Civilization

Knowledge is power. Time in money. Justice is blind.Western civilisation is a powerful brand, and full of accepted wisdoms like these that we rarely question. Taking cues from Greek philosophy and honed in the Enlightenment, certain notions about...

In 221 BC, the First Emperor of Qin unified the lands that would become the heart of a Chinese empire. Though forged by conquest, this vast domain depended for its political survival on a fundamental reshaping of Chinese culture. With this informative...

The Romans left a long-lasting legacy and their influence can still be seen all around us - from our calendar and coins, to our language and laws - but how much do we really know about them? Help is at hand in the form of Veni, Vidi, Vici, which tells...

'Outstanding, illuminating, compelling ... a riveting read' Peter Frankopan, Sunday Times Islamic civilization was once the envy of the world. From a succession of glittering, cosmopolitan capitals, Islamic empires lorded it over the Middle East, North...

'A delightful compendium of the kind of facts you immediately want to share with anyone you encounter' New York Times 'An ebullient, irrepressible spirit invests this book. It is erudite and...

For most of human history, we have had a close relationship with the stars. Once they shaped our religious beliefs, power structures, scientific advances and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe...

An examination of how the Jews-real and imagined-so challenged the Christian majority in medieval Europe that it became a society that was religiously and culturally antisemitic in new ways In medieval Europe, Jews were not passive victims of the...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780147517609Author Robert EvansFormat PaperbackPage Count 272Imprint PlumePublisher Penguin Putnam IncWeight(grams) 262g

Monuments of the Incas is the most comprehensive photographic and narrative survey of the major sites of the Inca empire, including the famed city of Machu Picchu, the Inca town and sun temple of Ollantaytambo, the mighty temple-fortress of Sacsahuaman,...

Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism is a sustained exercise in historical sociology that shows how the slave-based societies of Ancient Greece and Rome eventually became the feudal societies of the Middle Ages. In the course of this study, Anderson...

The Persian Empire was the world's first hyperpower, with territory stretching from Central Asia to Northeastern Africa and from Southeastern Europe to the Indus Valley. It was the dominant geopolitical force from the later sixth century to its conquest...

There is not just one story of silk.In silk is science, history and mythology.In silk is the future. Aarathi Prasad's Silk is a gorgeous new history weaving together the story of a unique material that...

This new historical atlas - richly illustrated with photographs, artwork recreations and full-colour maps - explores the Middle Ages from the coming of the barbarian invasions in the fourth century to the first voyages to the New World in the sixteenth...

A groundbreaking book that puts early and medieval West Africa on the map of global historyPick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the periphery. This pioneering book tells a different...

What inspires explorers to push back the boundaries of the known world? Why do they risk their lives in unforgiving conditions far from home? How do they survive at the limits of human endurance? Who are the great pioneers of land, sea and space? Where...

The ancient Greeks gave us our alphabet and much of our scientific, medical and cultural language; they invented democracy, atomic theory, and the rules of logic and geometry; laid the foundations of philosophy, history, tragedy and comedy; and debated...

Acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of modern scholarship, Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History is a ten-volume analysis of the rise and fall of human civilizations. Contained in two volumes, D.C. Somervell's abridgement of this magnificent...

Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into an epic narrative shot through with insight, irony and incisive character analysis. Sceptical about Christianity, sympathetic to the barbarian invaders and...

A sensational, interdisciplinary work which entirely reorients our understanding of Europe from 10,000 BC to the time of the Vikings In this magnificent book, distinguished archaeologist Barry Cunliffe reframes our entire conception of early European...

Assyria was one of the most influential kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. In this Very Short Introduction, Karen Radner sketches the history of Assyria from city state to empire, from the early 2nd millennium BC to the end of the 7th century BC. Since...

'Glorious' GUARIDAN 'Vigorous, rigorous and eminently readable' SPECTATOR London is a city of dreamers. A city of possibility and experiment. A city of fervent...

The extraordinary story of the intermingled civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, spanning more than six millennia, from the late Bronze Age to the seventh century The magnificent civilization created by the ancient Greeks and Romans is the...

The Age of Railways was an era of extraordinary change which utterly transformed every aspect of British life - from trade and transportation to health and recreation. Full Steam Ahead reveals how the world we live in...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780743235945Author Will DurantFormat PaperbackPage Count 352Imprint Simon & SchusterPublisher Simon & SchusterWeight(grams) 408gDimensions(mm) 231mm * 152mm...

Rise and Fall opens with the Akkadian Empire, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our western and eastern roots. Next Strathern describes how a great deal of...

A Sunday Times Best History Book of the YearA Spectator Book of the Year'A book of beauty and beguiling rhythm that offers unsettling lessons about our present-day world of borders' The Times'Thoughtful, lyrical yet ambitiously panoramic . . . an...

Praise for the author's A Brief Guide to the Greek Myths: 'Eminently sane, highly informative'PAUL CARTLEDGE, BBC History magazineIn 2022 it will be 2,500 years since the final defeat of the invasion of Greece by the Persian King Xerxes. This astonishing...

Thoroughly updated and with a new foreword'The Viking Age is shot through with the spirit of adventure. For 300 years, from just before AD800 until well into the eleventh century, the Vikings affected almost every region accessible to their ships, and...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780062464316Author Yuval Noah HarariFormat HardbackPage Count 464Imprint CollinsPublisher HarperCollins Publishers IncWeight(grams) 1161gDimensions(mm)...

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. As catchy as that aphorism is, it's sadly untrue, even if it has a nice ring to it. The one thing Nero is well-known for is the one thing he actually didn't do. But fear not, the truth of his life, his rule and what he did...

A dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when personal pride overrides the common good. In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between...

Edward Gibbon's six-volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-88) is among the most magnificent and ambitious narratives in European literature. Its subject is the fate of one of the world's greatest civilizations over thirteen...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781773237909Author Oswald SpenglerFormat PaperbackPage Count 462Imprint Must Have BooksPublisher Must Have BooksWeight(grams) 152g

A groundbreaking history that puts early and medieval West Africa in a global context Pick up almost any book on early and medieval world history and empire, and where do you find West Africa? On the periphery. This pioneering book, the first on this...

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There is not just one story of silk. In silk is science, history and mythology. In silk is the future. Aarathi Prasad’s Silk is a gorgeous new history weaving together the story of a unique material that has fascinated the world for millennia. ...

Who are we? The story of the peoples of Britain and Ireland, drawing on new genetic discoveries, language, buildings and landscape.The diverse peoples of Britain and Ireland are revealed not only by physical characteristics but also through structures...

The last and longest war of classical antiquity was fought in the early seventh century. It was ideologically charged and fought along the full length of the Persian-Roman frontier, drawing in all the available resources and great powers of the steppe...

Rich with tales of discovery from Galileo to general relativity, a stimulating and timely analysis of how science works and why we need it. 'The best introduction to the scientific enterprise that I know. A wonderful and important book' David Wootton,...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.AwardsWinner of YALSA Best Books for Young Adults 2014.Book InformationISBN 9780767919395Author Bill BrysonFormat PaperbackPage Count 592Imprint Random House IncPublisher Random...