Ancient Nonfiction

Does science discredit the Bible, God, religious faith? Absolutely not, says Dr. Michael Guillen, former Harvard physics instructor and Emmy-winning ABC News Science Editor. In Amazing Truths, he uses his entertaining, down-to-earth storytelling skills to reveal ten astonishing truths affirmed...

Sicily has always acted as a gateway between Europe and the rest of the world. Fought over by the Phoenicians and Greeks, the Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, and the Spanish and the French for thousands of years, Sicily became a unique melting pot where diverse traditions merged, producing a unique heritage and singular culture. In this fascinating account of the island from the earliest times to the present day, author and journalist Jamie Mackay leads us through this most elusive of places.

What is the good life? Proverbs: Audio Lectures, taught by Christopher Ansberry, answers this question across different collections and through different poetic forms, each of which are designed to (trans)form one's character. This project of character formation assumes that wisdom and virtue...

Does gaining power, possessions, and popularity lead to happiness and fulfillment? Or does inner transformation and self-sacrificial love bring the most joy and satisfaction? New York Times bestselling author Kathie Lee Gifford and scholar Bryan Litfin dive into these questions by bringing the...

A moving reflection on the complicated nature of home and homeland, and the heartache and adventure of leaving an adopted country in order to return to your native land—this is a “winsome memoir of departure and reversal . . . about the way a series of unknowns accrue into a life” (Jia...

Did Jesus Really Exist? The search for the historical Jesus continues to be headline news. Any speculative theory seems to get instant attention as the debate rages about His real identity and the claims made in His name. Did Jesus really exist? Is there real historical evidence that...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

This definitive and magnificent 10-volume unabridged translation is one of the rare English translations in full of the epic. Bibek Debroy makes the Mahabharata marvellously accessible to contemporary readers. Dispute over land and kingdom may lie at the heart of this story of war...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus comes a surprising history of Jesus’ most radical commandment—a new kind of altruism—tracing how the extraordinary duty to love even those who are strangers to us has shaped our world and our lives. When we donate money to...

Convinced that unnamed babies are not truly alive, King Tuthmosis I’s wife Ahmose immediately names her newborn daughter Hatshepsut. This tiny girl will one day rise above her name and become not just "the foremost of women" but ruler of all Egypt. Growing up in pharaoh’s palace, the young princess prepares for her future by learning the essentials of Egyptian religious, political, and social life. After 12-year-old Hatshepsut’s father dies, she - following the royal custom - becomes queen by marrying King Tuthmosis II, the son of one of her father’s lesser wives.

How often do you write or read? Do you live in or near a city? Writing and cities both began in ancient Mesopotamia. Six thousand years ago, the ancient Mesopotamians created tools and treasures that still shape our lives. Find out where the ancient Mesopotamians lived, what their lives were like, and what happened to them. Discover how they changed the world!

The work of a spy-woman is very different from that of a man. First, on the one hand it is easier, because you are less likely to be suspected of intelligence activities. On the other hand, it was harder for female spies, because they were required to gain the trust of high-ranking officials or people of power, by using their beauty, skills of seduction, and by attempting to make the person fall in love with them, so that they revealed their secrets. It could destroy destinies, but it was extremely useful for states and governments.

The sacred meal that is part of our faith does more than connect us to the holy, it connects us to each other. "I think Jesus wanted his disciples and everyone who came after him to remember what they had together. What they made together. What it meant to be together. How the things he did...

A year of reflection and inspiration through the most beloved hymns, based on the bestselling Then Sings My Soul series. Pastor Rob Morgan's inimitable style will help people reacquaint themselves with the hymns of the faithful. His goal is to keep these traditional hymns vital and meaningful...

A journey of the soul through the map of Christian time. The liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November, is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ. What may at first seem to be simply...

In his lifetime, Mark Antony was a famous man. Ally and avenger of Julius Caesar, rhetorical target of Cicero, lover of Cleopatra, and mortal enemy of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus), Antony played a leading role in the transformation of the Roman world. Ever since his and Cleopatra's demise at the hands of Octavian, he has remained famous, or infamous, a figure of recurring fascination. A Noble Ruin delivers a complex and captivating portrait of Mark Antony that offers a fresh perspective on the fall of the Roman Republic.

For centuries, temples have functioned not just as places of worship but also social and cultural centres, offering both a connection to the divine and entertainment in the form of music and dance as respite from everyday life. In Dynasties of Devotion, Deepa Mandlik explores seven ancient...

While the Puranas mention that Lord Brahma becomes an avatar whenever Lord Vishnu comes to Earth to establish dharma, it is in the Dasam Granth (one of the holy books of the Sikhs) that the avatars are actually listed. The common point in Hinduism and Sikhism regarding the avatars of Brahma is...