Search results for ""author philip parker""

Philip Parker is a writer, consultant and publisher specialising in ancient and medieval political and military systems. He studied history at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and is the author of A History of Britain in Maps (2016), the DK Eyewitness Companion Guide to World History (2010) and many more. He was the general editor of Anova's Great Trade Routes (2010), and winner of a Certificate of Merit for the Mountbatten Maritime Award in the Maritime Media Awards 2013. As a publisher he ran The Times books list, including works on ancient civilizations and The Times History of the World. Philip lives in London with his partner and daughter.

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Discover the 12 crucial moments in Britain's past that will answer the greatest questions for our future in this richly insightful and fascinating history'A richly entertaining canter through the country's past. Engrossing' INDEPENDENT___________What is Britain?Where lie its boundaries?Why are they always changing?Are we a small island or a big idea?What will we look like next?In Small Island: 12 Maps that Explain the History of Britain, Philip Parker answers these and other crucial questions about this country and its peoples.By pondering our intertwined geography and history, he shows how the past has made Britain and how we might yet shape its future.

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This lavishly illustrated book provides a unique insight into the evolution of mapmaking and the science behind it, from the stone age to the digital age. Britain’s leading cartographic author takes us on a historical journey through how the greatest maps were created. Exploring key cartographers and mapmaking methods, as well as fascinating interludes on subjects such as the very first maps, deliberate mistakes, and superlative maps, this comprehensive guide explores how the techniques and technology have developed throughout human history: • Evolving methods of surveying: from the Roman groma, through the naval instruments of the magnetic compass, astrolabes and sextants, to the 20th century revolution of aerial photography • Drawing tools and materials: from Babylonian maps carved in clay, to digital maps created via touchscreen • The introduction of various mapping conventions and key components of a map: from Ptolemy's introduction of longitude and latitude, through the 13th century origins of having north at the top, to the various projections used to represent the Earth. With visually stunning historic maps and antique instruments, this book will engross readers with its fascinating stories of how we came to chart our world.

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A spectacular, puzzle-fuelled, myth-busting journey through the hidden history of Britain in 500 questions. Britain's history is one of the richest and most complex in Europe. From the first Stone Age settlers, through the Roman occupation, the waves of Germanic and Viking invaders, the wars of the Middle Ages, the consolidation of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, the two World Wars and today's post- industrial country, its development is filled with well-known highpoints and lesser-known byways. The British History Puzzle Book poses fascinating and fiendish questions which will test your knowledge of the nation's history to the limit and reveal a treasure trove of astonishing facts. Illustrated with beautiful images from the British Library's collection, The British History Puzzle Book will provide hours of entertainment and delight readers with questions for history novices to experts alike. So if you've ever wondered where cricket was invented, how many husbands the reigning queens of England have had, or who the first recorded tourist to visit Britain was, then The British History Puzzle Book will provide all the answers.

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The full story of human endeavour - complete with its dramas, wars, schemes, discoveries, and personalities - is laid out before you in this illustrated guide to the history of our world.Who were the Mongols, the Maya, or Isis? How far did the Roman or the British empire stretch? Why did apartheid or Communism begin, and what were the issues in the Vietnam War?World History is your convenient reference, answering all your questions. But it also tells you why events happen and explains key issues. Its timelines trace events as they happen, from the appearance of the first humans in Africa to first civilisations and then on to recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the space race. It succinctly explains how one event led to another, and sums up topics that include ancient Egypt, the Romans, the Renaissance, World Wars I and II, slavery and empire, and Communist China.Dotted throughout this comprehensive volume are sumptous images that reveal historical world treasures, such as the 16,000-year old cave paintings at Lascaux, Machu Picchu, and the Taj Mahal.With wide coverage of the world's civilisations, events, ideas, and discoveries, World History is both an essential reference and a fascinating read.

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Test your knowledge of kings and queens by attempting to answer some 300 questions across 25 topics, from early kingdoms to the realms of England, Scotland and Wales and the British Royal Family of the modern era. The topics range from Coronations to Sports and Pastimes – from the first English queen crowned in her own right to the only royal to have won an Olympic Medal. Do you know which country’s national anthem uses the same music as ‘God Save the King’? Whose corpse is said to have exploded in its coffin? What was Queen Victoria’s first name? These hundreds of puzzles are accompanied by a wealth of illustrations from the collections of the British Library. Accept the challenge and see how much more you can learn.

