General and world history Books

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Book SynopsisFeaturing 60 beautiful and detailed maps, Atlas of Empires tells the story of how and why the great empires of history came into being, operated, and ultimately declined, and discusses the future of the empire in today's globalized world. Atlas of Empires tells the story of how and why the great empires of history came into being, operated and ultimately declined, and discusses the future of the empire in today's globalized world. Featuring 60 beautiful and detailed maps of the empires' territories at different stages of their existence and organized thematically to reflect the different driving forces behind empires throughout history (such as faith, nomadic culture, nationhood and capitalism), each section discusses the rise and fall of the empires that existed in a region: their government and society, wealth and technology, war and military force, and religious beliefs. From the earliest empires of the Sumerians and the Pharaohs to the modern empires of the USSR and the European Union, this is a story that reveals how empires are created and organized, how later empires resolve the problems of governance faced by earlier empires, and how the political and cultural legacies of ancient empires are still felt today.Trade ReviewFrom Broken Teepee History Blog: My degree is in history - European History - but that doesn't mean I don't have a deep and abiding love of that which came before. Researching the rise, and fall of the Great Empires through time has a lot to teach us if we would only bother to learn. This book is not the type of book you just sit down and read as you would a novel or biography. At least I didn't. I just kept it on my reading table and I'd pick it up, choose an era and get myself lost in the history. It is richly illustrated and just deep enough to stir the interest for deeper reading if an empire should intrigue. As it is a book that covers so much you can't expect a deep dive on each period in history but the book offers the most import aspects of the Empire's timeline. It provides what you need to know so that if you want to learn more you now have a grounding and an excellent starting point for moving forward. I truly found it to be very well written and I'm glad to have it. RATING: 5 Booklist: Essentially covering 4,000 years of world history, this new work by History Channel writer Davidson takes a textbook-like approach, using gorgeous and detailed maps and clearly written text to tell the story of the great empires of world history. Thematically, rather than chronologically, organized, each chapter focuses on the rise and fall of a particular empire by examining the motives for expansion (economic, martial, or evangelical), the resistance or collaboration of the colonized, and the overall international situation at the time. Also discussed are the ways in which the legacy of collapsed empires affects the establishment and governance of subsequent empires, resonating up to the present day. Recommended for all types of libraries. --Michael Tosko Roman Times: Davidson does a good job of defining and describing key cultural characteristics of each empire and the inherent challenges their leaders faced. He also astutely defines the strengths and weaknesses of each and how these either helped it to achieve greatness or resulted in its ultimate decline and destruction. I have recently tucked into my travel-slash-history book library the 240-page "Atlas of Empires: The World's Civilizations from Ancient Times to Today" and have already referred to it regarding upcoming trips. Author Peter Davidson has credentials that include directing documentaries for the History Channel and teaching history at the University of London. He also is a restorer of antiquities from around the world. "Atlas of Empires" (Fox Chapel Publishing, Mount Joy, Lancaster County) addresses the rise and fall of empires from the Pharaohs and Sumerians to the USSR and the European Union. The text is compelling, but the more than 60 colorful and detailed maps clearly depict the geographic, political, economic and religious impacts on civilizations and communities. --Charles J. Adams, III, Reading Eagle Newspaper

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Book SynopsisStarting AD 400 (around the time of their invasion of England) and running through to the 1100s (the ''Aftermath''), historian Geoffrey Hindley shows the Anglo-Saxons as formative in the history not only of England but also of Europe. The society inspired by the warrior world of the Old English poem Beowulf saw England become the world''s first nation state and Europe''s first country to conduct affairs in its own language, and Bede and Boniface of Wessex establish the dating convention we still use today. Including all the latest research, this is a fascinating assessment of a vital historical period.

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Book Synopsis''Lively'' THE TIMES''Engrossing'' THE SPECTATOR''Stunning'' WOMAN & HOME''Marvellous'' BBC HISTORY MAGAZINEThrough ancient art, evocative myth, intriguing archaeological discoveries and philosophical explorations, Bettany Hughes takes us on a voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind Venus, and why this immortal goddess is so much more than nudity, romance and sex. It is both the remarkable story of one of antiquity''s most potent forces, and the story of human desire - how it transforms who we are and how we behave.Trade ReviewErudition, with an erotic frisson ... In this lively, wide-ranging book, Hughes paints a portrait of a darker Venus, a violent, vengeful "shape-shifting" Venus, with salt in her hair and surf at her feet -- Laura Freeman * THE TIMES *An intriguing tale that tracks the gorgeous and omnipresent Venus of western civilisation back 6,000 years ... engrossing -- Charlotte Hobson * THE SPECTATOR *A marvellous biography of a goddess that delves beneath her passive modern image ... Hughes's account of Aphrodite's early evolution forms the most fascinating sections of this superb book -- Catherine Nixey * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *Explore the mythological Goddess of Love with this stunning book by historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes. She looks at the origins, archaeological revelations and philosophical implications of the woman known to the Romans as Venus, and to the Greeks as Aphrodite * WOMAN & HOME *

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Book SynopsisThree thousand years of Chinese history in an accessible and authoritative single volume.Despite the recent rise of China to a position of dominance on the world economic stage, Chinese history remains an elusive subject. Yet it is this vast narrative of appalling loss, superhuman endeavour and incredible invention that has made China the superpower it is today. From the dawn of legend to the succession of great dynasties, from Confucius to Chairman Mao and from the clamour of revolution to the lure of slick capitalism, John Keay takes the reader on a sweeping tour through Chinese history. This is a definitive and indispensable account of a country set to play a major part in our future.Trade Review‘There is no understanding China, present or future, without a sense of its past…Anybody fascinated by the puzzle of what comes next for our frail, perplexed planet will find unexpected answers in this crisp, often witty chronicle of amazements.’ Peter Preston, Observer 'Dynasties lead to world domination: John Keay's forensic analysis of China's history makes the world of the ancient emperors strikingly modern and relevant.' Observer ‘As John Keay’s ambitious new book makes clear…China’s history is intoxicatingly interesting and is sure to keep us on the edge of our geopolitical seats.’ Independent on Sunday ‘Absorbingly readable.’ Independent ‘An epic history of China…There’s no way of understanding China’s stirring future without a sense of its awe-inspiring past.’ Traveller magazine

