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History
History (The Oxford Dictionary)
noun
1. The study of past events, particularly in human affairs
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The Soul, Paul Ham
The Soul is a history of the human mind, from the earliest expression of self-consciousness to its unshakeable belief in the great religions and political systems.
Everyone thinks they have one, but nobody knows what it is.
For thousands of years the soul was an 'organ', an entity, something that was part of all of us, that survived the death of the body and ventured to the underworld, or to heaven or hell.
The soul could be saved, condemned, tortured, bought.
And then, mysteriously, the 'soul' disappeared. The Enlightenment called it the 'Mind'. And today, neuroscientists demonstrate that the mind is the creation of the brain.
The 'religious soul' lives on, in the minds of the faithful, while the secular 'soul' means whatever you want it to mean.
In The Soul- A History of the Human Mind critically acclaimed historian Paul Ham embarks on a journey that has never been attempted- to restore the idea of the soul to the human story and to show how belief in, and beliefs arising from, the soul/mind are the engines of human history.
The Soul is much more than a mesmerizing narrative and uniquely accessible way of explaining the human story. It transforms our understanding of how history works. It persuasively demonstrates that the beliefs of the soul/mind are the engines of human history.
Everyone thinks they have one, but nobody knows what it is.
For thousands of years the soul was an 'organ', an entity, something that was part of all of us, that survived the death of the body and ventured to the underworld, or to heaven or hell.
The soul could be saved, condemned, tortured, bought.
And then, mysteriously, the 'soul' disappeared. The Enlightenment called it the 'Mind'. And today, neuroscientists demonstrate that the mind is the creation of the brain.
The 'religious soul' lives on, in the minds of the faithful, while the secular 'soul' means whatever you want it to mean.
In The Soul- A History of the Human Mind critically acclaimed historian Paul Ham embarks on a journey that has never been attempted- to restore the idea of the soul to the human story and to show how belief in, and beliefs arising from, the soul/mind are the engines of human history.
The Soul is much more than a mesmerizing narrative and uniquely accessible way of explaining the human story. It transforms our understanding of how history works. It persuasively demonstrates that the beliefs of the soul/mind are the engines of human history.
The Golden Maze: A Biography Of Prague, Richard Fidler
Beloved ABC broadcaster and bestselling author of Ghost Empire and Saga Land, Richard Fidler is back with a personally curated history of the magical city that is Prague.
In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution broke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment, he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let go of him.
Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world's biggest statue of Stalin, a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it.
Fidler tells the story of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most brilliant minds to Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague's mythic past, he finds the city's founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose glory will touch the stars.
Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.
PRAISE FOR THE GOLDEN MAZE:
'Fidler's passion and love for the ancient city infuses every word, pours off every page, and if you've never been interested in Prague, it will find a way into your heart after reading this book.' - Favel Parrett, The Age
'In The Golden Maze, Richard Fidler covers acres of rich history with a light and loving touch.' - The Canberra Times
'Rollicking story of Prague.' - The Standard
In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution broke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment, he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let go of him.
Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe's most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world's biggest statue of Stalin, a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it.
Fidler tells the story of the reclusive emperor who brought the world's most brilliant minds to Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague's mythic past, he finds the city's founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose glory will touch the stars.
Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well - curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.
PRAISE FOR THE GOLDEN MAZE:
'Fidler's passion and love for the ancient city infuses every word, pours off every page, and if you've never been interested in Prague, it will find a way into your heart after reading this book.' - Favel Parrett, The Age
'In The Golden Maze, Richard Fidler covers acres of rich history with a light and loving touch.' - The Canberra Times
'Rollicking story of Prague.' - The Standard
Russia, Rodric Braithwaite
A short and pithy introduction to the history of Russia as we know it today
'Wise and thorough' - The Spectator
'Brisk and readable ... very valuable' - Financial Times
'He is an engaging guide ... and writes with the same flair demonstrated in his previous bestseller Afgantsy' - The Sunday Telegraph
'A scholarly yet highly readable gallop through the last 1000 years of Russian history ... To understand this tormented nation, you can do no better than read this illuminating portrait' - Jonathan Dimbleby
Russia is the largest country in the world, with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Over a thousand years this multifaceted nation of shifting borders has been known as Rus, Muscovy, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union. Thirty years ago it was reinvented as the Russian Federation.
Russia is not an enigma, but its past is violent, tragic, sometimes glorious, and certainly complicated. Like the rest of us, the Russians constantly rewrite their history. They too omit episodes of national disgrace in favour of patriotic anecdotes, sometimes more rooted in myth than reality.
Expert and former ambassador Rodric Braithwaite unpicks fact from fiction to discover what lies at the root of the Russian story.
