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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER AND BBC HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2022''Pacey and potentially revolutionary'' Sunday Times ''Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read'' The Guardian For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we begin to see what''s really there. If humans did not spend 95 per cent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful possibilities than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision and faith in the power of direct action.''This is not a book. This is an intellectual feast'' Nassim Nicholas Taleb''The most profound and exciting book I''ve read in thirty years'' Robin D. G. KelleyTrade ReviewA boldly ambitious work ... entertaining and thought-provoking ... an impressively large undertaking that succeeds in making us reconsider not just the remote past but also the too-close-to-see present, as well as the common thread that is our shifting and elusive nature. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *What a gift ... Graeber and Wengrow offer a history of the past 30,000 years that is not only wildly different from anything we're used to, but also far more interesting: textured, surprising, paradoxical, inspiring. -- William Deresiewicz * The Atlantic *Iconoclastic and irreverent ... an exhilarating read ... As we seek new, sustainable ways to organise our world, we need to understand the full range of ways our ancestors thought and lived. And we must certainly question conventional versions of our history which we have accepted, unexamined, for far too long. -- David Priestland * The Guardian *Pacey and potentially revolutionary ... This is more than an argument about the past, it is about the human condition in the present. -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *A fascinating, radical, and playful entry into a seemingly exhaustively well-trodden genre, the grand evolutionary history of humanity. It seeks nothing less than to completely upend the terms on which the Standard Narrative rests ... erudite, compelling, generative, and frequently remarkably funny ... once you start thinking like Graeber and Wengrow, it's difficult to stop. -- Emily M. Kern * Boston Review *A spectacular, flashy and ground-breaking retelling of human history, blazing with iconoclastic rebuttals to conventional wisdom. Full of fresh thinking, it's a pleasure to read and offers a bracing challenge on every page. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * BBC History *A timely, intriguing, original and provocative take on the most recent thirty thousand years of human history ... consistently thought-provoking ... In forcing us to re-examine some of the cosy assumptions about our deep past, Graeber and Wengrow remind us very clearly of the perils of holding ourselves captive to a deterministic vision of human history as we try to shape our future. -- James Suzman * Literary Review *An engrossing series of insights ... They re-inject humanity into our distant forebears, suggesting that our prevailing story about human history - that not much innovation occurred in human societies until the invention of agriculture - is utterly wrong. -- Anthony Doerr * Observer *Fascinating, thought-provoking, groundbreaking. A book that will generate debate for years to come. -- Rutger BregmanThe Dawn of Everything is also the radical revision of everything, liberating us from the familiar stories about humanity's past that are too often deployed to impose limitations on how we imagine humanity's future. Instead they tell us that what human beings are most of all is creative, from the beginning, so that there is no one way we were or should or could be. Another of the powerful currents running through this book is a reclaiming of Indigenous perspectives as a colossal influence on European thought, a valuable contribution to decolonizing global histories. -- Rebecca SolnitSynthesizing much recent scholarship, The Dawn of Everything briskly overthrows old and obsolete assumptions about the past, renews our intellectual and spiritual resources, and reveals, miraculously, the future as open-ended. It is the most bracing book I have read in recent years. -- Pankaj MishraThis is not a book. This is an intellectual feast. There is not a single chapter that does not (playfully) disrupt well seated intellectual beliefs. It is deep, effortlessly iconoclastic, factually rigorous, and pleasurable to read. -- Nassim Nicholas TalebA fascinating inquiry, which leads us to rethink the nature of human capacities, as well as the proudest moments of our own history, and our interactions with and indebtedness to the cultures and forgotten intellectuals of indigenous societies. Challenging and illuminating. -- Noam ChomskyThe book has captured the public imagination ... and is being cited as the reason why students apply to do archaeology courses. It's probably the biggest boost to the field since Indiana Jones escaped from the snake pit. -- Andrew Anthony * The Observer *Graeber and Wengrow have effectively overturned everything I ever thought about the history of the world ... The authors don't just debunk the myths, they give a thrilling intellectual history of how they came about, why they persist, and what it all means for the just future we hope to create. The most profound and exciting book I've read in thirty years. -- Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, UCLA, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical ImaginationScholarly, irreverent, radical and genuinely ground-breaking - my kind of non-fiction. -- Emma DabiriA massive, bracing book that turns ideas like progress and civilization inside out. It looks at the past with excitement and the future with optimism and invites you to do the same. -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce * The Tablet *A fascinating, intellectually challenging big book about big ideas. * Kirkus *An act of intellectual effrontery that recalls Karl Marx ... The book's a gem. Its dense scholarly detail, compiling archaeological findings from some 30,000 years of global civilizations, is leavened by both freewheeling jokes and philosophic passages of startling originality ... The Dawn takes to the open sea to argue that things are, above all, subject to change. -- Virginia Heffernan * Wired *Are you looking for some hope in a dark season? The Dawn of Everything is a line of light at the edge of the world - an exploration of the radically different ways societies have been organised throughout time ... exciting, fresh and, yes, hopeful. -- Naomi Alderman * The Spectator *A work of dizzying ambition, one that seeks to rescue stateless societies from the condescension with which they're usually treated ... Our forebears crafted their societies intentionally and intelligently: This is the fundamental, electrifying insight of The Dawn of Everything. It's a book that refuses to dismiss long-ago peoples as corks floating on the waves of prehistory. Instead, it treats them as reflective political thinkers from whom we might learn something. -- Daniel Immerwahr * The Nation *Not content with different answers to the great questions of human history, Graeber and Wengrow insist on revolutionizing the very questions we ask. The result: a dazzling, original, and convincing account of the rich, playful, reflective, and experimental symposia that 'pre-modern' indigenous life represents; and a challenging re-writing of the intellectual history of anthropology and archaeology. The Dawn of Everything deserves to become the port of embarkation for virtually all subsequent work on these massive themes. Those who do embark will have, in the two Davids, incomparable navigators. -- James C. Scott, Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology, Yale University, author of Seeing Like a StateGraeber and Wengrow debug cliches about humanity's deep history to open up our thinking about what's possible in the future. There is no more vital or timely project. -- Jaron LanierAs dense, dizzying and ambitious as the title suggests, it offers a new take on 30,000 years of humanity, suggesting our present-centric focus does a disservice to the fascinating lives of our forebears, and providing fresh context for the modern condition. * City A.M. *A truly crucial book ... an engrossing and revelatory re-examination of the human past challenges us to reject outdated ideas and consider new directions for our future. -- Natalie Bennett * Politic Home *A work that is at once dense, funny, thorough, joyful, unabashedly intelligent, and infinitely readable. * The Rumpus *

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Book SynopsisPeter Jones was educated at Cambridge University and taught Classics at Cambridge and at Newcastle University, before retiring in 1997. He has written a regular column, 'Ancient & Modern', in the Spectator for many years and is the author of various books on the Classics, including the bestselling Learn Latin and Learn Ancient Greek, as well as Vote for Caesar and Reading Virgil's Aeneid I and II.

