D-Day - Antony Beevor Cover Art

D-Day

D-Day The Battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor

"Glorious, horrifying... D-Day  is a vibrant work of history that honors the sacrifice of tens of thousands of men and women."— Time Beevor's  Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge  is now available from Viking Books  Renowned historian Antony Beevor, the man who "single-handedly transformed the reputation of military history" ( The Guardian ) presents the first major account in more than twenty years of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Paris. This is the first book to describe not only the experiences of the American, British, Canadian, and German soldiers, but also the terrible suffering of the French caught up in the fighting. Beevor draws upon his research in more than thirty archives in six countries, going back to original accounts and interviews conducted by combat historians just after the action.  D-Day  is the consummate account of the invasion and the ferocious offensive that led to Paris's liberation.

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A History of the World in 100 Objects - Neil MacGregor Cover Art

A History of the World in 100 Objects

A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor

"An enthralling and profoundly humane book that every civilized person should read." -- The Wall Street Journal  The blockbuster New York Times bestseller and the companion volume to the wildly popular radio series When did people first start to wear jewelry or play music? When were cows domesticated, and why do we feed their milk to our children? Where were the first cities, and what made them succeed? Who developed math--or invented money? The history of humanity is one of invention and innovation, as we have continually created new things to use, to admire, or leave our mark on the world. In this groundbreaking book, Neil MacGregor turns to objects that previous civilizations have left behind to paint a portrait of mankind's evolution, focusing on unexpected turning points.  Beginning with a chopping tool from the Olduvai Gorge in Africa and ending with a recent innovation that is transforming the way we power our world, he urges us to see history as a kaleidoscope--shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising. A landmark bestseller, A History of the World in 100 Objects is one f the most unusual and engrossing history books to be published in years.   “None could have imagined quite how the radio series would permeate the national consciousness. Well over 12.5 million podcasts have been downloaded since the first programme and more than 550 museums around Britain have launched similar series featuring local history. . . . MacGregor’s voice comes through as distinctively as it did on radio and his arguments about the interconnectedness of disparate societies through the ages are all the stronger for the detail afforded by extra space. A book to savour and start over.” — The Economist

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Timelines of World War II - DK Cover Art

Timelines of World War II

Timelines of World War II by DK

Discover the stories behind the conflict that shaped the modern world in this richly illustrated guide to the Second World War. From the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany in the 1920s to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Battle of Stalingrad to the bombing of Hiroshima, through to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, Timelines of World War II brings the key milestones of the conflict to life, explaining each of them through contemporary photos, documents, maps, and artifacts. This accessible and wide-ranging overview of WWII explores the key events and turning points of the conflict from around the world, from the Normandy Beaches to the jungles of Burma, and offers insights into the experiences of leaders, soldiers, and civilians involved. Stunning feature spreads showcase artworks, photographs, and other artifacts, while profile boxes bring to life the people, new technology, and milestone events that altered the course of the war. Offering a uniquely compelling, accessible, and immediate history of the war, Timelines of World War II will enthrall you with its compelling insight into the conflict and the important part it has played in modern history, whether you're a history student or a casual reader.

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Timelines of World History - DK Cover Art

Timelines of World History

Timelines of World History by DK

An illustrated record covering all the major events and achievements in human history. Designed for history aficionados, trivia buffs, or anyone with a curious mind, Timelines of World History takes an innovative approach to the traditional, text-driven style of a date-by-date chronology. Tracing the progress of humanity from the dawn of history to the present day, the book follows major historical events, cultural milestones, the expansions of empires, and the inventions and achievements of civilizations. Important events are cross-referenced with specific dates, important historical figures are profiled, and introductory essays profile what was happening and why. With more than 500 photographs and illustrations and over 25 maps, this is the most authoritative visual chronological record of the last 20,000 years.

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Stories We Tell Ourselves - Richard Holloway Cover Art

Stories We Tell Ourselves

Stories We Tell Ourselves Making Meaning in a Meaningless Universe by Richard Holloway

Throughout history we have told ourselves stories to try and make sense of our place in the universe. Richard Holloway takes us on a personal, scientific and philosophical journey to explore what he believes the answers to the biggest of questions are. He examines what we know about the universe into which we are propelled at birth and from which we are expelled at death, the stories we have told about where we come from, and the stories we tell to get through this muddling experience of life. Thought-provoking, revelatory, compassionate and playful, Stories We Tell Ourselves is a personal reckoning with life’s mysteries by one of the most important and beloved thinkers of our time.