'Wise and thorough' - The Spectator
'Brisk and readable ... very valuable' - Financial Times
'He is an engaging guide ... and writes with the same flair demonstrated in his previous bestseller Afgantsy' - The Sunday Telegraph
'A scholarly yet highly readable gallop through the last 1000 years of Russian history ... To understand this tormented nation, you can do no better than read this illuminating portrait' - Jonathan Dimbleby
Russia is the largest country in the world, with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. Over a thousand years this multifaceted nation of shifting borders has been known as Rus, Muscovy, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union. Thirty years ago it was reinvented as the Russian Federation.
Russia is not an enigma, but its past is violent, tragic, sometimes glorious, and certainly complicated. Like the rest of us, the Russians constantly rewrite their history. They too omit episodes of national disgrace in favour of patriotic anecdotes, sometimes more rooted in myth than reality.
Expert and former ambassador Rodric Braithwaite unpicks fact from fiction to discover what lies at the root of the Russian story.
Borderland, Anna Reid
FULLY UPDATED
'A fascinating and often violent odyssey, spanning more than 1,000 years of conflict and culture'
INDEPENDENT
Flat, fertile, and fatally tempting to invaders, for centuries Ukraine was fought over by more powerful neighbours. Though its modern national movement dates back to the early nineteenth century, it did not win real independence until 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since then, Ukrainians have proved themselves one of the world's most remarkable nations. In 2014 mass demonstrations forced out a corrupt pro-Russian president. Russia responded by invading, first seizing Crimea and the eastern Donbass, and then in February 2022 marching on Kyiv. With Western help, Ukraine is fighting back. But in what form it will emerge from the war - the bloodiest in Europe since 1945 - remains to be seen.
For this fourth edition of her classic history, Anna Reid returns to the scene. Talking to refugees, politicians and victims of widespread Russian war crimes, she adds a new chapter to the complex biography of a country on the frontline of the conflict between democracy and dictatorship.
'A fascinating and often violent odyssey, spanning more than 1,000 years of conflict and culture'
INDEPENDENT
Flat, fertile, and fatally tempting to invaders, for centuries Ukraine was fought over by more powerful neighbours. Though its modern national movement dates back to the early nineteenth century, it did not win real independence until 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since then, Ukrainians have proved themselves one of the world's most remarkable nations. In 2014 mass demonstrations forced out a corrupt pro-Russian president. Russia responded by invading, first seizing Crimea and the eastern Donbass, and then in February 2022 marching on Kyiv. With Western help, Ukraine is fighting back. But in what form it will emerge from the war - the bloodiest in Europe since 1945 - remains to be seen.
For this fourth edition of her classic history, Anna Reid returns to the scene. Talking to refugees, politicians and victims of widespread Russian war crimes, she adds a new chapter to the complex biography of a country on the frontline of the conflict between democracy and dictatorship.
The Shortest History Of Japan, Lesley Downer
A definitive new history of Japan, where ancient meets cutting-edge in unique and startling ways
Everyone who has ever visited Japan says it feels 'different'. It is a small island nation with few natural resources, limited space and a history of swinging between isolation and openness to the outside world. This past has produced an extraordinary aesthetic culture that has inspired artists, architects, writers and thinkers worldwide.
This brilliantly distilled and entertaining history takes the reader from Japan's prehistoric beginnings right up to the present day. It offers a captivating introduction for readers who know nothing about Japan while being full of insights for the Japan specialist, with an aha! moment on every page.
Lesley Downer takes the reader through the great sweep of Japanese history, focusing on the dramatic stories of the colourful characters who populate it. She traces the flowering of Buddhism, the country's complex relationship with the rest of the world, and the extraordinary creativity that produced the world's first novel and the art of Hokusai, among much else. She brings in issues of contemporary interest, such as how Japan managed to avoid colonisation. Along the way, she explains the history and significance of Japan's unique traditions, from samurai and geisha to kabuki and the tea ceremony. She ends by considering where the future might take Japan, as it navigates new challenges and takes on a new role as the world's capital of cool, home of manga and anime, street fashion, Nintendo and Pokemon.
Everyone who has ever visited Japan says it feels 'different'. It is a small island nation with few natural resources, limited space and a history of swinging between isolation and openness to the outside world. This past has produced an extraordinary aesthetic culture that has inspired artists, architects, writers and thinkers worldwide.
This brilliantly distilled and entertaining history takes the reader from Japan's prehistoric beginnings right up to the present day. It offers a captivating introduction for readers who know nothing about Japan while being full of insights for the Japan specialist, with an aha! moment on every page.
Lesley Downer takes the reader through the great sweep of Japanese history, focusing on the dramatic stories of the colourful characters who populate it. She traces the flowering of Buddhism, the country's complex relationship with the rest of the world, and the extraordinary creativity that produced the world's first novel and the art of Hokusai, among much else. She brings in issues of contemporary interest, such as how Japan managed to avoid colonisation. Along the way, she explains the history and significance of Japan's unique traditions, from samurai and geisha to kabuki and the tea ceremony. She ends by considering where the future might take Japan, as it navigates new challenges and takes on a new role as the world's capital of cool, home of manga and anime, street fashion, Nintendo and Pokemon.