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Book SynopsisThe First World War killed around eight million men and bled Europe dry. In this provocative book Niall Ferguson asks: was the sacrifice worth it? Was it all really an inevitable cataclysm and were the Germans a genuine threat? Was the war, as is often asserted, greeted with popular enthusiasm? Why did men keep on fighting when conditions were so wretched? Was there in fact a death wish abroad, driving soldiers to their own destruction? The war, he argues, was a disaster - but not for the reasons we think. Far worse than a tragedy, it was the greatest error of modern history.''The most challenging and provocative analysis of the First World War to date'' Ian Kershaw ''Must take a permanent place at the top of the War''s historiography. It is one of the very few books whose own scale matches that of the events it describes'' Alan Clark, Daily Telegraph''Possibly the most important book to appear in years both on the originsTrade ReviewThe most challenging and provocative analysis of the First World War to date -- Ian KershawMust take a permanent place at the top of the War's historiography. It is one of the very few books whose own scale matches that of the events it describes -- Alan Clark * Daily Telegraph *Brilliant and stimulating ... radical, readable and convincing * The Times *Possibly the most important book to appear in years both on the origins of the First World War ... Ferguson can confidently claim to have inherited A. J. P. Taylor's mantle -- Paul Kennedy * New York Review of Books *At one massive stroke, Niall Ferguson has transformed the intellectual landscape * Economist *

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Book SynopsisDavid Christian, creator of Big History (''My favourite course of all time'' Bill Gates), brings us the epic story of the universe and our place in it, from 13.8 billion years ago to the remote future''Nails home the point: Life is a miracle ... A compelling history of everything'' Washington Post ''Spectacular'' Carlo RovelliHow did we get from the Big Bang to today''s staggering complexity, in which seven billion humans are connected into networks powerful enough to transform the planet? And why, in comparison, are our closest primate relatives reduced to near-extinction? Big History creator David Christian gives the answers in a mind-expanding cosmological detective story told on the grandest possible scale. He traces how, during eight key thresholds, the right conditions have allowed new forms of complexity to arise, from stars to galaxies, Earth to homo sapiens, agriculture to fossil fuels. This last mega-innovation gave us an energy bonanza that brought huge benefits to mankind, yet also threatens to shake apart everything we have created.''Rather like the Big Bang, the book is awe-inspiring ... Superb'' The Times''With fascinating ideas on every page and the page-turning energy of a good thriller, this is a landmark work'' Sir Ken Robinson, author of The ElementTrade ReviewIf you read one book this year, make it this one -- Fareed Zakaria, CNNA journey through billions of years that nails home the point: Life is a miracle ... [A] remarkably cogent and compelling history of everything * Washington Post *Rather like the Big Bang, the book is awe-inspiring. The processes it describes are all familiar, but I'd never seen them explained with such clarity and verve ... Superb -- Gerard Degroot * The Times *[Origin Story is] long-haul science with wit and oomph * Nature *Christian tells this story very well, providing, in effect, a short course in modern science. This is a brief history of the universe, and an excellent one * Wall Street Journal *I have long been a fan of David Christian. In Origin Story, he elegantly weaves evidence and insights from many scientific and historical disciplines into a single, accessible historical narrative -- Bill GatesIn Origin Story, David Christian has found a spectacular way to use history to put order in the entire set of our knowledge about the world. This is a wonderful achievement -- Carlo Rovelli * author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Order of Time *Origin Story is a majestic distillation of our current understanding of the birth of the universe, of the solar system, of the oceans, of mountains and minerals, of all life on earth and of the driving dynamics of human culture and achievement. All of this in just over 300 pages of captivating prose that weaves together innumerable insights from the sciences, arts and humanities. With fascinating ideas on every page and the page turning energy of a good thriller, this is a landmark work that comes at a time when it has never been more important for humanity to have a clearer, more informed understanding of our place on earth and of the earth's place in the cosmos. A spellbinding synthesis -- Ken Robinson * educator and bestselling author of The Element and You, Your Child and School *A remarkable book that puts us self-important humans in our proper place in the cosmos, yet also explains why the story of human culture and knowledge - what Christian calls collective learning - matters for understanding our present world and shaping its future -- Merry Wiesner-Hanks, President of the World History Association

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times-bestselling author of Dresden returns with a monumental biography of the city that defined the twentieth century - Berlin''I loved this book . . . apposite and wise . . . To anyone who knows Berlin a little and is fascinated by it, but would like to understand it better, this is a wonderful aid'' David Aaronovitch, The TimesThroughout the twentieth century, Berlin stood at the centre of a convulsing world. This history is often viewed as separate acts: the suffering of the First World War, the cosmopolitan city of science, culture and sexual freedom Berlin became, steep economic plunges, the rise of the Nazis, the destruction of the Second World War, the psychosis of genocide, and a city rent in two by competing ideologies. But people do not live their lives in fixed eras. An epoch ends, yet the people continue - or try to continue - much as they did before. Berlin tells the story of the city as seen t