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Book SynopsisKatharine Radice teaches Classics at the Stephen Perse Foundation, UK. She is a regular speaker at Classics conferences on the methodology of effective Latin teaching. She is an experienced examiner and has co-authored recent A Level editions of Ovid (Bloomsbury Academic, 2011), Cicero (Bloomsbury Academic, 2013), Tacitus (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016) and Nepos and Tacitus (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025).Angela Cheetham teaches Classics at the Stephen Perse Foundation, UK. Sonya Kirk teaches Classics at the Stephen Perse Foundation, UK. George Lord is an Independent Scholar, UK.

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Book Synopsis'Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to!' – Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's TaleThe Greek myths are among the world's most important cultural building blocks and they have been retold many times, but rarely do they focus on the remarkable women at the heart of these ancient stories.Now, in Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths, Natalie Haynes – broadcaster, writer and passionate classicist – redresses this imbalance. Taking Pandora and her jar (the box came later) as the starting point, she puts the women of the Greek myths on equal footing with the menfolk.Stories of gods and monsters are the mainstay of epic poetry and Greek tragedy, from Homer to Aeschylus. But modern tellers of Greek myth have usually been men, and have routinely shown little interest in telling women’s stories. And when they do, those women are often painted as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil. But Pandora – the first woman, who according to legend unloosed chaos upon the world – was not a villain, and even Medea and Phaedra have more nuanced stories than generations of retellings might indicate.After millennia of stories telling of gods and men, be they Zeus or Odysseus, the voices that sing from these pages are those of Hera, Athena and Artemis, and of Clytemnestra, Jocasta, Eurydice and Penelope.'A treasure box of classical delights. Never has ancient misogyny been presented with so much wit and style' - historian Amanda ForemanTrade ReviewReading Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes: Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on! -- Margaret AtwoodIf I'm ever prosecuted, I'd like Natalie Haynes to defend me. She argues persuasively, carving out space for women denied a voice (Medusa), overshadowed (Jocasta) and unjustly condemned (Helen of Troy) . . . Agile, rich, subversive, Pandora's Jar proves that the classics are far from dead, and keep evolving with us. -- Madeleine Feeny * Mail on Sunday *Haynes is a brilliant classicist as well as a stand-up comedian and with her latest offering, Pandora's Jar, she has effectively written the first textbook codifying this new feminist take on the Greek myths. -- Neil Mackay * Herald *Hugely enjoyable and witty * Guardian *Impassioned and informed . . . When Haynes gets down to retelling the stories . . . and teasing out their distortions and elisions, the book flies. * Sunday Times *An erudite, funny and sometimes angry attempt to fill in the blank spaces. -- Stephanie Merritt * Observer *The best kind of academic writing; engaged, engaging and fun (Beyoncé, Ray Harryhausen and Buffy the Vampire Slayer all turn up within). * Herald, Christmas Books 2020 *Witty and frequently surprising -- Farah Abdessamad * TLS *Beyoncé, Star Trek, Ray Harryhausen . . . the most enjoyable book about Greek myths you will ever read, absolutely brimming with subversive enthusiasm. -- Mark HaddonWitty, erudite and subversive, this takes the women of Greek myth—the women who are sidelined, vilified, misunderstood or ignored—and puts them centre stage. -- Samantha Ellis, author of How to Be a Heroine and Take CourageNatalie Haynes is beyond brilliant. Pandora’s Jar is a treasure box of classical delights. Never has ancient misogyny been presented with so much wit and style. -- Amanda ForemanNatalie Haynes is the nation's muse -- Adam RutherfordNatalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world. I loved it. -- Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER''Holland, who co-hosts the podcast The Rest Is History, is at his best when having fun with Rome''s bloody history'' The Times ''A book for lovers of traditional, grand sweep narrative history'' Sunday TimesThe definitive history of Rome''s golden age - antiquity''s ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatnessThe Pax Romana has long been revered as a golden age. At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Scotland to Arabia, and contained perhaps a quarter of humanity. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state the world had yet seen.Beginning in 69AD, a year that saw four Caesars in succession rule the empire, and ending some seven decades later with the death of Hadrian, Pax presents a dazzling history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland portrays the Roman Empire in all its predatory glory. Vivid scene follows vivid scene: the destruction of Jerusalem and Pompeii, the building of the Colosseum and Hadrian''s Wall, the conquests of Trajan. Vividly sketching the lives of Romans both ordinary and spectacular, from slaves to emperors, Holland demonstrates how Roman peace was the fruit of unprecedented military violence.A stunning portrait of Rome''s glory days, this is the epic history of the pax Romana.PAX was a Sunday Times bestseller 16/07/23

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Book SynopsisThe Norse legends of Odin, Thor, Loki and all the gods of Asgard are well known, but less so are the historical origins of civilization in the very early days of Norway and wider Scandinavia which evolved this dramatic mythology. Archaeology furnishes us with fascinating evidence of the progress of the peoples and their way of life, until later the skaldic poets began to write down and celebrate the life and exploits of their rulers, establishing divine authority through legend and myth. The various tribes of the more southerly regions – from the Geats (Gautar or Goths) of Götaland and the Swedes (Suiones) to the Cimbri of Jutland – migrated and expanded north to evolve from tribal systems into fully fledged kingdoms. This fascinating book revives some classic historical works, with an insightful introduction explaining context and modern knowledge. Trace the ancient origins of the Norsemen and historical Norway, from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman Iron Age to the famous Viking Age and its impact across Europe; discover the migrations, culture, kings, literature and sagas which combine to create modern identity, tracing ancestry back to the gods. This new book is the perfect companion to Norse Myths & Legends in the same series of beautiful Collector's Editions, and sits alongside the other great cultures of the early world. Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction: authors, myths, tales and history without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new Introduction and a Glossary of Terms or lists of Ancient Leaders.