The Shortest History Of Italy, Ross King
Embark on a captivating journey through 3000 years of Italy's rich history
'Italian history has always been about resilience and rebirth ... It is a country that for so many centuries has offered up visions of the wonders to which we humans, at our very best, can aspire.'
Italy was the centre of Europe's first world-wide empire and the home of the Renaissance. Its political and cultural influences have encircled the globe. Today it is the fifth most-visited country in the world. With a population of 60 million, it welcomes, each year, almost double that number of tourists. No other country has as many UNESCO World Heritage sites- 58 and counting.
The Shortest History of Italy brings these and many other parts of the country alive through a panoramic sweep across some 3000 years of politics, culture, history and larger-than-life, world-bestriding personalities such as Julius Caesar, St Francis of Assisi and Giuseppe Garibaldi, together with a cast of scheming popes, rampaging barbarians, artistic geniuses, unscrupulous politicians and ambitious mafiosi.
Lively and entertaining, this is the history of one of the world's most fascinating places.
'Italian history has always been about resilience and rebirth ... It is a country that for so many centuries has offered up visions of the wonders to which we humans, at our very best, can aspire.'
Italy was the centre of Europe's first world-wide empire and the home of the Renaissance. Its political and cultural influences have encircled the globe. Today it is the fifth most-visited country in the world. With a population of 60 million, it welcomes, each year, almost double that number of tourists. No other country has as many UNESCO World Heritage sites- 58 and counting.
The Shortest History of Italy brings these and many other parts of the country alive through a panoramic sweep across some 3000 years of politics, culture, history and larger-than-life, world-bestriding personalities such as Julius Caesar, St Francis of Assisi and Giuseppe Garibaldi, together with a cast of scheming popes, rampaging barbarians, artistic geniuses, unscrupulous politicians and ambitious mafiosi.
Lively and entertaining, this is the history of one of the world's most fascinating places.
Jerusalem, Simon Sebag Montefiore
A new, updated, revised edition of JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY, the wider history of the Middle East through the lens of the Holy City, from King David to today.
The story of Jerusalem is the story of the world.
Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilisations. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the 'centre of the world' and now the key to peace in the Middle East? Drawing on new archives and a lifetime's study, Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem.
A classic of modern literature, this is not only the epic story of 3,000 years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and co-existence, but also a freshly-updated history of the entire Middle East, from King David to the twenty-first century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict and the wars of today. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem - the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.
The story of Jerusalem is the story of the world.
Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilisations. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the 'centre of the world' and now the key to peace in the Middle East? Drawing on new archives and a lifetime's study, Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem.
A classic of modern literature, this is not only the epic story of 3,000 years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and co-existence, but also a freshly-updated history of the entire Middle East, from King David to the twenty-first century, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict and the wars of today. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem - the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.
The Hundred Years' War On Palestine, Rashid I. Khalidi
This is the story of Palestine told from the inside.
'Riveting and original ... a work enriched by solid scholarship, vivid personal experience, and acute appreciation of the concerns and aspirations of the contending parties in this deeply unequal conflict ' - Noam Chomsky
The twentieth century for Palestine and the Palestinians has been a century of denial: denial of statehood, denial of nationhood and denial of history. The Hundred Years War on Palestine is Rashid Khalidi's powerful response. Drawing on his family archives, he reclaims the fundamental right of any people: to narrate their history on their own terms.
Beginning in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, Khalidi reveals nascent Palestinian nationalism and the broad recognition by the early Zionists of the colonial nature of their project. These ideas and their echoes defend Nakba - the Palestinian term for the establishment of the state of Israel - the cession of the West Bank and Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, the Six Day War and the occupation. Moving through these critical moments, Khalidi interweaves the voices of journalists, poets and resistance leaders with his own accounts as a child of a UN official and a resident of Beirut during the 1982 seige. The result is a profoundly moving account of a hundred-year-long war of occupation, dispossession and colonialisation.
'Riveting and original ... a work enriched by solid scholarship, vivid personal experience, and acute appreciation of the concerns and aspirations of the contending parties in this deeply unequal conflict ' - Noam Chomsky
The twentieth century for Palestine and the Palestinians has been a century of denial: denial of statehood, denial of nationhood and denial of history. The Hundred Years War on Palestine is Rashid Khalidi's powerful response. Drawing on his family archives, he reclaims the fundamental right of any people: to narrate their history on their own terms.
Beginning in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, Khalidi reveals nascent Palestinian nationalism and the broad recognition by the early Zionists of the colonial nature of their project. These ideas and their echoes defend Nakba - the Palestinian term for the establishment of the state of Israel - the cession of the West Bank and Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, the Six Day War and the occupation. Moving through these critical moments, Khalidi interweaves the voices of journalists, poets and resistance leaders with his own accounts as a child of a UN official and a resident of Beirut during the 1982 seige. The result is a profoundly moving account of a hundred-year-long war of occupation, dispossession and colonialisation.