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The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli Cover Art

The Prince

The Prince Animated eBook by Niccolò Machiavelli

* Animated eBook * Renowned Italian philosopher and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli boldly asserted that the importance of a strong ruler who was not afraid to be harsh with his subjects and enemies even emphasized the occasional need for the exercise of brute force or deceit including extermination to head off any chance of a challenge to the prince's authority through his most famous work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513.  The book itself gained enormous notoriety and wide readership because the Catholic Church banned it putting on Index Librium Prohibitorum(List of Prohibited Books). Most readers assumed the author was endorsing evil and immoral behavior.

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Fire and Movement - Peter Hart Cover Art

Fire and Movement

Fire and Movement The British Expeditionary Force and the Campaign of 1914 by Peter Hart

The dramatic opening weeks of the Great War passed into legend long before the conflict ended. The British Expeditionary Force fought a mesmerizing campaign, outnumbered and outflanked but courageous and skillful, holding the line against impossible odds, sacrificing themselves to stop the last great German offensive of 1914. A remarkable story of high hopes and crushing disappointment, the campaign contains moments of sheer horror and nerve-shattering excitement; pathos and comic relief; occasional cowardice and much selfless courage--all culminating in the climax of the First Battle of Ypres. And yet, as Peter Hart shows in this gripping and revisionary look at the war's first year, for too long the British part in the 1914 campaigns has been veiled in layers of self-congratulatory myth: a tale of poor unprepared Britain, reliant on the peerless class of her regular soldiers to bolster the rabble of the unreliable French Army and defeat the teeming hordes of German troops. But the reality of those early months is in fact far more complex--and ultimately, Hart argues, far more powerful than the standard triumphalist narrative. Fire and Movement places the British role in 1914 into a proper historical context, incorporating the personal experiences of the men who were present on the front lines. The British regulars were indeed skillful soldiers, but as Hart reveals, they also lacked practice in many of the required disciplines of modern warfare, and the inexperience of officers led to severe mistakes. Hart also provides a more accurate portrait of the German Army they faced--not the caricature of hordes of automatons, but the reality of a well-trained and superlatively equipped force that outfought the BEF in the early battles--and allows readers to come to a full appreciation of the role of the French Army, without whom the Marne never would have been won. Ultimately Fire and Movement shows the story of the 1914 campaigns to be an epic tale, and one which needs no embellishment. Through the voices and recollections of the soldiers who were there, Hart strips away the myth to offer a clear-eyed account of the remarkable early days of the Great War.

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La sangre al río - Raúl Herrera Márquez Cover Art

La sangre al río

La sangre al río La pugna ignorada entre Maclovio Herrera y Francisco Villa by Raúl Herrera Márquez

Mucho se ha escrito sobre Francisco Villa y la Revolución mexicana, pero poca justicia se ha hecho a las familias que vivieron en carne propia las secuelas de esta época. La sangre al río rescata la memoria de la familia Herrera, mediante un enfoque que fusiona la microhistoria y una suerte de ficción real, en lo que el propio autor ha denominado novela verdadera. En esta obra se entremezclan ficción, entrevistas con los sobrevivientes, testimonios, descripción de fotografías, fragmentos en los que el autor nos relata su relación personal con estos hechos, ensayo histórico y documentos extraídos de diversos archivos. De esta manera, el lector sigue las pequeñas y grandes historias de unos personajes, antepasados del autor, que nos revelan sucesos inéditos de la Revolución: la confrontación entre Maclovio Herrera y Villa, y lo que esta pugna costó a una familia que terminó compuesta por viudas y huérfanos. Con el rigor de las investigaciones históricas y la fluidez de las novelas, este libro nos entrega un retrato del México revolucionario y una imagen desmitificada de Villa, más allá de la figura que ha pasado al imaginario nacional. Además, nos desvela un dato que contradice radicalmente la versión oficial de la historiografía: ¿quién asesinó en realidad al líder revolucionario?

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North of the DMZ - Andrei Lankov Cover Art

North of the DMZ

North of the DMZ Essays on Daily Life in North Korea by Andrei Lankov

The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea for over 60 years. Most of that period has found the country suffering under mature Stalinism characterized by manipulation, brutality and tight social control. Nevertheless, some citizens of Kim Jong Il's regime manage to transcend his tyranny in their daily existence.    This book describes that difficult but determined existence and the world that the North Koreans have created for themselves in the face of oppression. Many features of this world are unique and even bizarre. But they have been created by the citizens to reflect their own ideas and values, in sharp contrast to the world forced upon them by a totalitarian system.     Opening chapters introduce the political system and the extent to which it permeates citizens' daily lives, from the personal status badges they wear to the nationalized distribution of the food they eat. Chapters discussing the schools, the economic system, and family life dispel the myth of the workers' paradise that North Korea attempts to perpetuate. In these chapters the intricacies of daily life in a totalitarian dictatorship are seen through the eyes of defectors whose anecdotes constitute an important portion of the material. The closing chapter treats at length the significant changes that have taken place in North Korea over the last decade, concluding that these changes will lead to the quiet but inevitable death of North Korean Stalinism.