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Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times-bestselling author of Dresden returns with a monumental biography of the city that defined the twentieth century - BerlinThroughout the twentieth century, Berlin stood at the centre of a convulsing world. This history is often viewed as separate acts: the suffering of the First World War, the cosmopolitan city of science, culture and sexual freedom Berlin became, steep economic plunges, the rise of the Nazis, the destruction of the Second World War, the psychosis of genocide, and a city rent in two by competing ideologies. But people do not live their lives in fixed eras. An epoch ends, yet the people continue - or try to continue - much as they did before. Berlin tells the story of the city as seen through the eyes not of its rulers, but of those who walked its streets.In this magisterial biography of a city and its inhabitants, bestselling historian Sinclair McKay sheds new light on well-known characters - from idealistic scientist Albert Einstein to Nazi architect Albert Speer - and draws on never-before-seen first-person accounts to introduce us to people of all walks of Berlin life. For example, we meet office worker Mechtild Evers, who in her efforts to escape an oncoming army runs into even more appalling jeopardy, and Reinhart Cruger, a 12-year-old boy in 1941 who witnesses with horror the Gestapo coming for each of his Jewish neighbours in turn. Ever a city of curious contrasts, moments of unbelievable darkness give way to a wry Berliner humour - from banned perms to the often ridiculous tit-for-tat between East and West Berlin - and moments of joyous hope - like forced labourers at a jam factory warmly welcoming their Soviet liberators.How did those ideologies - fascism and communism - come to flower so fully here? And how did their repercussions continue to be felt throughout Europe and the West right up until that extraordinary night in the autumn of 1989 when the Wall - that final expression of totalitarian oppression - was at last breached? You cannot understand the twentieth century without understanding Berlin; and you cannot understand Berlin without understanding the experiences of its people. Drawing on a staggering breadth of culture - from art to film, opera to literature, science to architecture - McKay''s latest masterpiece shows us this hypnotic city as never before.''Remarkable . . . A majestic work of non-fiction'' Matthew d''Ancona''Sinclair McKay was born to write this book'' David Aaronovitch, The Times''A masterful account of a city marked by infamy . . . If there is a book that must be read this year, this is it'' Amanda Foreman''An electrifying new account of Berlin'' Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich''One of my favourite historians'' Dan SnowTrade ReviewI loved this book. McKay's writing is vivid and sometimes even beautiful . . . his own observations and summaries seem always apposite and wise . . . To anyone who knows Berlin a little and is fascinated by it, but would like to understand it better, this is a wonderful aid . . . Sinclair McKay was born to write this book -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Remarkable . . . A majestic work of non-fiction -- Matthew d'Ancona * Tortoise *McKay has written a masterful account of a city marked by infamy. Supported by meticulous research, Berlin is by turns terrifying and fascinating. If there is a book that must be read this year, this is it -- Amanda ForemanThe book's principal subject is Berliners doomed role in the Second World War. Through their eyes, McKay brilliantly captures Germany's initial successes, and then the reverses and escalating defeats . . . To have uncovered so many previously unknown characters and fascinating anecdotes is especially admirable -- Iain MacGregor * Spectator *I thought I knew everything about Berlin, but then I read this stunning book. It's eye-opening, enlightening and wonderfully told -- Norman Ohler, author of BlitzedMcKay's powerful imagery and magnetic prose combine to produce an electrifying new account of Berlin. 'You cannot understand the twentieth century without understanding Berlin', claims the author. He makes a compelling case -- Julia Boyd, author of Travelers in the Third ReichPowerful. Visceral. Truly revelatory. Beautifully written and utterly compelling. I didn't think Sinclair McKay could top his previous book, Dresden, which was masterful. He has proven me wrong with Berlin -- Damien Lewis, author of SAS Bravo Three ZeroOne of my favourite historians -- Dan Snow, History HitGreat subject, well-researched, brilliantly written. Anyone who wants to understand Berlin's incomparable place at the very centre of twentieth century history should begin with Sinclair McKay's remarkable, mesmerising book -- Keith Lowe, author of Savage ContinentPowerful . . . there is rage in his ink. McKay's book grips by its passion and originality -- Max Hastings, Sunday Times, on DresdenPainstakingly researched and fascinating -- John Harding, Daily Mail on The Secret Listeners

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Book SynopsisThe liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943.Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at Dawn follows the British and American armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery and Rommel.Trade ReviewEvery military history buff should read An Army at Dawn Sunday Telegraph There is much to applaud in this impressively researched work ... An Army at Dawn makes utterly absorbing reading BBC History More of a biography of a generation than of a class at West Point... Stark, shocking, jolting John Eisenhower, Chicago Tribune A compelling and highly readable story that provides a valuable corrective for a British reader Hew Strachan, Telegraph

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together twelve chapters from feminist historians from around the world to offer new perspectives on aspects of the campaign for women's suffrage in Britain.Although the focus is on Britain, this volume signals how the women's suffrage campaign in Britain embraced both national and global aspects. The historical developments and structures that affected women's lives and suffrage struggles were not limited to national contexts. Early chapters focus on particular individuals both well and lesser known, including Millicent Garrett Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst, as well as Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy, Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, Lady Isabel Margesson and Isabella Ford. Later chapters highlight the interrelationship between the British movement and suffrage campaigns across the globe with reference to Austria, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. The chapters deal with issues around strategies, social class, employment, religion, nationalism, empire andTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Millicent Fawcett (1847–1929): the making of a politician 2. Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928): the making of a militant 3. ‘A particularly interesting kind of “heroine” to have’: marriage, motherhood and votes for women in the archives of Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy (1833–1918), feminist, rebel and radical 4. Isabella Ford (1855–1924) and women’s suffrage 5. Suffragette palace: Sophia Duleep Singh (1876–1948), Hampton Court Palace and votes for women 6. ‘Being militant in her own way’: using the individual life of Lady Isabel Margesson (1863–1946) as a prism to explore complex suffrage histories 7. The wrong kind of working-class woman? Domestic servants in the British suffrage movement 8. Class and adult suffrage in Britain during the Great War 9. A colonial for the cause: Lady Stout (1858–1931), suffrage and New Zealand as exemplar to the empire, 1909–1914 10. Narratives of democracy, the emotions of politics and memories of militant suffragism: Britain, Ireland, the USA and Australia 11. Covering the suffragettes: Austrian newspapers reporting on militant women’s rights activism in the United Kingdom 12. The influence of the British women’s suffrage movement upon the emergence and development of the Japanese women’s movement

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Book Synopsis''It''s the end of the 1916 winter and the conditions are almost unbelievable. We live in a world of Somme mud. We sleep in it, work in it, fight in it, wade in it and many of us die in it. We see it, feel it, eat it and curse it, but we can''t escape it, not even by dying...''Edward Lynch enlisted when he was just 18 - one of thousands of fresh-faced men who were proudly waved off by the crowds as they embarked for France. It was 1916 and the majority had no idea of the reality of the Somme trenches, of the traumatised soldiers they would encounter there, of the innumerable, awful contradictions of war. Private Lynch was one of those who survived, and on his return home, wrote Somme Mud in pencil in over 20 school exercise books, perhaps in the hope of coming to terms with all that he had witnessed there? Written from the perspective of an ordinary ''Tommy'' and told with dignity, candour and surprising wit, Somme Mud is a testament to the human spirit:Trade ReviewAs haunting and graphic a description of trench warfare as any I have read... this is a warrior's tale... a great read and a moving eye-witness account of a living hell from which few emerged unscathed * Daily Express *Compares to All Quiet on the Western Front... Both are front-line memoirs of men steadily becoming more professional and more disillusioned... Both are magnificently written -- Prof William GammageHere is the stink and stench of war... horrifying, scarifying and very humbling as well * Herald Sun *Brilliantly evokes the terror, horror, elation, friendship, gore and depression that made a combat infantryman's life so dangerous, so traumatic and, if he survived, so memorable * Courier Mail *His observations on life in the line and of his emotions in a battle strike a chord. Difficult to put down - it has the feel of being written by a soldier for soldiers * Soldier Magazine *

