World

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws....

The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.

Most of us have a limited understanding of the powerful role economics has played in shaping human civilization. This makes economic history a vital lens through which to think....

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Guns, Germs and Steel examines the rise of civilization and the issues its development has raised throughout history....

The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400....

In August of 1914, the British ship Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October 1915, still half a continent away from its intended base, the ship was trapped, then crushed in the ice

As long as there has been fascism, there has been anti-fascism - also known as "antifa." Born out of resistance to Mussolini and Hitler in Europe during the 1920s and '30s....

The story begins in 1629, when the pride of the Dutch East India Company, the Batavia, is on its maiden voyage en route from Amsterdam to the Dutch East Indies, laden down with the greatest treasure to leave Holland....

The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated....

Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia.... In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past....

Learn how a single tongue spoken 150,000 years ago evolved into the estimated 6,000 languages used around the world today....

This fascinating history tells the story of the people of Japan, from ancient teenage priest-queens to teeming hordes of salarymen, a nation that once sought to conquer China, yet also shut itself away for two centuries in self-imposed seclusion....

Even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious....

Best-selling historian David Hill tells the story of the first three decades of Britain's earliest colony in Australia in a fresh and compelling way....

In 1854, Victorian miners fought a deadly battle under the flag of the Southern Cross at the Eureka Stockade....

The world has finally awoken to the reality of climate breakdown and ecological collapse. Now we must face up to its primary cause....

This Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire....

A bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers....

In an attempt to appeal to the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance, Machiavelli outlines the way to acquire and retain political power, and how great men should behave in a princely government....

When Patrick Durack left Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a dynasty of pioneers, and build an empire of cattle-land across the great stretches of Australia....

This broad and panoramic series, ripe with the telling detail on which history can turn, will help you pull an enormous sweep of history together into one coherent framework....

Taking as its point of departure the broad question of the relationship between UFOs and state sovereignty, this book examines every aspect of the close encounter phenomenon through all of human history. Humanity cannot survive the disclosure of what is detailed in this book....

On a summer day in 1914, a nineteen-year-old Serbian nationalist gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. While the world slumbered, monumental forces were shaken....

Part scholarship and part yarn, tying together some of the most intriguing tales of all time - from the Knights Templar and Prester John to Parsival and the Holy Grail - this book will appeal to anyone fascinated by the revelation of hidden truths and the discovery of secret mysteries....

Welcome to The Real History of Secret Societies, a historical look at the true-life groups which, if you believe the myths, are the unspoken power behind some of the world’s major turning points, from controlling the British crown to keeping Martians and Atlantis under wraps....

This Very Short Introduction is a general introduction to oral history from the interview to the archive. Douglas A. Boyd examines the oral history interview, recording techniques and strategies, technologies for making oral history accessible, and the legal and ethical implications throughout the work of oral history. Boyd also pays special attention to the role of the archive and the importance of memory.

Everest–the highest peak in the world, the ultimate challenge to a mountaineer's skill and endurance. It had been climbed before, but never like this. Chris Bonington and his team had ambitions to climb it–the hard way.

Part detective story, part biography, and part first-person adventure narrative, Vanished Beyond the Map combines expeditions with historical research to solve one of exploration history’s enduring cold cases—the mystery of Hubert Darrell.

Timeless: A History of the Catholic Church is a fresh retelling of the history of the Church. In this easy, not-your-average history book, Steve Weidenkopf introduces you to the vivid, dynamic story of God's work in the world since Pentecost. Along the way, you will meet the weird, wonderful, and always fascinating heroes and villains of the Catholic family tree.

In October 1962, American spy planes discovered the Soviets were building nuclear missile sites in Cuba, and intelligence officials informed President John F. Kennedy of this on October 16th. It went without saying that nuclear missile sites located just miles off the coast of the American mainland posed a grave threat to the country, especially because missiles launched from Cuba would reach their targets in mere minutes. That would throw off important military balances in nuclear arms and locations that had previously ensured the Cold War stayed cold.

Donald Worster looks back over 200,000 years of Homo sapiens to show how human nature, especially the drive for food and sex, has responded to environmental conditions throughout history. Examining how this process led from foraging to the agrarian revolution and then to a capitalist way of life, Worster brings us face to face with a third transformation of human society that is beginning to take shape in China: an ecological civilization.

It takes a special type of person to serve in a nation’s navy, especially on long voyages that separate men and women from their loved ones, and no service is both loved and hated as that aboard submarines, for very few people ever serve on them on a whim. For one thing, the psychological impact of being trapped for long periods underwater in tight, cramped quarters is more than many people can stand.

A Short History of the Middle Ages describes the tumultuous era that bridged antiquity and the modern world. Renowned 19th-century French historian and statesman Victor Duruy originally crafted a sweeping, multi-volume chronicle of this pivotal period, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance.