In Search Of Berlin, John Kampfner
The new book from Sunday Times bestselling author John Kampfner: a sweeping history of Berlin, city of haven and hell, disaster and reinvention
No other city has had so many lives, survived so many disasters and has reinvented itself so many times. No other city is like Berlin.
Ever since John Kampfner was a young journalist in Communist East Berlin, he hasn't been able to get the city out of his mind. It is a place tortured by its past, obsessed with memories, a place where traumas are unleashed and the traumatised have gathered.
Over the past four years Kampfner has walked the length and breadth of Berlin, delving into the archives, and talking to historians and writers, architects and archaeologists. He clambers onto a fallen statue of Lenin; he rummages in boxes of early Medieval bones; he learns about the cabaret star so outrageous she was thrown out of the city.
Berlin has been a military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of learning, hotbed of decadence - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. Now a city of refuge, it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population has a migrant background. Berlin never stands still. It is never satisfied. It never believes it has the answer. But it is now the irresistible capital to which the world is gravitating.
In Search of Berlin is an 800-year story, a dialogue between past and present; it is a new way of looking at this turbulent and beguiling city on its never-ending journey of reinvention.
No other city has had so many lives, survived so many disasters and has reinvented itself so many times. No other city is like Berlin.
Ever since John Kampfner was a young journalist in Communist East Berlin, he hasn't been able to get the city out of his mind. It is a place tortured by its past, obsessed with memories, a place where traumas are unleashed and the traumatised have gathered.
Over the past four years Kampfner has walked the length and breadth of Berlin, delving into the archives, and talking to historians and writers, architects and archaeologists. He clambers onto a fallen statue of Lenin; he rummages in boxes of early Medieval bones; he learns about the cabaret star so outrageous she was thrown out of the city.
Berlin has been a military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of learning, hotbed of decadence - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. Now a city of refuge, it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population has a migrant background. Berlin never stands still. It is never satisfied. It never believes it has the answer. But it is now the irresistible capital to which the world is gravitating.
In Search of Berlin is an 800-year story, a dialogue between past and present; it is a new way of looking at this turbulent and beguiling city on its never-ending journey of reinvention.
The World, Simon Sebag Montefiore
THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family.
We begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: 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.
A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee.
Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children.
This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.
ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family.
We begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: 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.
A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee.
Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children.
This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.
The Earth Transformed: An Untold Story, Peter Frankopan
When we think about history, we rarely pay much attention to the most destructive floods, the worst winters, the most devastating droughts or the ways that ecosystems have changed over time.
InThe Earth Transformed,Peter Frankopan, one of the world’s leading historians, shows that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history – and not just of humankind. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts, as well as anthropogenic behaviour, are fundamental parts of the past and the present. In this magnificent and groundbreaking book, we learn about the origins of our species: about the development of religion and language and their relationships with the environment; about how the desire to centralise agricultural surplus formed the origins of the bureaucratic state; about how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increased shipment of enslaved peoples; about how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. All provide lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.
Taking us from the Big Bang to the present day and beyond,The Earth Transformedforces us to reckon with humankind’s continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world.
InThe Earth Transformed,Peter Frankopan, one of the world’s leading historians, shows that the natural environment is a crucial, if not the defining, factor in global history – and not just of humankind. Volcanic eruptions, solar activities, atmospheric, oceanic and other shifts, as well as anthropogenic behaviour, are fundamental parts of the past and the present. In this magnificent and groundbreaking book, we learn about the origins of our species: about the development of religion and language and their relationships with the environment; about how the desire to centralise agricultural surplus formed the origins of the bureaucratic state; about how growing demands for harvests resulted in the increased shipment of enslaved peoples; about how efforts to understand and manipulate the weather have a long and deep history. All provide lessons of profound importance as we face a precarious future of rapid global warming.
Taking us from the Big Bang to the present day and beyond,The Earth Transformedforces us to reckon with humankind’s continuing efforts to make sense of the natural world.
The History Hit Miscellany Of Facts, Figures And Fascinating Finds, History Hit
Have you ever wondered what Stalin did before he became leader of the Soviet Union? Did you know Socrates, Alcibiades and Aristophanes once got together to talk about love? Why did Sergeant Stubby become famous? What's the difference between a dolmen and a barrow? Which king invaded Yorkshire in 1471? Was Napoleon really small? Did Edison invent the light bulb? Who said 'Pardon me, sir, I didn't mean to' just before they were executed? When were submarines invented?
The answers to all these questions and so much more is contained within this wonderful miscellany of historical facts, figures and fascinating finds which will enthral, entertain and inform everyone who loves history and wants to know more about more.