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Book Synopsis'Powerful and gripping... Goñi [is] impressively relentless: leaving no discoverable stone unturned' Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline As Russian forces closed in on Berlin, and Hitler's regime drew to a close, many Nazi officials began to organize their escape from Germany. Thanks to an international effort - which included the enthusiastic support of the Vatican and President Juan Perón - they were able to evade justice, and found refuge in Argentina. In this startling, meticulously researched account, acclaimed author Uki Goñi unravels the complex network that protected these fugitives, revealing the 'ratline' that allowed Adolf Eichmann - the architect of the 'Final Solution' - Josef Mengele, Erich Priebke, and many more to escape Europe. Both compelling and revelatory, this remarkable investigation sheds vital light on a disquieting period in Europe's history. This revised edition includes a new foreword by the author, new interviews, and a comprehensive list of the Nazi and European World War Two criminals who fled to Argentina.Trade ReviewUki Goñi's five year search for collateral evidence led him to files in Europe that confirmed a true story more gripping than... fiction * The Times *A fascinating expose... essential * New Statesman *Breathtakingly sinister - the stuff of every postwar spy novel * Sunday Telegraph *Historical honesty shines through the pages of one of the most dishonest episodes in history -- Richard Overy * Sunday Telegraph *Despite being thwarted by Argentine bureaucracy, we now have the full scandalous picture... [Goñi] has performed an essential task with bravery and discipline * Guardian *A brilliant work of detection and painstaking perseverance * Morning Star *Goni has powerfully exposed the deceits and conniving, and pierced what he calls the "wall of silence" * Sunday Times, Culture *

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Book SynopsisBlack Sea is a homage to an ocean and its shores, from the earliest times to the present. It explores the culture, history and politics of the volatile region which surrounds the Black Sea. Ascherson recalls the world of Herodotus and Aeschylus; Ovid's place of exile on what is now the coast of Romania; the decline and fall of Byzantium; the mysterious Christian Goths; the Tatar Khanates; the growth of Russian power across the grasslands, and the centuries of war between Ottoman and Russian Empires around the Black Sea. He examines the terrors of Stalinism and its fascist enemy, both striving for mastery of these endlessly colourful and complex shores, and investigates the turbulent history of modern Ukraine.WITH A FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR 'A brilliant biography of place' Guardian'Every page is freighted with rich and fascinating detail' IndependentTrade ReviewA brilliant biography of place. The complex social, ethnic and extraordinary ecological histories of this region - combined with vivid anecdotes and encounters - provide the background for stimulating reflections * Guardian *Must certainly be among the year's most memorable non-fiction books * Financial Times *A scholarly desktop travel through lost worlds * The Times *A genuinely compelling book: erudite, original, beautifully written * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis'The events of the first and second world wars are brought to vivid, startling life thanks to Amaral's skill at colourising contemporary images' Observer The epic, harrowing and world-changing story – in words and colourized images – of global conflict from the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the obliteration of Hiroshima by the dropping of the first atom bomb. The World Aflame embraces not only the total conflagrations of 1914–18 and 1939–45 and the international tensions, conflicting ideologies and malign economic forces that set them in train, but also the civil wars of the interwar period in Ireland and Spain, wars in Latin America, Britain's imperial travails in such places as Ireland, Somalia and Palestine, and events on the domestic 'fronts' of the belligerent nations. Like The Colour of Time, this is a collaboration between the gifted Brazilian artist Marina Amaral, and the leading British historian Dan Jones. A fusion of amazing pictures and well-chosen and informative words, The World Aflame offers a moving – and often terrifying – perspective on the bloodiest century in human history. 'A new perspective on the bloodiest half-century in history' Daily Mail 'Immensely vivid' Sunday Times 'Brings history to life in breaktaking technicolour' Financial Times 'Revelatory' Daily Express 'The past – even its grimmest, darkest hours – was not in black and white' GuardianTrade ReviewThe events of the first and second world wars are brought to vivid, startling life thanks to Amaral's skill at colourising contemporary images * Observer *Amaral's colourised images bring history to life in breathtaking technicolour. Although, actually, Amaral's palette is far more nuanced and beautiful than that * Financial Times *Frequently stark and sometimes bleak... but this is a testament to the quality of Amaral's work, and its effect on the human eye' * Military History *The past – even its grimmest, darkest hours – was not in black and white * Guardian *A new perspective to the bloodiest half-century in history * Daily Mail *For the first time, we are seeing the scenes in colour as images from a new book show how much changes but how much stays the same as history unfolds. Covering the years between 1914-1945, The World Aflame shows the planet gripped by wars, the rise of right-wing governments and a deadly pandemic * Sunday Post *You may need a strong stomach for some of the images, but they are immensely vivid, and Jones's text is crisp * Sunday Times *While many can claim to show you Winston Churchill as he's never been seen before, this photograph is perhaps a true first * Discover Britain *To see Winston Churchill's youthful freckly face in 1911 is revelatory. In a single image, we see how far the journey was from a somewhat gadabout sea lord to Our National Saviour * Daily Express *Stunning * People's Friend *Jones's commentaries are small miracles of compression... Amaral's achievement in bringing colour as 'an emotional enhancing agent' to these photographs is extraordinary' * World of Interiors *You may feel that you have seen it all before; this book triumphantly suggests otherwise * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisNiall Ferguson''s acclaimed bestseller on the highs and lows of Britain''s empireOnce vast swathes of the globe were coloured imperial red and Britannia ruled not just the waves, but the prairies of America, the plains of Asia, the jungles of Africa and the deserts of Arabia. Just how did a small, rainy island in the North Atlantic achieve all this? And why did the empire on which the sun literally never set finally decline and fall? Niall Ferguson''s acclaimed Empire brilliantly unfolds the imperial story in all its splendours and its miseries, showing how a gang of buccaneers and gold-diggers planted the seed of the biggest empire in all history - and set the world on the road to modernity.''The most brilliant British historian of his generation ... Ferguson examines the roles of pirates, planters, missionaries, mandarins, bankers and bankrupts in the creation of history''s largest empire ... he writes with splendid panache ... and a seemingly effortless, debonair wit'' Andrew Roberts ''Dazzling ... wonderfully readable'' New York Review of Books''A remarkably readable précis of the whole British imperial story - triumphs, deceits, decencies, kindnesses, cruelties and all'' Jan Morris ''Empire is a pleasure to read and brims with insights and intelligence'' Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisYuval Noah Harari’s bestselling phenomenon now in a beautifully packaged new special edition. 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. 'Unbelievably good. Jaw dropping from the first word to the last' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2PATTERNS OF LIFE: SPECIAL EDITIONS OF GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE BOOKSTrade ReviewSapiens is packed with heretical thinking and surprising facts. This riveting, myth-busting book cannot be summarised in any detail; you will simply have to read it -- John Gray * Financial Times *Here is a simple reason why Sapiens has risen explosively to the ranks of an international best-seller. 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 DiamondWhat’s unique about Harari’s take is that he focuses on the power of stories and myths to bring people together... I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a fun, engaging look at early human history... Harari tells our history in such an approachable way that you’ll have a hard time putting it down -- Bill GatesWhat makes it so interesting and provocative is that because it’s such a condensed sweeping history it talks about some core things that have allowed us to build this extraordinary civilisation that we take for granted, but weren’t a given, and it gives you a sense of perspective in how briefly we’ve been on this Earth -- Barack Obama * CNN *Sapiens is the sort of book that sweeps the cobwebs out of your brain. Its author, Yuval Noah Harari, is a young Israeli academic and an intellectual acrobat whose logical leaps have you gasping with admiration...Harari's writing radiates power and clarity, making the world strange and new -- John Carey * The Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn his iconoclastic and controversial study, Norman G. Finkelstein moves from an interrogation of the place the Holocaust has come to occupy in global culture to a disturbing examination of Holocaust compensation settlements. It was not until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, when Israel’s evident strength brought it into line with US foreign policy, that memory of the Holocaust began to acquire the exceptional prominence it has today.Recalling Holocaust fraudsters such as Jerzy Kosinski and Binjamin Wilkomirski, as well as the demagogic constructions of writers like Daniel Goldhagen, Finkelstein contends that the main danger posed to the memory of Nazism’s victims comes from some of the very people who profess most passionately to defend it. Drawing on a wealth of untapped sources, he exposes the double shakedown of European countries and legitimate Jewish claimants, and concludes that the Holocaust industry has become an outright extortion racket

