Category Archives: Travel Guides
Building St Paul`s
`Building St Paul`s` tells the story of the cathedral that has dominated London`s skyline for 300 years and of those responsible for its construction from the time of the disastrous Great Fire to final completion in 1708. The figure of Sir Christopher Wren is well known, but this book also considers those ordinary craftsmen, the
A History of Ancient Greece in 50 Lives
The political leaders, writers, artists and philosophers of ancient Greece turned a small group of city states into a pan-Mediterranean civilization, whose legacy can be found everywhere today. But who were these people, what do we know of their lives and how did they interact with one another? In this original new approach to telling
The Great Empires of the Ancient World
A distinguished team of internationally renowned scholars surveys the great empires from 1600 BC to AD 500, from the ancient Mediterranean to China, in ten comprehensive chapters, taking in the empires of New Kingdom Egypt; the Hittites; Assyria and Babylonia; Achaemenid Persia; Athens; Alexander; Parthian and early Sasanian Persia; Rome; India; and Qin and Han
Utopia: The History of an Idea
Aspirations for a better – even a perfect – society have existed throughout history, often imagined in intricate detail by philosophers, poets, social reformers, architects and artists. This book explores a perennially powerful idea: the quest for the ideal society. Gregory Claeys surveys the influence of the idea of Utopia on history. Central to his
The Dinosaurs Rediscovered: How a Scientific Revolution is Rewriting History
Startling new fossil finds are the lifeblood of modern palaeobiology. Giant sauropod dinosaur skeletons from Patagonia, dinosaurs with feathers from China, and even a tiny dinosaur tail in Burmese amber – complete down to every detail of its filament-like feathers, skin, bones and mummified tail muscles – inspire awe in a global audience enthralled by
India: A Short History
India has had many histories. To pilgrims from ancient China, India was the birthplace of the Buddha; to Alexander the Great it was a land of clever naked philosophers and indomitable, elephantine armies. At the height of the Mughal empire, India boasted nearly a quarter of the world economy, and even under colonial rule it
Revolutions: How They Changed History and What They Mean Today
Revolutions – peaceful or violent, radical or reactionary – have shaped the political landscape of the world we live in today. But what led revolutionaries to action? What were they fighting against and what were they seeking to achieve? Each revolution is a product of its time, its society, its people – and the outcomes
Pompeii – The Day a City Died
From the NEW HORIZONS series of pocket-sized information books, an introduction to the life and times of Pompeii as revealed by modern archaeology. With foldouts and double-page spreads.
The Search for Ancient Egypt
The Search for Ancient Egypt is Jean Vercoutter and Ruth Sharman`s riveting compilation of the major discoveries of ancient Egypt, including the stories of Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, Belzoni and Champollion. They write of the `pharaoh`s curse`, the Patagonian Samson, the unlocking of the ever-secretive hieroglyphs and a remarkable rescue of Egypt`s monuments from
The Aztecs – Rise & Fall of an Empire
From the NEW HORIZONS series, a look at the Aztecs who created a refined society at the same time as carrying out mass human sacrifice, examining how these apparently contradictory aspects co-existed, and covering Aztec history from nomadic beginnings to the period of Spanish rule.
The Celts – First Masters of Europe
Lovers of gold, wine and war, the Celts have no voice because they have left no written records. Much of what we know of them comes from their enemies the Romans, who finally crushed them, and from the weapons and ornaments they buried with their dead. From these traces we can now resurrect a sophisticated
Mythomania: Tales of Our Times, From Apple to Isis
Despite a proclaimed respect for scientific reason, humans are still as intrigued by myth as their remote ancestors. Laptops and smartphones are sold under a logo that invokes the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden; skimpily clad classical nymphs cavort in TV reality shows; Narcissus makes a comeback whenever we snap a selfie. Mythical
The True History of Chocolate
Chocolate – `the food of the Gods` – has had a long and eventful history. Its story is expertly told here by the doyen of Maya studies, Michael Coe, and his late wife, Sophie. The book begins 3,000 years ago in the Mexican jungles and goes on to draw on aspects of archaeology, botany and
Thinking Big: How the Evolution of Social Life Shaped the Human Mind
When and how did the brains of our hominin ancestors become human minds? When and why did our capacity for language or art, music and dance evolve? It is the contention of this pathbreaking and provocative book that it was the need for early humans to live in ever-larger social groups, and to maintain social
Women of the Raj
The apparent glamour of the Indian Raj continues to fascinate long after the British quit the subcontinent. But along with the beauty of the Indian landscape and the privilege of servants and holidays in hill stations, British women in that vanished world faced challenges and fears that came from being an alien ruling minority.These women
The Great Naturalists
From Classical times to the 19th century, the great quest to discover and define the intoxicating diversity of the natural world attracted a host of intrepid thinkers and explorers. Aristotle and Linnaeus set out to classify nature; Joseph Banks and von Humboldt made perilous journeys to collect and record it. Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria
Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day
Here is an informative and entertaining guide to everything that any tourist needs for a journey back in time to ancient Rome in AD 200. You need only pack your imagination and a toothbrush – this guide provides the rest, describing all the best places to stay and shop, what to do, and what to
Lives of the Ancient Egyptians
From the dawn of history to the death of Cleopatra, ancient Egypt was home to larger-than-life personalities. Across one hundred lives, Toby Wilkinson explores the true character and diversity of human experience in the ancient world`s greatest civilization. Some of those profiled are famous: pharaohs and queens such as Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Ramesses II and Tiye.
England`s Forgotten Past
Richard Tames, the well-known popularizer of English history, offers an entertaining exploration of the bits of English history that have been sidelined, lost or somehow overlooked. Written in an engaging, easy-to-read and often humorous style, Tames brings to life the various colourful characters, famous in their day, who have now sunk into obscurity, from St
Islamic Civilization in Thirty Lives: The First 1000 Years
The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers and philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1,400-year-long development of today`s secondlargest world religion. But who were these people? What do we know of their lives, and the ways in which they influenced their societies? Chase F. Robinson draws on the long tradition in
