World Civilizations

Over the centuries, two important beliefs arose in Europe: a faith that man could order his own destiny and that progress was normal. By 1900, doubts arose concerning traditional Western values. The continuing problems of the world's poor, environmental deterioration, the inequality of women, and continued warfare pose real questions about the advancement of the human race.

Petra Ahne nimmt in ihrem klugen Tierportrait über Wölfe kultur- und naturgeschichtliche Fährte des bernsteinäugigen Wanderers auf und durchstreift die Motivgeschichte von Rotkäppchen bis zum Werwolf, erkundet die ambivalente Beziehung zu seinem domestizierten Nachfahren, dem Hund, und sucht nach seinen Spuren in der heutigen Lausitz, wo Mensch und Wolf zusammenleben. Vorläufig. Denn die Frage nach dem Wolf ist die immer drängendere Frage danach, wie viel Natur und Wildnis der Mensch zu ertragen bereit ist.

An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names, houses their numbers, and what it reveals about class, race, power, and identity. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.

"تدفن حضارات تحت الرمال فقط لعدم هطول أمطار كافية كما حدث في وسط آسيا، أو تنغمر وسط الغابات إذا هطلت أمطار غزيرة كما حدث في وسط أمريكا. ستنتكس منطقتنا المزدهرة وتعود إلى حالة من البدائية والكسل إذا ارتفعت درجة الحرارة عشرين درجة. في مناخ شبه استوائي، يمكن لأمة من نصف مليون نسمة أن تتكاثر كالنمل، لكن جوها الدافع للكسل قد يجعلها عرضة للاحتلال المتكرر من محاربين من بيئات أخرى أكثر تحفيزًا ودعوة للنشاط. يمكن أن تتمكن أجيالٌ من إرساء سيطرتها على الأرض، لكنها في النهاية محكومةٌ أن تتحولَ إلى حفريات تحت سطحها."

A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind.

Voiçi le récit des aventures de Marco Polo, ce personnage de légende, parti de Venise à 19 ans pour un long voyage périlleux de 24 années à la rencontre des peuples et pays d'Orient, d'Inde et d'Asie.

Daniel J. Boorstin, the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Americans, introduces us to some of the great pioneering seekers whose faith and thought have for centuries led man's search for meaning. Moses sought truth in God above while Sophocles looked to reason. Thomas More and Machiavelli pursued truth through social change. And in the modern age, Marx and Einstein found meaning in the sciences.

At a time of astonishing confusion about what it means to be a man, Brad Miner has recovered the oldest and best ideal of manhood: the gentleman. Reviving a thousand-year tradition of chivalry, honor, and heroism, The Compleat Gentleman provides the essential model for 21st-century masculinity.

The Minoan Civilization has, since its rediscovery in the early 20th century by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, been a source of fascination for the modern world. Some have claimed it represents evidence of a matriarchal society given its progressive treatment of women; others believe it to be the mythical lost city of Atlantis. One area of consensus is that it’s the first advanced civilization in Europe.

L'histoire de la paléoanthropologie racontée par l'un de ses plus grands acteurs. Yves Coppens, professeur au collège de France et découvreur de Lucy, nous raconte l'histoire d'une humanité qui, jetant un regard en arrière, prend conscience du chemin qu'elle à parcouru. En apparaissant, la paléoanthropologie nous a offert une histoire bien plus longue et bien plus riche que celle imposé par l'Église.

A giant of archaeology, Colin Renfrew has immeasurably improved our understanding of human history. In this passionately argued work, he offers a concise summary of prehistory - human existence that predates the development of written records - while challenging the very definition of prehistory itself.

A fascinating look at archeological finds in Scotland, South Africa, and Malta that offer clues about ancient civilizations.

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world's first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art.

Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically potent panoramas of any of the world's cities. It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens' importance cannot be understated. From the reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to the travails of early twenty-first century Athens, as it struggles with the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.

Of all the peoples of the ancient Near East, the Phoenicians are among the most recognizable but also perhaps the least understood. The Phoenicians never built an empire like the Egyptians and Assyrians; in fact, the Phoenicians never created a unified Phoenician state. Instead, they existed as independent city-state kingdoms scattered throughout the Mediterranean region.

A vast and unprecedented survey of societal collapse—stretching from the Bronze Age to the age of silicon—that digs through the roots of past crises to understand what causes societies to fall apart, what are the impacts, and what it means for our uncertain future.

Through the story of his own family's history as slave and plantation owners, Alex Renton looks at how we owe it to the present to understand the legacy of the past. When slavery was abolished across most of the British Empire in 1833, it was not the newly liberated who received compensation, but the tens of thousands of enslavers who were paid millions of pounds in government money. The ancestors of some of those slave owners are among the wealthiest and most powerful people in Britain today.

This book details the movement of people and cultures around the world—from the early migrations of Homo erectus out of Africa 50,000 years ago to modern refugee movements and migrations.

Do you want to know how the Human Race got to where it is today? Hear about the 50 most important events in human history, from the first civilizations to the birth of the Internet. This book is perfect for history lovers. Author James Weber did the research and compiled this huge list of events that changed the course of history forever. The book includes explanations to every event, making this the perfect resource for students and anyone wanting to broaden their knowledge of history.

Thriving between AD 100-750, Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, with a population estimated at upwards of 150,000-250,000, over three times the size of contemporary Mayan capitals. Furthermore, Teotihuacan was a supremely well-planned and efficient city that was able to field massive armies and extend its power far beyond its home base. Teotihuacan not only served as a vital center for trade in Ancient Mesoamerica, but also spread its architecture, art, religion, and culture.