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Book SynopsisSimon Morrison is Professor of Music History at Princeton, where he earned his PhD in musicology. He is the author of The People's Artist, a definitive account of Prokofiev's career after his fateful return to the Soviet Union in 1936, along with numerous articles and essays in leading scholarly journals, and features for the New York Times. Morrison was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011.

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Book SynopsisToday Italy is a land of beauty and prosperity but in 1944-45 it had become a place of nightmares, a land of violence, war, and destruction. James Holland''s ground-breaking account expertly documents the German advance and a segment of Italian history that has been largely neglected.The war in Italy was the most destructive campaign in the west as the Allies and Germans fought a long, bitter and highly attritional conflict up the mountainous leg of Italy during the last twelve months of the Second World War. For front-line troops, casualties rates at Cassino and then along the notorious Gothic Line were as high as they had been along the Western Front in the First World War. There were further similarities too: blasted landscapes, rain and mud. For the men who fought there, Italy really was the hardest campaign.And while the Allies and Germans were slogging it out through the mountains, the Italians were fighting their own battles, one where Partisans and Fascists were pitted againstTrade Review‘James Holland has written his best book yet, a gripping, yet compassionate account of the terrible war in Italy, with a memorable depiction of civilian suffering.’ Antony Beevor 'Impeccably researched and ingeniously structured … "Italy's Sorrow" is a splendid account of an often overshadowed campaign by a historian who has already given us excellent studies of the Siege of Malta and the Desert War.' Daily Express 'The suffering of Italy's innocents deserves to be commemorated. James Holland's excellent book does that and much more, confirming his place in the first rank of contemporary military historians.' Mail on Sunday 'Assiduously researched, enthusiastically narrated … it is hard to believe that this will not be the definitive account of the battle for Italy.' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisWhen our ancestors came down from the trees, they brought the trees with them and remade the world.A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes wood' John Carey, The Sunday TimesHow did the descendants of small arboreal primates manage to stand on our own two feet, become top predators and take over the world?In The Wood Age, Roland Ennos shows that the key to humanity's success has been our relationship with wood. He takes us on a sweeping ten-million-year journey from great apes who built their nests among the trees to early humans who depended on wood for fire, shelter, tools and weapons; from the structural design of wheels and woodwinds, to the invention of paper and the printing press.Drawing together recent research and reinterpreting existing evidence from fields as far-ranging as primatology, anthropology, archaeology, history, architecture, engineering and carpentry, Ennos charts for the first time how our ability to exploit wood's unique properties has shaped our bTrade Review‘A stunning book on the incalculable debt humanity owes to wood …Roland Ennos’s knowledge of all things arboreal is vast and intricate. He is a professor of biology at the University of Hull and the author of several books, among them the Natural History Museum’s official guide to trees. But The Wood Age is something different — nothing less than a complete reinterpretation of human history and prehistory, and it is written with enormous verve and pinpoint clarity … No review can match the richness of Ennos’s book. There are chapters or sections on coal and charcoal, pottery kilns, modern wooden buildings, techniques of melting and smelting metals, the history of shipbuilding, wind and watermills, deforestation and much else … I felt like cheering.’ John Carey, The Sunday Times ‘A lively history of biology, mechanics and culture that stretches back 60 million years… A specialist in the mechanics of wood, Ennos has a fierce love for his topic’ Nature ‘Passionate … In this very readable historical survey, Ennos argues that not only do we need to reassess the role wood has played in our history, but by embracing a new age of wood, we can help to reset our broken relationship to the natural world … [A] fascinating ‘wood-centred view’ of our history’ P.D. Smith, Guardian ‘Wonderful’ i news ‘An eye-opening piece of environmental history … Excellent … Comes highly recommended’ The Inquisitive Biologist ‘Ennos, a professor at the University of Hull and a specialist in the mechanical properties of trees, shares his insatiable curiosity with us. He applies his sharp eye for details, and he does so entertainingly’ Washington Post ‘Ennos’s special love and concern is for things made from trees … The principles of every significant technology, from tree-felling and carpentry to shipbuilding and papermaking, are described with a precise, almost mesmerizing detail’ New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisFrom rebels to writers, athletes to astronauts, join Kate Fox takes on an entertaining and eye-opening journey through the lives of these extraordinary women whose lives and achievements have too long been hidden. From Cartimandua, the forgotten Iron Age Queen of the North, to Woodbine-smoking football player Lily Parr, Kate with her trademark wit and sense of fun, shows how these astonishing trailblazers laid the ground for modern stars from Victoria Wood to Little Mix. Nicola Adams, Betty Boothroyd and Helen Sharman all have these unsung northern champions to thank for paving their way.Funny, enlightening and a call to arms, it's perfect for a nation ready to rediscover its hidden heroes.Trade Review‘Kate Fox is funny, quirky and a wonderful writer’ Sarah Millican

