Résultats de "Hourly History" dans Toutes les catégories

During the late years of the 18th century, the spirit of Enlightenment thinking and revolution were in the air. The world was changing, moving away from ingrained beliefs about religion, reason, society, and the rights of the individual and turning more toward the laws of nature as interpreted by the scientific method. Nowhere was the influence of this radical new way of thinking more apparent than in France, and the upheaval this caused would come to bloody fruition in the form of revolution.

In the late 1800s, British engineers building some of the first railways in the Dominion of India discovered large numbers of bricks buried in the dusty plains of the Punjab. This was odd because historians were not aware of any cities or civilizations which might have constructed buildings in this area. It wasn’t until archeological expeditions in the 1920s that it was finally realized that these bricks were the remains of mighty cities built by a previously unknown ancient civilization.

Genghis Khan: a man who managed to unify the warring nomadic Mongol clans, who orchestrated military victories from China all the way to Russia, who founded an empire that continued to expand across Asia and into Europe during the generations that followed his reign. Riding across the steppes, bow and arrows at his side, he was a man who believed himself to be on a divinely appointed mission and would stop at nothing to fulfill it. He valued loyalty above all else and destroyed kingdoms that got in his way.

Many ancient civilizations are described as mysterious, but none provide as many puzzles and unanswered questions as the Olmecs. These people arrived in lands near the Gulf of Mexico around 1500 BCE and brought with them entirely new concepts in terms of engineering, agriculture, and religion. The problem is we have no idea where they came from or how they developed these new ideas.

The empires of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese were underpinned by slavery, where one person could be owned by another, and their obedience and labor were forced by the threat of violence or even death. Some of these people were prisoners captured during wars, some were sold into slavery to pay debts, while others were born into slavery. In many ancient empires, slaves accounted for anything from one-third to half of the total population.

Ancient Egypt has mystified and entranced generation after generation. The Egyptians' mastery of architecture, their complex religious ideologies, and their peculiar views on death have given modern-day readers much to ponder. Few, if any, of their remaining relics have produced the awe and spectacular wonder of the Great Pyramids of Giza. These three architectural masterpieces have stood for more than 5,000 years despite looting, exploitation, and the slow erosion of time.

Just what was so terrible about Ivan the Terrible? Most of us are familiar with this infamous nickname, but most fall short of being able to describe how he received such an ominous moniker. Maybe you’ve heard the stories of how Ivan killed his own son, poisoned his wives, and waged war on his neighbors, but these anecdotes are just minor details in the scheme of this man’s complicated life.

Once valued at close to seven trillion dollars by today’s standards, the Dutch East India Company, formed in 1602, became the world’s first multinational corporation. In the nearly 200-year reign of their empire at sea, the Dutch East India Company amassed unfathomable fortunes, laid the foundation of the modern globalized world, and built monopolies that controlled the economy of the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and the East Indies.

She was a famous American starlet who ended up living every girl’s dream of becoming a princess. This American celebrity married the prince of Monaco at the age of 26 and left Hollywood behind to become a monarch. Who was Grace Kelly? Was she an American icon? Was she the much-needed life support of an antiquated royal family? Was she just a trendsetter who got lucky, or was the character of Grace Kelly something that biographers, historians, and paparazzi all missed entirely?

When the establishment of the State of Israel was announced on May 14, 1948, it seemed to many people that the new nation could not survive for long. The haste with which it was created meant that Israel lacked the infrastructure of government, and its armed forces consisted of little more than a handful of lightly armed former guerilla fighters. Ranged against it were some of the most powerful nations in the Arab world, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.

The Ford presidency took place during a very difficult period for Americans, and he was the steady hand at the helm to ensure they made it through. This book follows Gerald Ford’s life and career from beginning to end.

The last ruler of the House of Solomon, Haile Selassie, was not only the final Emperor of Ethiopia but also the link to a bygone past. In the days of Haile Selassie, absolute rule was given as an unquestioned divine right. Even though Selassie in many ways was a moderate progressive, he was still an autocratic ruler.

The Chernobyl Disaster, which occurred in late April 1986, was the worst nuclear accident in history. It not only caused widespread radioactive contamination, but even more importantly, it claimed many lives and caused panic worldwide about the safety of nuclear power. In short, it changed the face of nuclear energy globally.

Frank Sinatra’s very name seems synonymous with legend. Sinatra grew up in hardscrabble Hoboken, New Jersey, and rose to prominence as one of music’s first superstars. While becoming one of the best-selling artists of all time, he remade popular music in his own image. From his crooning days on a street corner in Hoboken to his waltzing across the world stage, the swagger of Frank Sinatra was unmistakable.

Explore the rich and storied culture of the Indian subcontinent. This region of the world, largely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization, has developed over a period of over 5,000 years. Consequently, this long run of history has drawn up a national history filled with intrigue, philosophy, art, architectural wonders, and the births and deaths of great men and women.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and no one could quite make us laugh like Robin Williams. His meteoric rise to fame was fueled by an irrepressible sense of humor and dazzling improvisational skills. From the extraterrestrial Mork to the inspiring John Keating in Dead Poets Society and the endearing Genie in Aladdin, Williams’ performances captured the hearts of millions.

One of the most controversial figures in British history, Oliver Cromwell entered the world as an insignificant member of the English gentry and left it as the all-powerful Lord Protector of the entirety of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A radical Puritan, Cromwell believed that his meteoric rise through the ranks of the English military and parliament was an expression of God's will.

Creativity is in our bones. It is found in our very DNA, something not known to Leonardo da Vinci or anyone else who lived in his day and time. All he did was to uncover the hidden genius which lay within himself, and he used that inner genius to the very best of his abilities. Leonardo da Vinci is best known for some of the world's most masterful paintings, but he was so much more than merely another artist with paints and brushes. Born to a peasant woman in 1452, Leonardo would go on to astound the world he lived in with his artistry and his inventions.

Audie Murphy was a movie star, writer, and one of the most decorated soldiers who ever lived. He was barely 18 years old when he was shipped off to fight Fascists in Italy during World War II. As he himself would later liken it, he went “to hell and back” and lived to tell the tale. In this book, we will dive deeper to bring you the man behind the medals. Here is a telling of the life and legend of Audie Murphy in full.

In this audiobook, you will hear about the Vietnamese, who fought for their country against an enemy with superior weaponry and naval support. Learn about why the world powers of China, the Soviet Union, and the United States all got involved in the First Indochina War, and how that led to the division of Vietnam into a communist North Vietnam and capitalist South Vietnam in the years leading up to the Vietnam War.