The answers to all these questions and so much more is contained within this wonderful miscellany of historical facts, figures and fascinating finds which will enthral, entertain and inform everyone who loves history and wants to know more about more.
A History Of The World In Twelve Shipwrecks, David Gibbins
'Masterful and entrancing - this is big history at its best.' Professor Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors
'A real-life Indiana Jones takes readers on a dive through these underwater museums, revealing the sunken secrets of the past' The Times
'Fascinating... wonderful material, well researched and placed in its wider context' Spectator
From a Bronze Age ship built during the age of Queen Nefertiti and filled with ancient treasures, a Viking warship made for King Cnut himself, Henry VIII's spectacular Mary Rose and the golden age of the Tudor court, to the exploration of the Arctic, the tragic story of HMS Terror and tales of bravery and endurance aboard HMS Gairsoppa in World War Two, these are the stories of some of the greatest underwater discoveries of all time. A rich and exciting narrative, this is not just the story of those ships and the people who sailed on them, the cargo and treasure they carried and their tragic fate. This is also the story of the spread of people, religion and ideas around the world, a story of colonialism and migration which continues today.
Drawing on decades of experience excavating shipwrecks around the world, renowned maritime archaeologist David Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past to tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.
'A real-life Indiana Jones takes readers on a dive through these underwater museums, revealing the sunken secrets of the past' The Times
'Fascinating... wonderful material, well researched and placed in its wider context' Spectator
From a Bronze Age ship built during the age of Queen Nefertiti and filled with ancient treasures, a Viking warship made for King Cnut himself, Henry VIII's spectacular Mary Rose and the golden age of the Tudor court, to the exploration of the Arctic, the tragic story of HMS Terror and tales of bravery and endurance aboard HMS Gairsoppa in World War Two, these are the stories of some of the greatest underwater discoveries of all time. A rich and exciting narrative, this is not just the story of those ships and the people who sailed on them, the cargo and treasure they carried and their tragic fate. This is also the story of the spread of people, religion and ideas around the world, a story of colonialism and migration which continues today.
Drawing on decades of experience excavating shipwrecks around the world, renowned maritime archaeologist David Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past to tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.
Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari
Sapiens showed us where we came from. Homo Deus shows us where we're going.
WAR IS OBSOLETE
You are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict
FAMINE IS DISAPPEARING
You are at more risk of obesity than starvation
DEATH IS JUST A TECHNICAL PROBLEM
Equality is out, but immortality is in
WHAT DOES OUR FUTURE HOLD?
WAR IS OBSOLETE
You are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict
FAMINE IS DISAPPEARING
You are at more risk of obesity than starvation
DEATH IS JUST A TECHNICAL PROBLEM
Equality is out, but immortality is in
WHAT DOES OUR FUTURE HOLD?
Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari
What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? This bestselling history of our species challenges everything we know about being human.
Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us.
We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?
In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.
Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind's extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world
'It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel
Yuval's follow up to Sapiens, Homo Deus, is available now.
Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us.
We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens?
In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going.
Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind's extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world
'It tackles the biggest questions of history and of the modern world, and it is written in unforgettably vivid language. You will love it!' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel
Yuval's follow up to Sapiens, Homo Deus, is available now.
A Short History Of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
The incomparable Bill Bryson travels through time and space to introduce us to the world, the universe and everything in this groundbreaking book, the best selling popular science book of the 21st century.
Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry and particle physics, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science.
The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century, and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization - how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. Bill Bryson's challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry and particle physics, and see if there isn't some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science.
The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century, and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
Soldiers, Max Hastings
‘A gripping new collection from Max Hastings that puts you at the heart of the battle … Compelling’ Daily Mail
‘An unmissable read’ Sunday Times
Soldiers is a very personal gathering of sparkling, gripping tales by many writers, about men and women who have borne arms, reflecting bestselling historian Max Hastings’s lifetime of studying war. It rings the changes through the centuries, between the heroic, tragic and comic; the famous and the humble. The nearly 350 stories illustrate vividly what it is like to fight in wars, to live and die as a warrior, from Greek and Roman times through to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here you will meet Jewish heroes of the Bible, Rome’s captain of the gate, Queen Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Cromwell, Wellington, Napoleon’s marshals, Ulysses S. Grant, George S. Patton and the modern SAS. There are tales of great writers who served in uniform including Cobbett and Tolstoy, Edward Gibbon and Siegfried Sassoon, Marcel Proust and Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell and George MacDonald Fraser. Here are also stories of the female ‘abosi’ fighters of Dahomey and heroic ambulance drivers of World War I, together with the new-age women soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The stories reflect a change of mood towards warfare through the ages: though nations and movements continue to inflict terrible violence upon each other, most of humankind has retreated from the old notion of war as a sport or pastime, to acknowledge it as the supreme tragedy.