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World War 1 - History Nerds Cover Art

World War 1

World War 1 by History Nerds

World War One was called "the war to end all wars"...it didn't.  In this concise recounting of the first world war, we take a look into the reasons for it, the reactions to it, and ultimately the death of those that gave the greatest sacrifice. So often we hear tell of the great sacrifice made in the subsequent wars, however, the story of World War 1 has a depth of insight to provide on the settings for World War 2.  If World War 1 had finished on a more firm note of surrender then maybe World War 2 wouldn't have happened.  Many Germans felt like the Keiser betrayed the country by surrendering.  Why did he surrender?  What difficulties were Germany in?  As war took on new ways of shedding blood and mankind struggled to keep up, the sacrifice that was made in the name of peace must not be forgotten. 

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An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American Brig Commerce, wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, August 1815. With an account of the sufferings of her surviving officers and crew, ... and observations historical, geographical, etc. VOL.I - James Riley Cover Art

An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American Brig Commerce, wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, August 1815. With an account of the sufferings of her surviving officers and crew, ... and observations historical, geographical, etc. VOL.I

An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American Brig Commerce, wrecked on the Western Coast of Africa, August 1815. With an account of the sufferings of her surviving officers and crew, ... and observations historical, geographical, etc. VOL.I by James Riley

The GENERAL HISTORICAL collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. This varied collection includes material that gives readers a 19th century view of the world. Topics include health, education, economics, agriculture, environment, technology, culture, politics, labour and industry, mining, penal policy, and social order.

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The Age of Assassins - Sky Adler Cover Art

The Age of Assassins

The Age of Assassins Political Murders That Changed History, from Caesar to Kennedy by Sky Adler

Assassination is as old as politics itself. From the Senate steps of ancient Rome to the crowded streets of Dallas, the targeted killing of leaders has shaped the destinies of nations. The Age of Assassins traces the chilling history of political murder, uncovering the motives, weapons, and consequences of acts that forever altered the course of history. Through sweeping narrative, this book journeys from Julius Caesar’s brutal death on the Ides of March to the Cold War’s shadow wars, from the fanatic’s dagger to the sniper’s rifle. It explores not only the moments of violence themselves, but also the aftershocks—the wars sparked, the reforms derailed, the martyrs created. Some killings preserved regimes, others toppled empires, and all revealed the vulnerability of power. Drawing on centuries of evidence across empires, revolutions, and modern democracies, The Age of Assassins reveals assassination as a recurring force that has both silenced voices of change and immortalized them. It is a narrative of power and fragility, of individuals who sought to alter history with a single act, and of societies that still reckon with their legacies today.

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Muslim Europe - Gavin Murray-Miller Cover Art

Muslim Europe

Muslim Europe How Religion and Empire Transformed European Society by Gavin Murray-Miller

Europe and the Islamic world have shared a long and conflicted history. From the Middle Ages to the global War on Terror, the image of two civilizations perpetually at war has endured. However, a closer look at the past suggests this was not always the case. Muslim Europe follows the lives of imperialists, journalists, and Muslim activists who attempted to challenge the idea of two opposing civilizations locked in eternal conflict. Rich in detail, it tells the stories of English officials who once declared Britain the greatest "Muslim power" on the face of the earth and recounts the extraordinary political campaign that saw a French Muslim elected to the National Assembly against all odds. The "age of empire" brought Islam into European public life like never-before, inspiring Muslims on the continent to take to the press and mount political movements guided by desires for greater social recognition. In chronicling the forgotten history of Europe's early Muslim communities across empires, Muslim Europe proposes a new history for Europe, highlighting the contributions made by Muslim subjects and citizens in search of a more just and tolerant society.

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Too Far From The Tree - Phil Sisson Cover Art

Too Far From The Tree

Too Far From The Tree by Phil Sisson

Too Far From The Tree takes the sojourner on a historical pathway into the social and spiritual worlds of the past to uncover the way of thinking, the choices, the decisions and the actions taken by well-known historical personalities when world domination and imperialism was new and fast becoming the goal of 15th century heads of state, the Papacy, and world leaders. The result is the contentious world that we live in today. The most challenging question of our generation is how do we bring harmony and unity to our fractured world?