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was the most feared pirate of the Golden Age—a towering figure who struck terror into the hearts of sailors from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Most biographies seem to start and stop with that statement, but there was much more to the life of Blackbeard than that, and much more to learn about the man behind history’s most fearsome pirate legend.

Mit feinem Gespür für historische Dramatik und psychologische Tiefe zeichnet Stefan Zweig das Porträt eines der kühnsten Entdecker der Menschheitsgeschichte: Ferdinand Magellan. In einer Zeit, in der die Welt noch voller weißer Flecken war, wagt Magellan das scheinbar Unmögliche – die erste Weltumsegelung. Doch Zweigs Biografie ist weit mehr als ein Abenteuerbericht. Sie ist eine literarische Hommage an den unbeirrbaren Willen, die visionäre Kraft und das stille Heldentum eines Mannes, der gegen Widerstände, Intrigen und Naturgewalten kämpft, um eine Idee zu verwirklichen.

Paleophilosophy: The Dawn of Thought is a book that restores to us the forgotten dignity of ancient humanity. It makes a simple and radical claim: philosophy is older than cities, temples, and alphabets; it begins not with libraries, but with silence around the fire, with palms pressed against stone, with the rhythm of the dance, with the care given to the dead, and with dreams in which humankind first encountered the “other.

The sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell. In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the listener on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated.

The Wild East explores the social, political, and environmental changes in the Great Smoky Mountains during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although this national park is most often portrayed as a triumph of wilderness preservation, Margaret Lynn Brown concludes that the largest forested region in the eastern United States is actually a recreated wilderness—a product of restoration and even manipulation of the land.

What do bonfires, black cats, sexy nurses, and soul cakes have in common? They all live inside Halloween — a holiday that’s part ancient ritual, part capitalist fever dream, and all vibes. In Trick or Treat: A Spooky Little Halloween History, JJ unwraps the strange evolution of October 31st — from Celtic bonfire nights and Catholic ghost cleanups to suburban mischief, horror movies, and candy-fueled chaos. This is not your average history book. It’s a sharp and slightly haunted walkthrough of one of humanity’s weirdest, most wonderful traditions.

The Most Wonderful Time is a warm, funny, and unexpectedly profound journey through the centuries of stories, symbols, and surprises that gave us the holiday we know today. From the winter solstice rituals of early humans to the chaos of Saturnalia in ancient Rome… from the real Saint Nicholas to Coca-Cola’s Santa… from pagan ghosts and Yule logs to Mariah Carey — this is the true, tangled history of Christmas as you’ve never seen it. Along the way, James Johnson explores the contradictions at the heart of the holiday: joy and grief, light and darkness, sacred and commercial.

Two thousand books have been written about Columbus, most of them spirited defenses or relentless attacks. Recently, the balance has shifted: the Genoese navigator, once considered a hero, is now blamed for bringing plunder and genocide to the Americas. In The Nine Lives of Christopher Columbus, historian Matthew Restall takes us beyond polemic, sifting through the evidence across nations, languages, and five centuries to explore the central questions of Columbiana.

From the colorful row houses of St. John’s to the ancient echoes of Viking settlements, Newfoundland and Labrador: A Journey Through Time and Terrain takes you on an unforgettable exploration of one of the most breathtaking and culturally rich corners of the world. Whether you’re planning a visit, reliving a cherished trip, or simply captivated by places shaped by history and heart, this book brings the province’s landscapes and legends to life.

Beneath layers of time and ancient strata, forgotten legacies lie in silence, awaiting rediscovery. This book guides listeners through breathtaking archaeological journeys—from prehistoric sites to buried cities—where every stone holds an untold story. Blending history, archaeology, and scientific theory, the work expands our understanding of how ancient civilizations left their marks—not just in artifacts, but in thought, knowledge, and ecological impact. Listeners will be captivated by lost maps, mysterious clues, and the echoes of cultures that vanished yet continue to shape the present.

Settembre 1939 - agosto 1945: dall'aggressione tedesca alla Polonia fino alla resa del Giappone, tutto il mondo fu impegnato in una guerra devastante che, oltre a costare quaranta milioni di vite umane, lasciò in eredità una divisione in due blocchi contrapposti, una serie di importanti scoperte scientifiche e tecnologiche e la necessità di misurare ogni questione sociale, politica o culturale su una scala mondiale.

Before it was a cigarette. Before it was a vape. Before it was a pouch in your lip. Nicotine was a sacred tool, a spiritual key, and a global empire waiting to happen. This is the full story — of how one tiny molecule rewired the human brain, built fortunes, funded nations, and turned ritual into addiction. From jungle ceremonies to tobacco plantations, filtered lies to fruit-flavored vapes, nicotine has been at the center of culture, power, craving, and capitalism for centuries. This isn’t a self-help book. It’s a history of control — and what it takes to take it back.