This is a book to inspire in turn fascination, excitement, horror, amazement, occasionally laughter. Max Hastings mingles respect for the courage of those who fight with compassion for those who become their victims, above all civilians, and especially in the twenty-first century, which some are already calling ‘the Post-Heroic Age’.
‘An unmissable read’ Sunday Times
Soldiers is a very personal gathering of sparkling, gripping tales by many writers, about men and women who have borne arms, reflecting bestselling historian Max Hastings’s lifetime of studying war. It rings the changes through the centuries, between the heroic, tragic and comic; the famous and the humble. The nearly 350 stories illustrate vividly what it is like to fight in wars, to live and die as a warrior, from Greek and Roman times through to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here you will meet Jewish heroes of the Bible, Rome’s captain of the gate, Queen Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Cromwell, Wellington, Napoleon’s marshals, Ulysses S. Grant, George S. Patton and the modern SAS. There are tales of great writers who served in uniform including Cobbett and Tolstoy, Edward Gibbon and Siegfried Sassoon, Marcel Proust and Evelyn Waugh, George Orwell and George MacDonald Fraser. Here are also stories of the female ‘abosi’ fighters of Dahomey and heroic ambulance drivers of World War I, together with the new-age women soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The stories reflect a change of mood towards warfare through the ages: though nations and movements continue to inflict terrible violence upon each other, most of humankind has retreated from the old notion of war as a sport or pastime, to acknowledge it as the supreme tragedy.
This is a book to inspire in turn fascination, excitement, horror, amazement, occasionally laughter. Max Hastings mingles respect for the courage of those who fight with compassion for those who become their victims, above all civilians, and especially in the twenty-first century, which some are already calling ‘the Post-Heroic Age’.
Lest, Mark Dapin
From Simpson’s donkey and the Emu War to Vietnam and Ben Roberts-Smith, Australian military history is full of events that didn’t happen the way most people think they did. In his inimitable style, award-winning author Mark Dapin sets the record straight.
Australia’s war tales could be said to be the closest thing we have to sacred stories: ANZAC, Simpson and his donkey, Changi, the wronged diggers in Vietnam, Ben Roberts-Smith. Millions of dollars are spent enshrining these stories in the War Memorial in Canberra and the Australian National Memorial in France, amongst others.
But did what we’re celebrating actually happen?
In this book, award-winning author and historian Mark Dapin shows that often the reality was completely different from the myth – and that by celebrating the wrong people, we often forget about the real heroes. With deep research and a sharp wit, Lest reclaims the truth about our military history.
Australia’s war tales could be said to be the closest thing we have to sacred stories: ANZAC, Simpson and his donkey, Changi, the wronged diggers in Vietnam, Ben Roberts-Smith. Millions of dollars are spent enshrining these stories in the War Memorial in Canberra and the Australian National Memorial in France, amongst others.
But did what we’re celebrating actually happen?
In this book, award-winning author and historian Mark Dapin shows that often the reality was completely different from the myth – and that by celebrating the wrong people, we often forget about the real heroes. With deep research and a sharp wit, Lest reclaims the truth about our military history.
COFFEE TABLE/GIFT BOOKS
The Story Of Art Without Men, Katy Hessel
The story of art for our times - one with women at its heart, brought together for the first time by the creator of @thegreatwomenartists
How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? Did women even work as artists before the twentieth century? And what is the Baroque anyway?
Discover the glittering Sofonisba Anguissola of the Renaissance, the radical work of Harriet Powers in the nineteenth-century USA and the artist who really invented the Readymade. Explore the Dutch Golden Age, the astonishing work of post-War artists in Latin America and the women artists defining art in the 2020s. Have your sense of art history overturned, and your eyes opened to many art forms often overlooked or dismissed. From the Cornish coast to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, this is the history of art as it's never been told before.
How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? Did women even work as artists before the twentieth century? And what is the Baroque anyway?
Discover the glittering Sofonisba Anguissola of the Renaissance, the radical work of Harriet Powers in the nineteenth-century USA and the artist who really invented the Readymade. Explore the Dutch Golden Age, the astonishing work of post-War artists in Latin America and the women artists defining art in the 2020s. Have your sense of art history overturned, and your eyes opened to many art forms often overlooked or dismissed. From the Cornish coast to Manhattan, Nigeria to Japan, this is the history of art as it's never been told before.
100 Letters That Changed The World, Colin Salter
A collection of the most inspiring and powerful letters of all time.
The written word has the power to inspire, astonish and entertain, as this collection of 100 letters that changed history will show. Ordered chronologically, the letters range from ink-inscribed tablets that vividly describe life in the Roman Empire to remarkable last wills and testaments, passionate outpourings of love and despair, and succinct notes with deadly consequences.
