Western Europe

Drink Like a Local–Lisbon will offer the inside scoop on the best places to have drinks, specifically beers, in Belgium. Culinary tourism is an important aspect of any travel experience. Regional drinks have the ability to tell you a story of a destination, its landscapes, and culture. Most food and drink guides tell you where to go like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Drink Like a Local series, this book will give you a guide from someone who has experienced your next destination as a local.

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science, and began to develop a vision of Western society that remains at the heart of Western civilization today.

In this classic of social history, the author describes the lives of six obscure men and women of the Middle Ages. She draws on account books, records, letters, diaries, and wills to make the life of those times as concrete and comprehensible as our own.

The story of the Roman Republic is the greatest epic in human history. Seen in the long perspective of time, it seems too fantastic to be real. From its modest beginnings as a convenient fording place on the Tiber to its eventual destiny as the mistress of the Mediterranean, Rome offers a strange tale of fate, sacrifice, and indomitable willpower. The stern realities of war shaped its policies from the very beginning.

Greater Than a Tourist - Athens Greece, by Eleni Panagiotopoulou, gives you the inside scoop on Athens. This audiobook will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

For five centuries, Martin Luther has been lionized as an outspoken and fearless icon of change who ended the Middle Ages and heralded the beginning of the modern world. In Rebel in the Ranks, Brad Gregory, renowned professor of European history at Notre Dame, recasts this long-accepted portrait. Luther did not intend to start a revolution that would divide the Catholic Church and forever change Western civilization. Yet his actions would profoundly shape our world in ways he could never have imagined.

With travel tips and culture in our guidebooks written by a local, it is never too late to visit Dubrovnik. Greater Than a Tourist - Dubrovnik, Croatia, by author Lana Tessari, offers the inside scoop on Dubrovnik, the Pearl of Adriatic. Greater Than a Tourist - Dubrovnik, Croatia is a book where you will find tips, suggestions, etc., from someone who had lived there, occasionally is revisiting the city, and still has a strong passion for the place.

What really happened to the billions of dollars worth of gold seized by Nazi Germany? What role did the Swiss government play and what are the implications of neutrality during wartime? The author addresses these questions, presents the case for and against Switzerland, and applies the lessons learned from World War II to the broader issue of companies - and countries - profiting during wartime.

Here is the remarkable story of how medieval Arab scholars made dazzling advances in science and philosophy, and of the itinerant Europeans who brought this knowledge back to the West. For centuries following the fall of Rome, Western Europe was a benighted backwater, a world of subsistence farming, minimal literacy, and violent conflict. Meanwhile, Arab culture was thriving, dazzling those Europeans fortunate enough to catch even a glimpse.

February 20, 1933: on an unremarkable day during a harsh Berlin winter, a meeting of twenty-four German captains of industry and senior Nazi dignitaries is being held in secret in the plush lounges of the Reichstag. They are there to "stump up" funding for the accession to power of the National Socialist Party and its fearsome Chancellor. This inaugural scene sets the tone of consent which will lead to the worst possible repercussions.

The war between the Protestant Netherlands, mostly led by William of Orange, and Catholic Spain was one of the marks in Dutch history. This war had determined the beliefs of many people who now lived along the three rivers that went through the country. Most of the people north of the rivers were Protestant, and most of the believers below them (even throughout Belgium as well) were Catholic. This was no coincidence. The war in the 1600s had become a symbol of Dutch resistance, independence, and the royal family (of Orange).

In this audiobook we will shed more light on the Batavians, a people in history with much bravery, innovation, and determination to form a republic with freedom for its citizens, with opposing enemies they resisted. The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was followed by the Batavian Republic. It started on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with Louis I's succession to the Dutch throne. The political, financial, and social modifications that took place at the time of the Batavian Republic's short existence have left an enduring mark.

Throughout much of the 19th century, both secular and Catholic leaders assumed that the Church and the modern world were locked in a battle to the death. The triumph of modernity would not only finish the Church as a consequential player in world history; it would also lead to the death of religious conviction. But today, the Catholic Church is far more vital and consequential than it was 150 years ago.

Join cruising legends Lin and Larry Pardey as from England they proceed into the Baltic, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Germany. During their voyage they dealt with armed guards on the Polish waterfront who watched while the people greeted them with flowers and fruit. They weathered a fierce mast-under broach in a Baltic gale. And experienced great friendships found in harbors large and small.

Embark on an unforgettable journey through Portugal with our comprehensive travel guide, meticulously crafted to enhance every step of your adventure. Whether you're drawn to the historic charm of Lisbon, the sun-kissed beaches of the Algarve, or the picturesque vineyards of the Douro Valley, our guide is your trusted companion, offering invaluable insights and expert recommendations to help you make the most of your visit.

Greater Than a Tourist - Crete Greece, by Veronika Kunstovic, offers a closer look into the amazing beauty of the largest Greek island.

Greater Than a Tourist: Rethymno, Crete, Greece by Anastasios Tsakiridis offers the inside scoop on Rethymno. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. As part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination. You will discover advice that will help you throughout your stay. This book will not tell you exact addresses or store hours but instead will give you excitement and knowledge from a local that you may not find in other travel books.

This is a book about a people that has often been overlooked. Wallowing in the shadow of the seemingly almighty Romans, and dispersed throughout the ages into other peoples, the Gauls appear as if they had nothing going for them. Quite the opposite is true. The Gauls had a distinct culture, with habits, warfare, and so much more to offer to the intrigued historian and everyday researcher.

In this fascinating BBC Radio series, Katie Hickman examines the lives of 'diplomatic women' through their letters and diaries. From the first exploratory expeditions into foreign lands, through the heyday of the British Empire and still today, the foreign service has been shaped and run behind the scenes by the wives of ambassadors and minor civil servants.

One of the few names to emerge from the Dark Ages to live on today is that of Charlemagne. After the fall of Rome, Western Europe was in almost complete disarray for several centuries, with different tribes and factions running different parts of the continent. Then, in CE 768, Charles the Great, more commonly known as Charlemagne, became the ruler of the Franks.