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Blitzed - Norman Ohler Cover Art

Blitzed

Blitzed Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler

A New York Times bestseller, Norman Ohler's Blitzed is a "fascinating, engrossing, often dark history of drug use in the Third Reich” ( Washington Post ). The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. Yet as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping work of World War II nonfiction, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs: cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines, which were consumed by everyone from factory workers to housewives to German soldiers. In fact, troops were encouraged, and in some cases ordered, to take rations of Pervitin, a form of crystal meth—the elevated energy and feelings of invincibility associated with the high even help to account for the breakneck Blitzkrieg invasion that sealed the fall of France in 1940, as well as other German military victories. Hitler himself became increasingly dependent on injections of a cocktail of drugs—ultimately including Eukodal, a cousin of heroin—administered by his personal doctor. Thoroughly researched and rivetingly readable, Blitzed throws light on a history that, until now, has remained in the shadows. “Delightfully nuts.” — The New Yorker This meticulously researched history reveals the shocking truth behind Nazi Germany’s military machine: A Secret History of WWII: Uncover the stunning, little-known role of narcotics in the military strategies and daily life of the Third Reich. The Wehrmacht on Methamphetamine: Learn how rations of crystal meth fueled German troops, enabling the breakneck invasion of France and challenging the narrative of Nazi military might. High Hitler: Explore Adolf Hitler's own increasing dependence on a cocktail of drugs, including a heroin-like substance, administered by his personal doctor. A Nation on Speed: Go beyond the front lines to see how methamphetamines became a common part of life for everyone from factory workers to German housewives.

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A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition - Bill Bryson Cover Art

A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition

A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition by Bill Bryson

This new edition of the acclaimed bestseller is lavishly illustrated to convey, in pictures as in words, Bill Bryson’s exciting, informative journey into the world of science. In A Short History of Nearly Everything , the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body,  confronts his greatest challenge yet: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us . The result is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Now, in this handsome new edition, Bill Bryson’s words are supplemented by full-color artwork that explains in visual terms the concepts and wonder of science, at the same time giving face to the major players in the world of scientific study. Eloquently and entertainingly described, as well as richly illustrated, science has never been more involving or entertaining.

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Knowing What We Know - Simon Winchester Cover Art

Knowing What We Know

Knowing What We Know The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic by Simon Winchester

“A delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter . . . . Simon Winchester has firmly earned his place in history . . . as a promulgator of knowledge of every variety, perhaps the last of the famous explorers who crisscrossed the now-vanished British Empire and reported what they found to an astonished world.”  — New York Times From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is award winning writer Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds. With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things—no need for math, no need for map-reading, no need for memorization—are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness?  Addressing these questions, Simon Winchester explores how humans have attained, stored, and disseminated knowledge. Examining such disciplines as education, journalism, encyclopedia creation, museum curation, photography, and broadcasting, he looks at a whole range of knowledge diffusion—from the cuneiform writings of Babylon to the machine-made genius of artificial intelligence, by way of Gutenberg, Google, and Wikipedia to the huge Victorian assemblage of the Mundanaeum, the collection of everything ever known, currently stored in a damp basement in northern Belgium.  Studded with strange and fascinating details, Knowing What We Know is a deep dive into learning and the human mind. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom? Does Rene Descartes’s Cogito, ergo sum—“I think therefore I am,” the foundation for human knowledge widely accepted since the Enlightenment—still hold?  And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?

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1942 - Peter Fritzsche Cover Art

1942

1942 When World War II Engulfed the Globe by Peter Fritzsche

A penetrating history of the year World War II became a global conflict and humankind confronted both destruction and deliverance on a planetary scale, “offering an intriguing perspective on a world at war” (Richard Overy, New York Times –bestselling author of Blood and Ruins ) By the end of the Second World War, more than seventy million people across the globe had been killed, most of them civilians. Cities from Warsaw to Tokyo lay in ruins, and fully half of the world’s two billion people had been mobilized, enslaved, or displaced. In 1942 , historian Peter Fritzsche offers a gripping, ground-level portrait of the decisive year when World War II escalated to global catastrophe. With the United States joining the fight following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, all the world’s great powers were at war. The debris of ships sunk by Nazi submarines littered US beaches, Germans marauded in North Africa, and the Japanese swept through the Pacific. Military battles from Singapore to Stalingrad riveted the world. But so, too, did dramas on the war’s home fronts: battles against colonial overlords, assaults on internal “enemies,” massive labor migrations, endless columns of refugees. With an eye for detail and an eye on the big story, Fritzsche takes us from shipyards on San Francisco Bay to townships in Johannesburg to street corners in Calcutta to reveal the moral and existential drama of a people’s war filled with promise and terror.

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