Entries include: A resume from Leonardo da Vinci, with barely a mention of his artistic talents; Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn, which eventually led to the dissolution of the monasteries; Beatrix Potter's correspondence with a friend's son that introduced the character of Peter Rabbit; SOS telegrams from the Titanic; Abraham Lincoln's letter that contradicted his fight against slavery; a legal letter marking the end of the Beatles; Emile Zola's open letter ('J'accuse!'); the scrawled note that brought about Oscar Wilde's downfall; as well as famous last words from Virginia Woolf to Kurt Cobain.
Reissued with an elegant new cover, this fascinating book is perfect both for reading cover-to-cover and dipping into to discover the delights within.
The written word has the power to inspire, astonish and entertain, as this collection of 100 letters that changed history will show. Ordered chronologically, the letters range from ink-inscribed tablets that vividly describe life in the Roman Empire to remarkable last wills and testaments, passionate outpourings of love and despair, and succinct notes with deadly consequences.
Entries include: A resume from Leonardo da Vinci, with barely a mention of his artistic talents; Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn, which eventually led to the dissolution of the monasteries; Beatrix Potter's correspondence with a friend's son that introduced the character of Peter Rabbit; SOS telegrams from the Titanic; Abraham Lincoln's letter that contradicted his fight against slavery; a legal letter marking the end of the Beatles; Emile Zola's open letter ('J'accuse!'); the scrawled note that brought about Oscar Wilde's downfall; as well as famous last words from Virginia Woolf to Kurt Cobain.
Reissued with an elegant new cover, this fascinating book is perfect both for reading cover-to-cover and dipping into to discover the delights within.
Seaside 100, Kathryn Ferry
Sandcastles, donkeys, piers and sticks of rock. Beach huts, paddle steamers, promenade shelters and ice cream cones. Our modern seaside is the sum of its parts and all those parts have their history. This book explores the best-loved features of our favourite holiday destinations, each object and building adding its own layer to the story of our shared seaside heritage. Using a mixture of historic images and modern photographs the book takes a roughly chronological journey through the things that have made our seaside distinctive. The places where we have chosen to take our holidays for the past three hundred years have been transformed from mere stretches of coastline but they are not like inland towns. Inside these pages can be found a celebration of all that makes our seaside special.
Illustrated History of Australia, A.K. Macdougall
Before Les Carlyon and Peter FitzSimons were household names, A.K. MacDougall wrote this dynamic illustrated history of Australia. Here it is revised and updated for a new generation. As Mark Twain observed about Australian history, 'It does not read like history, but like the most beautiful lies... full of surprises and adventures and incongruities and incredibilities; but they are all true; they all happened.'
Treasures Of The Natural World, Museums Victoria Publishing
Treasures of the Natural World catalogue accompanies an exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. A collection of some of the most fascinating and rare treasures from the Natural History Museum, London and enriched by the addition of First Peoples’ narratives, an important step in acknowledging the complex history of some of the objects and respecting the deep relationship First Peoples have with the natural world.
Objects gathered from around the world over hundreds of years, Treasures of the Natural World catalogue includes these most wondrous objects of astounding beauty and abundance of life on Earth. Accompanied by stories of meaning and resonance from diverse peoples around the world connecting us with landscape and helping to foster a love of, and curiosity about the world around us.
Charles Darwin’s pet juvenile giant tortoise; Alfred Russel Wallace’s 83,200 beetles collected in southeast Asia and Sir Joseph Banks’s shells collected during his HMS Endeavour exhibition and the exquisite illustrations of small sea creatures drawn by artists who accompanied Banks are just a few of the hundreds of objects in these pages.
This outstanding collection of treasures is presented in an exquisitely designed book and printed to the highest standards. A unique and must-have catalogue.
Objects gathered from around the world over hundreds of years, Treasures of the Natural World catalogue includes these most wondrous objects of astounding beauty and abundance of life on Earth. Accompanied by stories of meaning and resonance from diverse peoples around the world connecting us with landscape and helping to foster a love of, and curiosity about the world around us.
Charles Darwin’s pet juvenile giant tortoise; Alfred Russel Wallace’s 83,200 beetles collected in southeast Asia and Sir Joseph Banks’s shells collected during his HMS Endeavour exhibition and the exquisite illustrations of small sea creatures drawn by artists who accompanied Banks are just a few of the hundreds of objects in these pages.
This outstanding collection of treasures is presented in an exquisitely designed book and printed to the highest standards. A unique and must-have catalogue.
Migrations, DK
A visual exploration of the movements of peoples, cultures, and ideas that brings a human perspective to a global phenomenon
Discover how the migration of peoples has shaped the modern world.
This beautifully-illustrated book details the movement of people and cultures around the world - from the early migrations of Homo erectus out of Africa 50,000 years ago to modern refugee movements and migrations.
Through striking photographs, evocative illustrations, and intimate first hand accounts, Migrations explores famous (and infamous) movements in history, from the Middle Passage and Trail of Tears to the California Gold Rush and the Windrush generation.