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Book SynopsisWhat are stone circles? When were they built, and why? How come so many of them egg-shaped, or geometrically flattened? What do they have to do with the landscape, Sun, Moon and stars? In this beautifully illustrated book, megalithomaniac Hugh Newman takes us on a fascinating journey around the world, examining these mysterious monuments of the megalithic culture from Wessex to Scotland, France to Poland, North America to Africa and India to Japan. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

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Book SynopsisExplores the relationship between food, religion and the ever-widening gap between the tables of the rich and the poor. This book has been thoughtfully adapted for the modern kitchen, whilst retaining the true essence of dining in medieval Britain. It is illustrated with scenes of food, feasting and cooking from paintings, tapestries and drawings.

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Book SynopsisProfessor Nur Masalha is a Palestinian writer, historian and academic. He is currently a member of the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS, University of London. He is editor of the Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies. His books include: Expulsion of the Palestinians (1992); A Land Without a People (1997); The Politics of Denial (2003); The Bible and Zionism (Zed 2007); The Palestine Nakba (Zed 2012); and An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba (with Nahla Abdo, Zed 2018).Trade ReviewNur Masalha has produced an impressive work that challenges those who are trying to erase the Palestinians from history. * International Socialism *The attention to detail, as well as the rigorous explanation is impeccable. Every reading, or re-reading, of this book, will provoke new contemplation. * Middle Eastern Monitor *A sharp, powerfully understated denunciation of Israel’s founding mythology. Masalha’s narratives provide ballast and backstory to the contemporary claims of the dispossessed. * Publishers’ Weekly *Masalha has done an extraordinary job, collating evidence from an abundance of rich sources, to give us a stunning narrative substantiating these identities. * Socialist Review *The most comprehensive English language history of Palestine to date. This book is a painstakingly researched and well-documented deconstruction of the myths too many Zionists and their western apologists have convinced the world to be factual history. * Counterpunch *Masalha has now admirably unearthed this forgotten Palestine. He settles securely and authoritatively into a narrative that commands respect and is not impaired by the passion behind it ... Masalha’s confidence that all will not be extinguished offers hope in the face of a still-uncertain future. He has written his history to encourage the survivors and to enlighten those who sympathise with them. He strives to keep alight the flame of Palestinian culture that, despite every attempt to snuff it out, still burns brightly in the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and in the world he never left behind. * New York Times Review of Books *A work of broad and impressive scholarship. It fills a critical gap in our knowledge of Palestinian history and provides a long overdue corrective to traditional histories. * Ghada Karmi, author of Return: A Palestinian Memoir *This book by Nur Masalha is the fullest and richest text he has produced to date, bringing together his decades of work as a historian to produce a master narrative on Palestine. * Haim Bresheeth, SOAS, University of London *A significant contribution to the restoration of the history of ancient Palestine, written by a prolific indigenous historian of international repute. Brilliantly explicating the relationship between history and colonial ideology in Palestine, with this book Masalha puts Palestinian history back on track. * Hamdan Taha, archaeologist and former Deputy Minister for Tourism and Antiquities, Palestine *An amazing book, long overdue. A tour de force which demystifies the distortions and fabrications around Palestine and the people living in it. * Ilan Pappé, author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine *A masterpiece of history writing. It serves to set the record straight, methodically and rigorously debunking the myth that Palestine is a new concept. * Mazin Qumsiyeh, Founder and Director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History *This erudite, comprehensive study of Palestine explodes many myths. Essential reading for a proper understanding of the efforts to deny the deep historical rootedness of this name, and of its indigenous people. * Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University *Masalha’s meticulous and multifaceted coverage of the history of Palestine from the late Bronze Age to modern times is essential reading for all who hope to understand its people’s irrepressible struggle against occupation and exile. * Rosemary Sayigh, author of The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Philistines and Philistia as a Distinct Geo-political Entity: Late Bronze Age to 500 BC 2. The Conception of Palestine in Classical Antiquity and During the Hellenistic Empires (500?135 BC) 3. From Philistia to Provincia ‘Syria Palaestina’ (135 AD?390 AD): The Administrative Province of Roman Palestine 4. The (Three in One) Provincia Palaestina: The Three Administrative Provinces of Byzantine Palestine (4th?Early 7th Centuries AD) 5. Arab Christian Palestine: The Pre-Islamic Arab Kings, Bishops and Poets and Tribes of Provincia Palaestina (3rd?Early 7th Centuries AD) 6. The Arab Province of Jund Filastin (638?1099 AD): Continuities, Adaption and Transformation of Palestine under Islam 7. Between Egypt and al-Sham: Palestine during the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Early Ottoman Periods 8. Palestinian Statehood in the 18th Century: Early Modernities and Practical Sovereignty in Palestine 9. Being Palestine, Becoming Palestine: Rediscovery and New Representations of Modern Palestine and their Impact on Palestinian National Identity 10. Settler-colonialism and Disinheriting the Palestinians: The Appropriation of Palestinian Place Names by the Israeli State

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Book SynopsisA guide to the Greek and Roman Myths. It features a blend of stories, facts and quotations from ancient authors, and places ancient myths in a modern context, discussing the afterlives of the myths and the relevance of their messages. It includes factfiles on heroes and heroines and family trees of the gods.Trade Review'This new companion is at once a handy work of reference, an entertaining read and an attractive artefact, discreetly illustrated and tastefully laid out. A pleasure to consult' - Scotsman'For a perfect introduction to the stories of the Classical world, look no further. … Affordable, portable and accessible … thoroughly modern and approachable … Carefully researched, enjoyable, diverting and intriguing' - Reference ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction • 1. In the Beginning: From Chaos to Cosmos in Four Steps • 2. The Ages of Man 3. The Great Gods: The First Generation • 4. Olympus: The Next Generation • 5. Lesser Gods, Magical Creatures and Heroic Ancestors • 6. Heroes and their Quests • 7. The Golden Age of Mythology • 8. The Trojan War • 9. Going Home