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Book SynopsisThe past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook.If you could travel back in time, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. It is the age of Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and the libertine court of Charles II; Christopher Wren in architecture, Henry Purcell in music and Isaac Newton in science - the civil wars are over and a magnificent new era has begun.But what would it really be like to live in Restoration Britain? Where would you stay and what would you eat? What would you wear and where would you do your shopping? The third volume in the series of Ian Mortimer''s bestselling Time Traveller''s Guides answers the crucial questions that a prospective traveller to seventeenth-century Britain would ask.People''s lives are changing rapidly - from a world of superstition and religious explanation to rationalism and scientific calculation. In many respects the period sees theTrade ReviewIan Mortimer is among the best: a conjuror who is always bright, engaging and well-informed… Any tour of late 17th-century Britain is guaranteed to be exhilarating. And with Mortimer in charge, one always travels first class * Mail on Sunday *Ian Mortimer is a historical truffle hound… The Time Traveller’s Guide to Restoration Britain is just such fun to read… Mortimer writes with real freshness and enthusiasm,... His book is a delightful read. * Sunday Times *This entertaining tourist guide brings the late 17th century alive…The latest Time Traveller’s Guide will entertain and inform anyone with an interest in this extraordinary period * The Times *Thoroughly entertaining… It is crammed with insights, facts and enjoyable anecdotes, which create a sense of the experience of living in Britain between 1660 and 1700… This is a compelling book and one of considerable erudition… This is the book that will provide the most richly colourful account of Britain in this period * History Today *Everything you wanted to know about these fair isles between 1660 and 1700... Exciting times. * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisHeinz Guderian - master of the Blitzkrieg and father of modern tank warfare - commanded the German XIX Army Corps as it rampaged across Poland in 1939. Personally leading the devastating attack which traversed the Ardennes Forest and broke through French lines, he was at the forefront of the race to the Channel coast. Only Hitler''s personal command to halt prevented Guderian''s tanks and troops turning Dunkirk into an Allied bloodbath.Later commanding Panzergruppe 2 in Operation Barbarossa, Guderian''s armoured spearhead took Smolensk after fierce fighting and was poised to launch the final assault on Moscow when he was ordered south to Kiev. In the battle that followed, he helped encircle and capture over 600,000 Soviet troops after days of combat in the most terrible conditions.Panzer Leader is a searing firsthand account of the most effective fighting force in modern history by the man who commanded it.

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Book SynopsisThe soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words - Guardian''For some reason nothing seemed to happen to us at first; we strolled along as though walking in a park. Then, suddenly, we were in the midst of a storm of machine-gun bullets and I saw men beginning to twirl round and fall in all kinds of curious ways'' On 1 July 1916, a continous line of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches of the Somme into No Man''s Land and began to walk towards dug-in German troops armed with machine-guns. By the end of the day there were more than 60,000 British casualties - a third of them fatal.Martin Middlebrook''s now-classic account of the blackest day in the history of the British army draws on official sources from the time, and on the words of hundreds of survivors: normal men, many of them volunteers, who found themselves thrown into a scene of unparalleled tragedy and horror.Trade ReviewThe soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words * Guardian *A particularly vivid and personal narrative * Times Literary Supplement *Pioneering and hauntingly eloquent -- Peter Parker * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisCrusading fervour gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid episodes in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.Yet despite their powerful hold on our imaginations, our knowledge of them remains obscured an distorted by time. Were the Crusaders motivated by spiritual rewards, or by greed? Were the Crusades an experiment in European colonialism, or a manifestation of religious love? How were they organized and founded?With customary flair and originality, Christopher Tyerman picks his way through the many debates to present a clear and lively discussion of the Crusades; bringing together issues of colonialism, cultural exchange, economic exploitation, and the relationship between past and present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewSmall but impressive * Soldier Magazine *Table of Contents1. Definition and Scope ; 2. Sources and Perspectives ; 3. Holy War ; 4. Holy lands ; 5. The Business of the Cross Conclusion ; Conclusion ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisPeter Adamson offers an accessible, humorous tour through a period of eight hundred years when some of the most influential of all schools of thought were formed: from the third century BC to the sixth century AD. He introduces us to Cynics and Skeptics, Epicureans and Stoics, emperors and slaves, and traces the development of Christian and Jewish philosophy and of ancient science. Chapters are devoted to such major figures as Epicurus, Lucretius, Cicero, Seneca, Plotinus, and Augustine. But in keeping with the motto of the series, the story is told ''without any gaps,'' providing an in-depth look at less familiar topics that remains suitable for the general reader. For instance, there are chapters on the fascinating but relatively obscure Cyrenaic philosophical school, on pagan philosophical figures like Porphyry and Iamblichus, and extensive coverage of the Greek and Latin Christian Fathers who are at best peripheral in most surveys of ancient philosophy. A major theme of the book is in fact the competition between pagan and Christian philosophy in this period, and the Jewish tradition also appears in the shape of Philo of Alexandria. Ancient science is also considered, with chapters on ancient medicine and the interaction between philosophy and astronomy. Considerable attention is paid also to the wider historical context, for instance by looking at the ascetic movement in Christianity and how it drew on ideas from Hellenic philosophy. From the counter-cultural witticisms of Diogenes the Cynic to the subtle skepticism of Sextus Empiricus, from the irreverent atheism of the Epicureans to the ambitious metaphysical speculation of Neoplatonism, from the ethical teachings of Marcus Aurelius to the political philosophy of Augustine, the book gathers together all aspects of later ancient thought in an accessible and entertaining way.Trade Reviewone of the most accomplished and ambitious ventures in publishing . . . from the first volume onwards, a repeated refrain has been philosophers arguing that being a philosopher is the best choice in life. These books are so engaging, instructive and diverting it might almost make you believe that is true. * The Scotsman *Adamson considers a large period of history but the chapters never seem intimidating or lacking in depth. Any reader with an interest in philosophy will find this work both entertaining and educational. * Library Journal *A volume that is both a perfect introductory work and will also help to plug some of the gaps that most of us have in our knowledge of the long span of ancient philosophical history. * James Warren, Phronesis *Table of ContentsPart I. Hellenistic Philosophy 1: Fighting over Socrates: The Hellenistic schools 2: Beware of the Philosopher: The Cynics 3: Instant Gratification: The Cyrenaics 4: The Constant Gardener: The Principles of Epicurus 5: Am I Bothered?: Epicurean Ethics 6: Nothing to Fear: Epicureans on Death and the Gods 7: Reaping the Harvest: Lucretius 8: Walking on Eggshells: Stoic Logic 9: Nobody's Perfect: The Stoics on Knowledge 10: We Didn't Start the Fire: The Stoics on Nature 11: Like a Rolling Stone: Stoic Ethics 12: Anger Management: Seneca 13: You Can Chain My Leg: Epictetus 14: The Philosopher King: Marcus Aurelius 15: Beyond Belief: Pyrrho and Skepticism 16: The Know Nothing Party: The Skeptical Academy 17: Rhetorical Questions: Cicero 18: Healthy Skepticism: Sextus Empiricus 19: The Joy of Sects: Ancient Medicine and Philosophy 20: The Best Doctor is a Philosopher: Galen Part II. Pagan Philosophy in the Roman Empire 21: Caesarian Section: Philosophy in the Roman Empire 22: Middle Men: The Platonic Revival 23: To the Lighthouse: Philo of Alexandria 24: Delphic Utterances: Plutarch 25: Lost and Found: Aristotelianism after Aristotle 26: Not Written in Stone: Alexander of Aphrodisias 27: Silver Tongues in Golden Mouths: Rhetoric and Ancient Philosophy 28: Sky Writing: Astronomy, Astrology, and Philosophy 29: A God Is My Co-Pilot: The Life and Works of Plotinus 30: Simplicity Itself: Plotinus on the One and Intellect 31: On the Horizon: Plotinus on the Soul 32: A Decorated Corpse: Plotinus on Matter and Evil 33: King of Animals: Porphyry 34: Pythagorean Theorems: Iamblichus 35: Domestic Goddesses and Philosopher Queens: The Household and the State 36: The Platonic Successor: Proclus 37: A Tale of Two Cities: The Last Pagan Philosophers 38: For a Limited Time Only: John Philoponus Part III. Christian Philosophy in the Roman Empire 39: Father Figures: Ancient Christian Philosophy 40: Please Accept our Apologies: The Greek Church Fathers 41: Fall and Rise: Origen 42: Three for the Price of One: The Cappadocians 43: Naming the Nameless: The Pseudo-Dionysius 44: Double or Nothing: Maximus the Confessor 45: Practice Makes Perfect: Christian Asceticism 46: Spreading the Word: The Latin Church Fathers 47: Life and Time: Augustine's Confessions 48: Papa Don't Teach: Augustine on Language 49: Help Wanted: Augustine on Freedom 50: Heaven and Earth: Augustine's City of God 51: Me, Myself, and I: Augustine on Mind and Memory 52: Born Again: Latin Platonism 53: Fate, Hope, and Clarity: Boethius