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This beautiful book is a lavishly illustrated look at the most important atlases in history and the cartographers who made them. Atlases are books that changed the course of history. Pored over by rulers, explorers and adventures these books were used to build empires, wage wars, encourage diplomacy and nurture trade. Written by Philip Parker, an authority on the history of maps, this book brings these fascinating artefacts to life, offering a unique, lavishly illustrated guide to the history of these incredible books and the cartographers behind them. All key cartographic works from the last half-millennium are covered, including: The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, considered the world’s first atlas and produced in 1570 by the Dutch, geographer Abraham Ortelius. The 17th-century Klencke – one of the world’s largest books that requires 6 people to carry it The Rand McNally Atlas of 1881, still in print today and a book that turned its makers, William H Rand and Andrew McNally into cartographic royalty. This beautiful book will engross readers with its detailed, visually stunning illustrations and fascinating story of how map-making has developed throughout human history.

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The Library has one of the largest and most impressive cartographic collections in the world, including manuscript maps and atlases, administrative records and plans, largescale surveys and digital maps. From this rich resource, 100 fascinating examples have been selected as the basis for this puzzle book.

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The Northmen’s Fury tells the Viking story, from the first pinprick raids of the eighth century to the great armies that left their Scandinavian homelands to conquer larger parts of France, Britain and Ireland. It recounts the epic voyages that took them across the Atlantic to the icy fjords of Greenland and to North America over four centuries before Columbus and east to the great rivers of Russia and the riches of the Byzantine empire.One summer’s day in 793, death arrived from the sea. The raiders who sacked the island monastery of Lindisfarne were the first Vikings, sea-borne attackers who brought two centuries of terror to northern Europe. Before long the sight of their dragon-prowed longships and the very name of Viking gave rise to fear and dread, so much so that monks were reputed to pray each night for delivery from ‘the Northmen’s Fury’. Yet for all their reputation as bloodthirsty warriors, the Vikings possessed a sophisticated culture that produced art of great beauty, literature of abiding power and kingdoms of surprising endurance. The Northmen’s Fury describes how and why a region at the edge of Europe came to dominate and to terrorise much of the rest of the continent for nearly three centuries and how, in the end, the coming of Christianity and the growing power of kings tempered the Viking ferocity and stemmed the tide of raids. It relates the astonishing achievement of the Vikings in forging far-flung empires whose sinews were the sea and whose arteries were not roads but maritime trading routes. The blood of the Vikings runs in millions of veins in Europe and the Americas and the tale of their conquests, explorations and achievements continues to inspire people around the world.

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From the moment towns and cities arose, the struggle for land, resources and power has turned to violence. Almost from the start, maps have been an essential part of planning and waging war. History of War in Maps gives a unique visual representation of the development of warfare and the maps that have helped shaped our history. Each map in this beautifully designed volume plays a crucial role. While countless campaign strategies have relied on detailed and accurate mapping, entire wars have been fought over the maps themselves, with hopes of redrawing boundaries and redefining nations. Spanning more than 2,000 years, this book expertly curates more than 70 historical maps which tell the fascinating story of war: from ancient and medieval warfare to modern-day global conflicts. Featuring maps of historic battles such as:• Battle of Marathon, 490 BC• Battle of Hastings, 1066• Battle of Crecy, 1346• Battle of Lützen (Thirty Years’ War), 1632• Battle of Saratoga, 1777• Battle of Austerlitz, 1805• Battle of Balaklava (Crimean War), 1854• Siege of Vicksburg, 1863• Battle of Isandhlwana (Anglo-Zulu War), 1879• Battle of Spion Kop (Anglo-Boer War), 1900• Gallipoli campaign, 1915• D-Day, 1944• Operation Desert Storm, 1993

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A beautful book for anyone interested in exploring the history of trade in maps. Trade is the lifeblood of nations. It has provided vital goods and wealth to countries and merchants from the ancient Egyptians who went in search of gold and ivory to their 21st-century equivalents trading high-tech electronic equipment from the Far East. In this beautiful book, more than 70 maps give a visual representation of the history of World Commerce, accompanied by text which tells the extraordinary story of the merchants, adventurers, middle-men and monarchs who bought, sold, explored and fought in search of profit and power. The maps are all works of art, witnesses to history, and have a fascinating story to tell. The maps include• Çatalhöyük Plan, c. 6200BC• Babylonian Map of the World, c. 600BC• Stone Map of China, 1136• Hereford Mappa Mundi, c. 1300• Buondelmonti Map of Constantinople, c. 1420• The Waldseemüller Map, 1507• James Rennell Map of Hindoostan, 1782• Air Age Map, 1945• Johns Hopkins Covid-19 Dashboard, 2020

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Discover history as you've never seen it before – and all the stuff you never knew happened at the same time!Did you know the woolly mammoths were still around when the Egyptians built their pyramids? Or that Leonardo Da Vinci lived at the same time as Henry VIII and the Aztecs? Welcome to The History of Everywhere, a fascinating guide to all the stuff you never knew happened at the same time! In lively maps, see the whole world of history: from ancient times to the modern day, watch civilizations rise and fall, spot fascinating connections and coincidences, and discover the people and events you never learnt about in school. Prepare for a fascinating journey around the world that will change the way you see history!

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