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Book SynopsisThis textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specification for A-Level Classical Civilisation (first teaching September 2017). It covers Components 31 and 34 from the ''Beliefs and Ideas'' Component Group: Greek Religion by Athina Mitropoulos and Julietta Steinhauer Democracy and the Athenians by Tim Morrison and James RenshawWhy was worshipping the gods so important to ancient Greek life? To what extent did Greeks question religious belief? How and why did the Athenians invent democracy? How does Athenian democracy compare with democracy today? Drawing on modern scholarship and using a wide variety of illustrations, this book guides A-Level students to a greater understanding of these issues. It explores the fundamental features of Greek religion, as well as its major centres such as Delphi and Olympia. It then moves on to analyse the development and workings of Athenian democracy, as well as reflecting on ancient critiques of it, both celebratory and critical. TheTable of ContentsIntroduction How to Use This Book Greek Religion Democracy and the Athenians Glossary Index

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Book Synopsis'It's enthralling stuff, mixing the scholarly with the accessible and placing storytelling right at the heart of the human experience.' - History Revealed'A fascinating journey' - Yorkshire Post'Marvellous...Finkel is an expert in Mesopotamian cultures at the British Museum, and is one of the most clever, and nicest, of people it has ever been my pleasure to encounter...A fascinating journey' - The ScotsmanThere are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th century gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older...The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets which dates back to 3400BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written. In The First Ghosts, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom which has remained hidden for nearly 4000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back, and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence, and what do they tell us about being human?

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Book SynopsisAUTHORITATIVE AND ACCESSIBLE, THIS LANDMARK WORK IS THE FIRST SINGLE-VOLUME HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY SHARED FOR DECADES''A cerebrally enjoyable survey, written with great clarity and touches of wit'' Sunday Times The story of philosophy is an epic tale: an exploration of the ideas, views and teachings of some of the most creative minds known to humanity. But there has been no comprehensive history of this great intellectual journey since 1945. Intelligible for students and eye-opening for philosophy readers, A. C. Grayling covers with characteristic clarity and elegance subjects like epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, logic, and the philosophy of mind, as well as the history of debates in these areas, through the ideas of celebrated philosophers as well as less well-known influential thinkers. The History of Philosophy takes the reader on a journey from the age of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates. Through Christianity''s dominance of the European mind to the Renaissance and Enlightenment. On to Mill, Nietzsche, Sartre, then the philosophical traditions of India, China and the Persian-Arabic world.And finally, into philosophy today.Trade ReviewA cerebrally enjoyable survey, written with great clarity and touches of wit . . . The non-western section throws up some fascinating revelations * Sunday Times *Grayling has written a masterful and often entertaining chronicle of the epic intellectual journey we humans have taken, in different periods, countries and cultures, to understand ourselves, our world, and how we ought to live. An extraordinary accomplishment that transcends the usual bounds of academic specialization -- Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton UniversityAccurately offers itself as a successor to [Bertrand] Russell's classic survey . . . No other popular survey possesses this range . . . The History of Philosophy isn't just worth buying; it's worth scribbling in and dog-earing. For a work of scholarship, there can be no higher praise. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *He's more historically-minded than Russell, less dogmatic than Dawkins and less in thrall to the charms of his own fluency than Hitchens -- Prospect on The Challenge of ThingsUndeniably thought-provokingGrayling is particularly good at illuminating the knottiness of moral discourseLucid, informative and admirably accessibleGrayling writes with clarity, elegance and the occasional aphoristic twistFive minutes with any passage will have you contemplating all dayI find the clarity of his thinking so refreshingIf there is any such person in Britain as The Thinking Man, it is A. C. GraylingThe History of Philosophy is an excellent overview of great philosophical thought by an insightful practitioner of the field. It is a credit to Grayling's abilities that he has penned such a perspicuous book on some very difficult subjects-giving the a reader a clear overview of the complexities of Scholastic logic, Analytic philosophies of language and mind, and much else besides is no easy feat, but Grayling has achieved it. This is a book to be treasured, both as a guide to the subject and as a beautiful piece of writing in itself, containing great insight and wisdom. It is a testament to the continuing importance and value of philosophy. * Aero Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'Accessible, informative, enjoyable' - All About History _____________________Spend 24 hours with the ancient Athenians. See the city through their eyes as it teeters on the edge of the fateful war that would end its golden age.Athens, 416 BC. A tenuous peace holds. The city-state’s political and military might are feared throughout the ancient world; it pushes the boundaries of social, literary and philosophical experimentation in an era when it has a greater concentration of geniuses per capita than at any other time in human history. Yet even geniuses go to the bathroom, argue with their spouse and enjoy a drink with friends.During the course of a day we meet 24 Athenians from all strata of society – from the slave-girl to the councilman, the vase painter to the naval commander, the housewife to the hoplite – and get to know what the real Athens was like by spending an hour in their company. We encounter a different one of these characters every chapter, with each chapter forming an hour in the life of the ancient city. We also get to spy on the daily doings of notable Athenians through the eyes of regular people as the city hovers on the brink of the fateful war that will destroy its golden age.

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive account of the rise and fall of what historians consider to be the world's very first empire: Assyria''A work of remarkable synthesis. The range of its sources is truly extraordinary . . . Frahm punctures a fair share of myths too'' Pratinav Anil, The TimesAt its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen.Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria's wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield: their vast libraries and monumental sculptures, their elaborate trade and information networks, and the crucial role played by royal women.Although Assyria was crushed by rising powe

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The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers trace the history of Rome over more than a thousand years: from the cityâs foundation by Romulus in 753 B.C.E. (Livy) to Constantineâs edict of toleration for Christianity (313 C.E.)Selections include many of the high points of Romeâs climb to world domination: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspirators; Caesarâs conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; and the Roman Peace under Hadrian and long excepts from Tacitus record the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero.The book is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the gen