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Book SynopsisA new, fully updated edition of the world's leading guide to the historical sites of the Holy Land, providing the ultimate guide to all the main Jewish, Christian, and Muslim sites.Trade ReviewAll who plan to visit the Holy Land in the coming years should buy a copy of this excellent guide * J. Day, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *Table of ContentsPART 1; PART 2

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Book SynopsisMillions of Africans, Asians, and other peoples were the subjects of colonial rule by overseas empires through the mid-twentieth century. By the end of the century, however, nearly all of these peoples had become citizens of independent nation-states. The United Nations grew from 51 member states at its founding in 1945 to 193 today. Its nearly four-fold increase is one measure of the historic shift in international relations that has occurred over the past half-century. Decolonization is the term commonly used to refer to this transition from a world of colonial empires to a world of nation-states in the years after World War II.Both ex-imperial states and post-colonial regimes have promoted a selective and sanitized version of decolonization that casts their own conduct in a positive light, characterizing the process as negotiated and the outcome as inevitable. This book draws on recent scholarship to challenge that view, demonstrating that considerable violence and instability accompanied the end of empire and that the outcome was often up for grabs.This book highlights three themes. The first is that global war between empires precipitated decolonization, creating the economic and political crises that gave colonial subjects the opportunity to seek independence. The second theme is that nation-state was not the only option pursued by anti-colonial activists. Many of them sought pan- and trans-national polities instead, but a combination of international and institutional pressures made the nation-state the standard template. The third theme is that the struggle to escape imperial subjugation and create nation-states generated widespread violence and produced huge refugee populations, leading to political problems that persist to the present day. By focusing on these crucial points, Dane Kennedy reminds us how the tumultuous, even tragic, changes caused by the decolonization profoundly shaped the world we live in.Trade ReviewKennedy's brief book will undoubtedly become a key resource for teaching the end of empire. It serves as an ideal launching point for anyone new to the field, whether they are interested in gaining a general understanding of decolonization or in finding ways to delve more deeply into the complications, chronologies, and meanings of the end of empire. * Elisabeth Leake, The American Historical Review *Table of Contents1 Waves of Decolonization 2 Global War's Colonial Consequences 3 The Deluge 4 The Problem of the Nation-State 5 Imperial Continuities and the Politics of Amnesia References Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe adventurous stories of the greatest explorers in history.Table of ContentsAncient World – Out of Africa • Into a New World • Early Pacific Voyagers • Egyptian Explorers Herodotus • Xenophon • Alexander the Great • Pytheas the Greek • Hannibal • St Paul • The Emperor Hadrian Medieval World Early Chinese Travellers on the Silk Road • Early Voyagers to America Christian Pilgrimages • Muslim Pilgrimages • Genghis Khan • Marco Polo • Ibn Battuta • Cheng Ho, the Grand Eunuch • The Renaissance Christopher Columbus • Vasco da Gama & Bartolomeu Diaz Lodovico da Varthema • Ferdinand Magellan • Herman Cortés • Francisco Pizarro • Francisco de Orellana Early Explorers of North America • Francis Drake • Samuel Champlain • Early Searches for the Northwest Passage • 17th and 18th Centuries Abel Tasman • Maria Sibylla Merlan • Ippolito Desideri • Vitus Bering • James Bruce • James Cook • Jean-François de Lapérouse • Alexander Mackenzie • Mungo Park • 19th Century Alexander van Humboldt • Lewis & Clark’s Expedition across America • Jean-Louis Buckhardt Darwin and the Beagle • The Trail of Tears • Journeys into the Mexican Jungle • Later Searchers for the Northwest Passage • Henrich Barth & the Central African Mission • Search for the Source of the Nile Crossing Australia • Into the Heart of Africa • The Mekong River Expedition • Travels in Arabia Deserts TheNortheastPassage•ThePunditsExploreTibet•ExploringCentral&EastAsia ModernTimes Journeys Across Asia • To the North Pole • The Race to the South Pole • Shackleton & the Endurance Women Travellers in Asia • Charles Lindbergh • Women Pioneers of Flight • The Long March • Thor Heyerdahl & Kon-Tiki • Scaling Everest • Single-Handed around the World • To the Moon & Back • Voyages to the Bottom of the Ocean • Round the World by Balloon • Into Outer Space: Mars, Jupiter & Beyond