While many traditional world histories focus on (mainly European) "exploration" and "discovery", Migrations explores the story of each continent and focuses on cultures rather than conquest. Migrations highlights the human story and the positives- what has survived, not just what was destroyed.
With a foreword by award-winning historian, broadcaster, and filmmaker, David Olusoga OBE, Migrations is a history book with a fresh perspective, focusing on a topic ever more relevant in the modern world- Where did we come from? Why do people leave their homes? What brought us all together?
Discover how the migration of peoples has shaped the modern world.
This beautifully-illustrated book details the movement of people and cultures around the world - from the early migrations of Homo erectus out of Africa 50,000 years ago to modern refugee movements and migrations.
Through striking photographs, evocative illustrations, and intimate first hand accounts, Migrations explores famous (and infamous) movements in history, from the Middle Passage and Trail of Tears to the California Gold Rush and the Windrush generation.
While many traditional world histories focus on (mainly European) "exploration" and "discovery", Migrations explores the story of each continent and focuses on cultures rather than conquest. Migrations highlights the human story and the positives- what has survived, not just what was destroyed.
With a foreword by award-winning historian, broadcaster, and filmmaker, David Olusoga OBE, Migrations is a history book with a fresh perspective, focusing on a topic ever more relevant in the modern world- Where did we come from? Why do people leave their homes? What brought us all together?
The D-Day Atlas, Charles Messenger, James Holland
A vivid re-creation of the D-Day invasion and its aftermath, told through detailed maps, authoritative text by a noted military historian and contemporary photographs.
This powerful study chronicles the evolution of the invasion plan and culminates in a day-by-day account of the landings by sea and by air on the Normandy beaches, followed by the grim six-week struggle to break through the German defences. An important feature is the space devoted to the German point of view, based on the latest archival research, and the organization of the French Resistance in northern and western France.
At the heart of the book are 71 maps in full colour, many drawing in detail on those used by the Allies in 1944. Specially commissioned reconstruction drawings and contemporary photographs help bring the beaches and bocage of Normandy to life.
This powerful study chronicles the evolution of the invasion plan and culminates in a day-by-day account of the landings by sea and by air on the Normandy beaches, followed by the grim six-week struggle to break through the German defences. An important feature is the space devoted to the German point of view, based on the latest archival research, and the organization of the French Resistance in northern and western France.
At the heart of the book are 71 maps in full colour, many drawing in detail on those used by the Allies in 1944. Specially commissioned reconstruction drawings and contemporary photographs help bring the beaches and bocage of Normandy to life.
History Year By Year, DK
A concise and detailed chronological survey of world events from early human ancestors to the present day
Discover the world's most significant events through a detailed, dynamic, book-long timeline of over 7 million years.
When did Hannibal cross the Alps? What caused the war of Jenkins' Ear? Who was Rosa Parks? How did the Arab Spring unfold? Discover history's most decisive moments as and when they happened. Taking a chronological approach, History Year by Year invites you to explore momentous discoveries, ingenious inventions, and important events from around the world in the context of their time. Along the way you'll meet charismatic leaders, brutal dictators, influential thinkers, and innovative scientists from every corner of the globe.
Follow in the steps of your human ancestors as they colonize the planet, develop tools, harness fire, and paint cave walls. Learn how their descendants established great civilizations, founded huge empires, domesticated animals, built pyramids, produced great art, authored epic poems, and even travelled into space. There are wars and rebellions, voyages of adventure and discovery, extraordinary developments in technology, and incredible sporting feats.
Accessible to everyone, History Year by Year's combination of bite-sized information, eye-catching images, crystal-clear maps, and memorable stats will delight history-lovers and make an ideal gift for trivia fans wanting facts at their fingertips. If you've ever wondered exactly what happened when - and where it all took place - then this is the book for you.
Discover the world's most significant events through a detailed, dynamic, book-long timeline of over 7 million years.
When did Hannibal cross the Alps? What caused the war of Jenkins' Ear? Who was Rosa Parks? How did the Arab Spring unfold? Discover history's most decisive moments as and when they happened. Taking a chronological approach, History Year by Year invites you to explore momentous discoveries, ingenious inventions, and important events from around the world in the context of their time. Along the way you'll meet charismatic leaders, brutal dictators, influential thinkers, and innovative scientists from every corner of the globe.
Follow in the steps of your human ancestors as they colonize the planet, develop tools, harness fire, and paint cave walls. Learn how their descendants established great civilizations, founded huge empires, domesticated animals, built pyramids, produced great art, authored epic poems, and even travelled into space. There are wars and rebellions, voyages of adventure and discovery, extraordinary developments in technology, and incredible sporting feats.
Accessible to everyone, History Year by Year's combination of bite-sized information, eye-catching images, crystal-clear maps, and memorable stats will delight history-lovers and make an ideal gift for trivia fans wanting facts at their fingertips. If you've ever wondered exactly what happened when - and where it all took place - then this is the book for you.