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Book SynopsisKaren Klaiber Hersch is Associate Professor of Greek and Roman Classics at Temple University, Pennsylvania, USA. She is the author of The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity (2010).Table of ContentsList of Illustrations General Editor’s Preface, Joanne M. Ferraro (San Diego State University, USA) Introduction, Karen Klaiber Hersch (Temple University, USA) 1. Courtship and Ritual, Katherine Wasdin (George Washington University, USA) 2. Religion, Matthew P. J. Dillon (University of New England, Australia) 3. State and Law, Matthew J. Perry (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, USA) 4. The Ties That Bind, Katariina Mustakallio (University of Tampere, Finland) 5. The Family Economy, Judith P. Hallett (University of Maryland, College Park, USA) 6. Love, Sex, and Sexuality, Vered Lev Kenaan (University of Haifa, Israel) 7. Breaking Vows, Eva Cantarella (University of Milan, Italy) 8. Representation, Noelle Zeiner-Carmichael (College of Charleston, USA) Notes Bibliography Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisGet ready to meet the goddesses.In Divine Might, Natalie Haynes, the bestselling author of Stone Blind and Pandora's Jar, introduces us to the stories of the Greek goddesses. As fearsome, powerful and beloved as their male counterparts, it’s time to look beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within . . .We meet Hera, who, whilst most often known for enacting vicious, creative revenge on the women – mortal or otherwise – who catch the wandering eye of her husband Zeus, turns out not to be such a villain after all.We meet Demeter, a mother who will go to any lengths, no matter the cost, to retrieve her daughter Persephone from Hades’ clutches.We’ll be introduced to The Furies, three women who will literally go to the ends of the earth to enact bloody vengeance but who, surprisingly, are the goddesses who can teach us the most about the way we live now.Examining the role of these goddesses and more, Divine Might will change everything you thought you knew about our most ancient stories. Full of fire, fury and devotion, Natalie Haynes brings the divine women of Olympia kicking and screaming into the modern age.Trade ReviewCheerfully erudite . . . academically rigorous . . . combining immense scholarship with a sarky easy-going tone * The Times *Full of wonderful stories . . . packed with detail from ancient source material * The New Statesman *Incredible stories about timeless emotions. * NB Magazine *The great champion of women in Greek myth . . . One of the delights of the book is that Haynes reacquaints us with forgotten goddesses. * Daily Mail *A powerful read that really opens a new dialogue on the Greek goddesses * Independent *

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Book Synopsis'A thrilling read' Tom Holland 'History-writing at its best' Barry Strauss By the end of his short life, Alexander the Great had redrawn the map of the ancient world to create an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indian subcontinent. But his success was not just the product of his own genius and restless energy, it was built on decades of effort by his father. History has portrayed Philip II of Macedon as a one-eyed old man whose assassination allowed Alexander to accede to power. But there was far more to him than this. Through decades of hard fighting and clever diplomacy, Philip unified his country and conquered Greece. His son inherited all of this at the perfect moment for him to win yet greater glory. The work of a master historian, Philip and Alexander describes how Philip and Alexander of Macedon transformed a weak kingdom in northern Greece into a globe-spanning empire and – in so doing – changed the course of history.Trade ReviewAs successful in meeting its ambitions as Philip's kingship, as sweeping as Alexander's conquests -- Tom HollandBelongs on the (sturdy) shelf of any reader interested in military, political, or social history * Minerva Magazine *By pairing the two giants of Macedonia, Goldsworthy helps the reader understand Alexander's life all the better, and sheds light on the achievements and character of Philip * Aspects of History *Sterling scholarship, engaging prose, insightful analysis, and unbiased assessment -- Victor Davis HansonA gripping history that combined deep scholarship with readability... This is an epic history. Very much in the vein of the Tom Holland histories of empire, enjoyable and informative but also gripping' * NB Magazine *Contributes significantly to making these scholarly developments accessible to a very wide audience, through engaging narratives which capture the political complexity of the Greek world both before and after Alexander. The major innovation of Goldsworthy's vivid Philip and Alexander is to pair Alexander's biography with that of his father, Philip II * TLS *Adrian Goldsworthy takes a fresh approach to the well-worn tale, dealing with the gaps in our knowledge with candour and resisting the urge to fill them with speculation * Military History Monthly *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA beautifully produced account of the history and importance of Hadrian's Wall, by a bestselling author and expert on Ancient Rome. Located at the far-flung and wild edge of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall was constructed by Emperor Hadrian in the 120s AD. Vast in size and stretching from the east to the west coast of the northern part of Britannia, it is the largest monument left by the Roman empire – all the more striking because it lies so far from Rome. Today, it is one of the most visited heritage sites in the country. Yet the story of the Wall is far more than the development of a line of fortifications and the defence of a troublesome imperial frontier. Generation after generation of soldiers served there, with their families as well as traders and other foreign and local civilians in and around the army bases. The glimpses of this vibrant, multinational community in Adrian Goldsworthy's masterly book bring the bare stones to life. Goldsworthy also considers why and how the wall was built, and discusses the fascinating history, afterlife and archaeology of this unique ancient monument.Trade ReviewGoldsworthy is an erudite guide... As an introduction to the history of the most impressive of ancient engineering achievements, Goldsworthy's book is entirely successful... The prefect companion to exploring the remains of the wall today * BBC History Magazine *A lucid, general introduction to the wall and its times... Goldsworthy is especially good at recreating the lives lived on it * Country Life *[Goldsworthy] provides a clear, concise guide to one of the favourite heritage sights of Britain and transports us back to the frontier life of the Roman Empire in another vital era of our history * Minerva Magazine *Goldsworthy brings Hadrian's Wall to life in this detailed and beautifully illustrated book * Westmorland Gazette *A lively introduction to the largest surviving Roman artefact on Earth * World of Cruising *A succinct and eminently sensible new account of Hadrian's Wall * The New Criterion *