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Book SynopsisFrom the origins of urbanization in Mesopotamia to the global metropolises of today, great cities have marked the development of human civilization. This book tells their stories, from Uruk and Memphis to Tokyo and Sao Paulo.Trade Review'An extravaganza … a terrific line-up of writers, and some superb illustrations' - The Times Literary Supplement'One couldn’t really ask for better people to open windows of insight on this fascinating and urgent topic' - Condé Nast Traveller'The history of cities is a history of civilization and such histories do not usually come so clear, so concise, so accessible and so entertaining as this' - The Art BookTable of ContentsUruk • Mohenjo-daro • Memphis • Thebes • Hattusa • Babylon • Nineveh • Carthage Athens • Linzi • Alexandria • Meroë • Jerusalem • Rome • Teotihuacan • Tikal • Constantinople • Mecca • Damascus • Chang’an • Baghdad • Córdoba • Angkor • Palermo • Cairo • Samarkand • Paris • Lübeck • Kraków • Venice • Florence • Benin Timbuktu • Cuzco • Tenochtitlan • Lisbon • Rome • Istanbul • Agra • Isfahan • Beijing • Kyoto • Prague • Amsterdam • Mexico City • London • Stockholm • Dublin • Copenhagen • St Petersburg • Vienna • Edinburgh • Moscow • Paris • London • Budapest Montreal • Washington DC • Barcelona • New Delhi • Berlin • Chicago • Los Angeles • Buenos Aires • Singapore • New York • São Paulo • Sydney • Tokyo • Shanghai

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Book SynopsisAn Introduction to the Ancient World offers a thorough survey of the history of the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome. Covering the social, political, economic and cultural processes that have influenced later western and Near Eastern civilisations, this volume considers subjects such as the administrative structures, economies and religions of the ancient Near East, Athenian democracy, the development of classical Greek literature, the interaction of cultures in the Hellenistic world, the political and administrative system of the Roman Republic and empire, and the coming of Christianity, all within the broad outline of political history.This third edition is thoroughly updated and some chapters are completely rewritten to cover recent historical research. Changes include: more attention to economic structures and developments, and to the history of the later Roman Empire (third to sixth centuries AD); incorporation ofTrade Review ‘An Introduction to the Ancient World is an engaging and useful introductory text for students who are encountering the ancient Mediterranean and Near East for the first time. It is an excellent mix of erudition, concision and clarity that even advanced students and professionals will find valuable and suitable to their needs. Few introductory ancient history texts compare with An Introduction to the Ancient World, and none surpass it. Having used it as a textbook in both my Western Civilization and World Civilizations courses, it gives students a coherent overview that committee-produced, expensive textbooks lack.’ Edward Dandrow, University of Central Florida, USA ‘An Introduction to the Ancient World is an engaging and useful introductory text for students who are encountering the ancient Mediterranean and Near East for the first time. It is an excellent mix of erudition, concision and clarity that even advanced students and professionals will find valuable and suitable to their needs. Few introductory ancient history texts compare with An Introduction to the Ancient World, and none surpass it. Having used it as a textbook in both my Western Civilization and World Civilizations courses, it gives students a coherent overview that committee-produced, expensive textbooks lack.’ Edward Dandrow, University of Central Florida, USA Table of Contents List of maps; List of figures; List of boxes; Preface to the Third Edition; Chronology; Introduction; PART I: THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST; 1 THE ORIGINS OF THE CIVILISATIONS OF EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA; 2 THE THIRD MILLENNIUM; 3 THE SECOND MILLENNIUM; 4 THE FIRST MILLENNIUM; 5 RELIGION; 6 ECONOMY AND SOCIETY; 7 GOVERNMENT; PART II: THE GREEK WORLD; 8 THE EARLY IRON AGE (c. 1200 – c. 750 BC): ‘THE DARK AGES’; 9 THE ARCHAIC PERIOD, c. 750 – c. 500 BC; 10 THE CLASSICAL PERIOD, c. 500 – c. 330 BC; 11 THE HELLENISTIC WORLD, c. 330 – c. 30 BC; PART III: ROME; 12 EARLY ROMAN HISTORY (753–265 BC); 13 FURTHER EXPANSION AND NEW SOCIAL TENSIONS, 264–133 BC; 14 THE CENTURY OF THE CIVIL WARS, 133–30 BC; 15 THE EARLY IMPERIAL AGE, 27 BC–AD 193; 16 THE CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY AD AND LATE ANTIQUITY; 17 EPILOGUE; PART IV: APPENDICES; Select bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisThis second edition has been updated to include an assessment of economic relations up to the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on three main threads that tie national economies together: flows of goods, of people and of finance.Since the end of the Second World War, the international economy transformed from a tightly controlled trading system to the financial globalization of the late 20th century. This book traces the organisation of international economic relations from the 1944 Bretton Woods conference through to the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath. By outlining the development of economic policy of both national and international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, this volume examines how the global system was constructed and explores the sources of inequality and instability. The changing political context is also emphasised, especially the Cold War and its end, the rise of China and other emerging market economies and the prospect of a retreat from globalisation in the wake of the 2008 crisis.Using non-technical language and providing clear examples and evidence, the book is an accessible introduction to international economic relations that will be useful for all students of modern world history since 1945.Trade ReviewPraise for previous edition:"Schenk deals with complex subjects, periods, and organizations clearly and concisely, giving a broad introduction to the making of the contemporary global financial infrastruct. [...] Would I recommend it to students? Yes. Will I dip into it again during the course of teaching? Yes, probably, because of its clarity and conciseness; because it is well written; but mostly because it is well signposted and has clear, simple, and up-to-date graphs and tables; and because it is well referenced but not cluttered."Paul Strong, The Economic History Review, 2012Table of Contents1. Introduction and Overview 2. Rebuilding the international economic system 1945-50 3. Years of Growth 1950-70 4. Years of Crisis 1970-1985 5. The Start of the Second Globalization 6. The Acceleration of globalisation and renewed crises 7. Lessons not learned: the 2000s 8. Reconstructing international economic relations: 2010-2020

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