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Book SynopsisQuadratic equations, Pythagoras’ theorem, imaginary numbers, and pi — you may remember studying these at school, but did anyone ever explain why? Never fear — bestselling science writer, and your new favourite maths teacher, Michael Brooks, is here to help. In The Maths That Made Us, Brooks reminds us of the wonders of numbers: how they enabled explorers to travel far across the seas and astronomers to map the heavens; how they won wars and halted the HIV epidemic; how they are responsible for the design of your home and almost everything in it, down to the smartphone in your pocket. His clear explanations of the maths that built our world, along with stories about where it came from and how it shaped human history, will engage and delight. From ancient Egyptian priests to the Apollo astronauts, and Babylonian tax collectors to juggling robots, join Brooks and his extraordinarily eccentric cast of characters in discovering how maths made us who we are today.Trade Review‘At school, many of us wondered about the point of geometry, calculus, and algebra. Brooks shows how the childhood question “What’s the point of this?” can be reframed: esoteric concepts such as imaginary numbers, cryptography, and the semi-mystical digits of pi are revealed to be the essential building blocks of the 21st century.’ -- Liz Else and Simon Ings * New Scientist *‘An alternative textbook that suggests a new way of thinking about maths, and a more congenial way of teaching it — as not simply an abstract science but as a cultural achievement, an indelible and indispensable part of human history.’ -- Lola Seaton * New Statesman *‘How brilliant of Michael Brooks to be able to reignite my almost-forgotten childhood love of mathematics. Written with beauty, style, and care for the history as well as for the science. A tour de force.’ -- Angela Saini, author of Superior: the return of race science‘Michael Brooks has written the formula that reduces to near zero any sense that maths could be a dull subject to study. [The Maths That Made Us] brings to life in accessible, lively terms how maths helps us navigate pandemics, space travel, and encrypted apps — all while celebrating the complicated and fascinating characters, from Euclid to Florence Nightingale, who have pushed our knowledge forward. Why isn’t school maths taught like this?’ -- David Rowan, founding editor-in-chief of WIRED UK and author of Non-Bullshit Innovation‘In this thrilling, colourful, and deeply researched book, Michael Brooks tells the epic story of how mathematics has driven human progress, spanning millennia to trace the numerical innovations — from geometry and algebra to the mind-bending landscapes of imaginary numbers and extra dimensions — that have woven our history and shape our lives today. Along the way, he explores the passions and intrigues of the people behind the numbers, transforming mathematics from dry equations into a gripping drama. This is maths as you’ve never experienced it: inspiring, fun, and utterly human.’ -- Jo Marchant, author of The Human Cosmos‘Michael Brooks has a rare gift for making science come to life, and in this book he is at his best, fusing mathematics with storytelling as he takes us on an exhilarating sweep through human history. [The Maths That Made Us] shows just how deeply numbers have propelled the advance of civilisation. And it does so with enormous narrative brio and good cheer. This is a serious — but seriously readable — history which I enjoyed from the first page to the last.’ -- Dan Jones, New York Times bestselling historian‘A friendly, readable account of the huge influence that mathematics has had on human civilisation. If you’ve ever wondered what the maths you did at school was for, and what it has done for us, you’ll find the answer here. Michael Brooks’s enthusiasm for the beauty and utility of the subject shines from every page.’ -- Ian Stewart, author of What’s the Use?‘From Fermat’s last theorem to quantum computers, pi to probability, slides rules to golden ratios, [The Maths That Made Us] is no mere bluffer’s guide, but a rich introduction to the elegance and importance of mathematics. Michael Brooks shows what a global and multicultural task it has been, ever since prehistory, to figure out how we can benefit from quantification and calculation. He shows that maths is not just, as Eugene Wigner said, unreasonably effective for understanding the world, but also unfathomably wonderful in its own right.’ -- Philip Ball, science writer and author of Beyond Weird‘Suddenly it all makes sense. This brilliant book shows maths as something concrete, real, and crucial to our lives, rather than some dry, abstract code designed to make school kids’ lives miserable.’ -- Charlie Higson, actor, comedian, and author of the Enemy series‘Michael Brooks has written both a lively history of civilisation, and a delightful introduction to the power of mathematics. Either would be an achievement, but to do both simultaneously is a wonder.’ -- Tim Harford, author of How To Make the World Add Up‘If you love maths, you’ll enjoy this book. But if you’re a little scared of maths (as I am), you’ll adore [The Maths That Made Us]. Michael Brooks knows how to tell the hidden stories behind numbers, formulas, and logarithms.’ -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature‘Mathematics is quite unique in that even much earlier results do not change with the passing of time. This book is not only a passionate love letter to mathematics, it offers an important lesson in the appreciation of mathematics, and of its crucial role in humanity’s history.’ -- Mario Livio, astrophysicist, and author of Galileo and The Science Deniers‘A more or less chronological history and compelling case that advances in mathematics provided the foundation for the advance of civilisation … An unabashed lover of mathematics, Brooks refuses to take the traditional pop writer’s pledge to eschew equations. Most readers will follow his description of ancient navigation across the Mediterranean and the birth of linear perspective in Renaissance Italy, but when he turns his attention to calculus, logarithms, statistics, and cryptography, there is no shortage of complex equation … Not a mathematics-is-fun romp but a serious, persuasive effort to describe how its discoveries paralleled human progress.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘An enviably good history of how ideas in mathematics have shaped (and been shaped by) the progress of civilisation.’ -- Tim Harford, author of How To Make the World Add Up‘What is the driving force behind the development of human civilisation? In this unique and surprising book, Michael Brooks makes the case that it is the growth and progress of mathematics — and he does it in a way that will be interesting to the mathematical and math-phobic alike! As entertaining as it is informative, [The Maths That Made Us] takes us on a journey through the ages, demonstrating how mathematics played a crucial role in the evolution of how we live. Not since Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel has there been such an insightful and compelling analysis of how we got here.’ -- Leonard Mlodinow, New York Times bestselling author of The Drunkard’s Walk‘Moving from ancient Egyptian priests to a hobbyist who solved a mapmaking puzzle that confounded NASA and the US Geological Survey, science writer Brooks aims to persuade readers that mathematics was one of the great innovations that made civilisation happen.’ -- Barbara Hoffert * Library Journal *‘He begins by diligently explaining the basics of algebra, arithmetic, calculus, and geometry, and introducing key figures in math’s history … Brooks uses the work of these thinkers to break down the math behind facets of everyday life: he describes the statistics that underlie life expectancies; the equations that allow scientists to understand the cosmos; and the imaginary numbers that give guitar amplifiers their power … It’s a show-stopping paean to the wonder of numbers.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘Ambitious.’ -- Tom Gatti * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2008 'The world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy' Laura Silverman, Daily Mail The ruins of Pompeii, buried by an explosion of Vesuvius in 79 CE, offer the best evidence we have of everyday life in the Roman empire. This remarkable book rises to the challenge of making sense of those remains, as well as exploding many myths: the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; or the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; or the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one; or the massive death count, maybe less than ten per cent of the population. An extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain's favourite classicist.Trade ReviewThe world's most controversial classicist debunks our movie-style myths about the Roman town with meticulous scholarship and propulsive energy...Scrutinising and animated in equal measure -- Laura Silverman * Daily Mail *A thoroughly worthy winner of the 2008 Wolfson History Prize, Mary Beard's bedroom-to-boardroom tour of the life of a Roman town is disgracefully enjoyable for such a deeply learned and sceptically debunking book -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *This marvellous book won the Wolfson History Prize and is a model of subtle but accessible writing about the past -- Judith Rice * Guardian *[A] brilliant portrait...This meticulous, vivid study of life in the town, the winner of the 2008 Wolfson History Prize, rightly and resolutely focuses on the living city -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *Classicist Mary Beard has had a great time rooting about that ghostly place and she has brought it quite splendidly back to life -- Nicholas Bagnall * Sunday Telegraph *To the vast field of Pompeiana she brings the human touch...This absorbing, inquisitive and affectionate account of Pompeii is a model of its kind. Beard has caught the quick of what was and, in our lives today, remains the same -- Ross Leckie * The Times *Very readable and excellently researched... Beard's clear-sighted and accessible style makes this a compelling look into history -- Alexander Larman * The Observer *If you want to know what really happened in the last days of the petrified city, Beard's meticulous reconstruction will fill you in, scraping away many of your preconceptions as it goes, while her evocative writing will transport you back * Guardian Best Holiday Books *Wonderful piece of scholarship worn lightly and wittily -- Tom Widger * Sunday Tribune *Wittily written...evoking in all who read it the insatiable need to see the town for themselves -- Georgie Durkheim * Catholic Herald *A myth-breaking expedition, grandiose in scale, vibrant in its telling -- Colin Gardiner * Oxford Times *Engaging and defiantly otherworldly * Business Destinations *A learned and fascinating book * Guardian *In this brilliant portrait of the "life in a Roman town", Mary Beard uses the relics buried by the eruption on AD79 to bring everyday Roman culture alive.' * Sunday Times *Compelling * Independent *

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Book SynopsisA sparkling biography of the legendary Fulvia of Ancient Rome, described by Cicero as 'a thoroughly rapacious woman'.

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Book SynopsisChiltern Publishing creates the most beautiful editions of the World's finest literature. Your favourite classic titles in a way you have never seen them before; the tactile layers, golden edges, fine details and beautiful colours of these remarkable covers make these titles feel extra special and will look striking on any shelf.

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Book Synopsis'Lively and amusing [...] an engaging read. Ryan successfully makes this ancient civilisation more immediate and accessible.' - Current World Archaeology _____________________'[Donald] Ryan - who has worked in and on Egypt for decades, as an archaeologist, historian and popular writer - has succeeded in bringing all of his characters to life. This is a great little volume.' - KMT Magazine_____________________'Very readable [...] its originality lies in the clever construction of the content. The variety of characters covered allows for a considerable breadth of information on life for the rich and poor.' - Ancient Egypt Magazine_____________________Spend 24 hours with the inhabitants of the most powerful kingdom in the ancient world.Ancient Egypt wasn’t all pyramids, sphinxes and gold sarcophagi. For your average Egyptian, life was tough, and work was hard, conducted under the burning gaze of the sun god Ra.During the course of a day in the ancient city of Thebes (modern-day Luxor), Egypt’s religious capital, we meet 24 Egyptians from all strata of society – from the king to the bread-maker, the priestess to the fisherman, the soldier to the midwife – and get to know what the real Egypt was like by spending an hour in their company. We encounter a different one of these characters every hour and in every chapter, and through their eyes see what an average day in ancient Egypt was really like.

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Book SynopsisIn the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics, from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded. Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidableTrade Review“Mr. Freeman’s ambition, he tells us in his introduction, was ‘to write a biography of Alexander that is first and foremost a story.’ It is one he splendidly fulfills.” —Tom Holland, The Wall Street Journal "A well-written, chronological narrative that allows Alexander’s remarkable career and achievements to speak for themselves. . . . Readers will appreciate this fine account of a man truly deserving of the title 'Great.'" —Booklist"Fast-paced and dramatic, much like Alexander himself, this is a splendid introduction into one of the most dramatic true stories of history." —Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Antony and Cleopatra“Lean, learned, and marked by good judgment on every page, Alexander the Great is also a roaring good yarn. Philip Freeman has the eye of someone who has walked in Alexander’s footsteps, and he writes with grace and wisdom.” —Barry Strauss, author of The Spartacus War and professor of history, Cornell University"Freeman tells us about Alexander's life like a novel—a remarkably interesting novel, to boot." —Sarah Hann, The Saturday Evening Post

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Book SynopsisIn the late Iron Age, Rome was a small collection of huts arranged over a few hills. By the third century BC, it had become a large and powerful city, with monumental temples, public buildings and grand houses. It had conquered the whole of Italy and was poised to establish an empire. But how did it accomplish this historic transformation? This book explores the development of Rome during this period, and the nature of its control over Italy, considering why and how the Romans achieved this spectacular dominance. For Rome was only one of a number of emerging centres of power during this period. From its complex forms of government, to its innovative connections with other states, Kathryn Lomas shows what set Rome apart. Examining the context and impact of the city's dominance, as well as the key political, social and economic changes it engendered, this is crucial reading for anyone interested in Ancient Rome.Trade ReviewLomas' clear narrative and up-to-date archaeological knowledge is just the right combination to illuminate the fascinating story of the emergence of Rome as a world power. -- Christopher Smith, Director of the British School at Rome and Professor of Ancient History at St AndrewsKathryn Lomas has excavated the complexities of myth, written sources and archaeological stratigraphy to produce her clear historical synthesis of the political foundations of early Europe. -- Simon Stoddart, Fellow in Archaeology, Magdalene College, CambridgeLomas shows great skill in uncovering reliable and fascinating information about an obscure and poorly documented period of history, and presenting it in an engaging and straightforward way. Her book is original for its extensive use of new archaeological evidence, and for telling the remarkable story of the Italian background to the rise of Rome. -- Timothy Cornell, Emeritus Professor of Ancient History, The University of ManchesterThis is an admirably clear and engagingly written book. It offers an impressively wide-ranging and up-to-date synthesis, and does an excellent job of situating the city-state of Rome and its rise to hegemony in their wider Italian context. -- J.H. Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Classical Studies, Massey UniversityThe remarkable story of how a great empire sprang from such innocuous beginnings is chronicled in this compelling work, which couples a sweeping narrative with a wealth of historical detail including maps, plans and illustrations. * History Revealed *Lomas's fully reference and detailed, authoritative book admirably fulfils its remit to understand Rome in its wider Italian setting. -- Peter Jones * BBC History Magazine *The strengths of this book are many. ... she writes in a lucid and engaging way. ... If one asks whether Lomas has achieved the goal that she set herself, the answer must be a resounding yes. -- Mark Grahame * Rivista *

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Book Synopsis''Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to live ... while you have life in you, while you still can, make yourself good.''The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) is a private notebook of philosophical reflections, written by a Roman emperor probably on military campaign in Germany. In short, highly charged comments, Marcus draws on Stoic philosophy to confront challenges that he felt acutely, but which are also shared by all human beings - the looming presence of death, making sense of one''s social role and projects, the moral significance of the universe. They bring us closer to the personality of the emperor, who is often disillusioned with his own status and with human activities in general; they are both an historical document and a remarkable spiritual diary.This translation by Robin Hard brings out the eloquence and universality of Marcus'' thoughts. The introduction and notes by Christopher Gill place the Meditations firmly in the ancient philosophical context. A

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Darkening Age, Heresy is perfect for readers of Tom Holland, Karen Armstrong, Mary Beard and Bettany Hughes.

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Book SynopsisA beautiful new edition of a classic work of landscape history, in which Alfred Watkins introduced the idea of ancient 'ley lines' criss-crossing the English countryside. First published in 1925, The Old Straight Track described the author's theory of 'ley lines', pre-Roman pathways consisting of aligned stone circles and prehistoric mounds, used by our Neolithic ancestors. Watkins's ideas have intrigued and inspired generations of readers – from historians to hill walkers, and from amateur archaeologists to new-age occultists. This edition of The Old Straight Track, with a substantial introduction by Robert Macfarlane, will appeal to all who treasure the history, contours and mystery of Britain's ancient landscapes.Trade ReviewWatkins re-enchanted the English landscape, investing it with fresh depth and detail, prompting new ways of looking and new reasons to walk -- Robert MacfarlaneA remarkable book... Alfred Watkins [was a] visionary who saw beyond the bounds of his time' -- John MichellRobert Macfarlane in his introduction to this new edition [...] is respectful, finding new relevance in Watkin's writing. The result is to fold Watkins, the counter-cultural mystic-modernist, into the cultural landscape, laying the track for others to follow * TLS *A stimulating historical mediation on landscape * Daily Mail *Careful erudite topography in the grand Enlightenment tradition, which nevertheless presents a vision of Herefordshire that is awe-inspired * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisAn essential primary source on Roman history and a fascinating achievement of scholarship covering a critical period in the EmpireAs private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors. A masterpiece of observation, anecdote and detailed physical description, The Twelve Caesars presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn—and all too human—individuals. James B. Rives has sensitively updated Robert Graves's now classic translation, reinstating Latin terms and updating vocabulary while retaining the

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Book Synopsis''A fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position'' Dan Jones, Sunday Times''Superb storytelling ... captivating and profound'' Literary Review''A page-turner'' The SpectatorIn the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded out of Palestine. Overwhelming the paganism of Rome, and converting the Emperor Constantine in the process, it resoundingly defeated a host of other rivals. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion, ingrained within culture and society, exercised a monolithic hold over its population. But, as Peter Heather shows in this compelling history, there was nothing inevitable about Christendom''s rise to Europe-wide dominance.In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called ''heresies'' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation, Heather traces Christendom''s chameleon-like capacity for self-reinvention and willingness to mobilize well-directed force.Christendom''s achievement was not, or not only, to define official Christianity, but - from its scholars and its lawyers, to its provincial officials and missionaries in far-flung corners of the continent - to transform it into an institution that wielded effective religious authority across nearly all of the disparate peoples of medieval Europe. This is its extraordinary story.Trade ReviewHeather's sweeping and engaging history of the making of Christendom over a thousand years is full of reinterpretations and new insights... his approach makes for a startlingly fresh look at a familiar story, a non-triumphalist history of the triumph of Christianity, and his book is all the more powerful for it. -- Jane Shaw * Financial Times *Heather casts his eye across the whole medieval period as he unfolds a fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *It is more pressing than ever to understand how exactly Christianity came to dominate in Europe. Heather's account cuts through the myth of an innately Christian, culturally monolithic Europe... [and] sheds light on the mechanics of state coercion and intermittent violence which led to the birth of Christendom. It's no light reading - but there's enough drama to make it a page-turner. -- Eleanor Myerson * Spectator *A brilliant exercise in disenchantment ... superb storytelling ... Heather more than delivers. While Christendom is fabulously rich in telling detail, Heather is always mindful of the big picture. The book is at once captivating and profound. -- Costica Bradatan * Literary Review *One of the many delights of this weighty book is the abundance of little-heard but illuminating and intriguing stories that he weaves into the narrative to show how Christianity endlessly reinvented itself to maintain a winning formula .... the tale of how Christianity, from unlikely beginnings, became one of the great mass-member institutions of the world is expertly and entertainingly told. -- Peter Stanford * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisA giant of Enlightenment literature, Edward Gibbon (1737-94) was born in Putney, a village then near London. He had six siblings all of whom died in infancy. Gibbon attended Magdalen College, Oxford and was later a member of parliament in London. It was on the Grand Tour in 1763 when he first visited Rome and conceived the idea of a grand history centred on the Eternal City and its empire. It is one of the great historical works.

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Book SynopsisAvebury is the largest stone circle on Earth! Silbury Hill is as old as the Great Pyramid! What is the secret geometry of the ancient stones? Was a lost science once practiced here? Packed with rare old engravings and great new research this timeless pocket guide to Europe's most extensive neolithic complex will leave you informed, intrigued and inspired! WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

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