Medieval Technology

The history of magic is as long as time and as wide as the world. In every culture, in every age, in every place and, probably, in every heart, there is magic. Harry Potter: A History of Magic reveals some of the hidden stories behind real-world magic and explores some of J.K. Rowling's magical inventions alongside their folkloric, cultural and historical forebears.

Just like us, medieval men and women worried about growing old, got blisters and indigestion, fell in love, and had children. And yet their lives were full of miraculous and richly metaphorical experiences radically different from our own, unfolding in a world where deadly wounds might be healed overnight by divine intervention, or where the heart of a king, plucked from his corpse, could be held aloft as a powerful symbol of political rule.

An illuminating guide to the scientific and technological achievements of the Middle Ages through the life of a crusading astronomer-monk.

An empress demands her birthright . . . The Air War is the eighth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, spies eye one another and ready their knives – while the people of Myna...

Every hero must be tested . . . Dragonfly Falling is the second book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time. The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move – and the city of Tark will...

A city makes its last stand . . . War Master’s Gate is the ninth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The Empire’s mighty imperial armies are marching on Collegium once more. They’ve learnt from past failures and this time their...

Socrates is on trial for his life. He is charged with impiety and corrupting young people. He presents his own defense, explaining why he has devoted his life to challenging the most powerful and important people in the Greek world. The reason is that rich and famous politicians, priests, poets, and a host of others pretend to know what is good, true, holy, and beautiful, but when Socrates questions them, they are shown to be foolish rather than wise.

In this account of Europe’s rise to world leadership in technology, Frances and Joseph Gies make use of recent scholarship to destroy two time-honored myths. Myth One: that Europe’s leap forward occurred suddenly in the “Renaissance,” following centuries of medieval stagnation. Myth Two: that Europe achieved its primacy through “Western” superiority.

In this ground-breaking work, Norman Cantor explains how our current notion of the Middle Ages—with its vivid images of wars, tournaments, plagues, saints and kings, knights and ladies—was born in the 20th century. The medieval world was not simply excavated through systematic research. It had to be conceptually created: it had to be invented, and this is the story of that invention.

The Athenian court has found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. While he is waiting to be executed, his friend, Crito, comes to the prison to persuade him to escape and go into exile. Socrates responds by examining the essence of law and community, probing the various kinds of law and making distinctions that go far beyond the particular issue of whether or not Socrates should escape.

The hit on the head that sends Hank Morgan back through 13 centuries does not affect his natural resourcefulness. Using his knowledge of an upcoming eclipse, Hank escapes a death sentence, and secures an important position at court. Gradually, he introduces 19th century technology and soon has an easy life. He becomes "The Boss" of the Kingdom, second only to the King.

From medieval robots and Boolean algebra to facial recognition, artificial neural networks, and adversarial patches, this fascinating history takes listeners on a vast tour through the world of artificial intelligence. Award-winning author Clifford A. Pickover explores the historic and current applications of AI in such diverse fields as computing, medicine, popular culture, mythology, and philosophy, and considers the enduring threat to humanity should AI grow out of control.

The crucial importance of education in China, a prized virtue instilled in the population among all classes by beloved teacher and philosopher Confucius in the 6th century BCE, generated an unprecedented and long-lived golden age of literature and art. It also gave rise to a cornucopia of transformative innovations and groundbreaking technology, particularly following the dawn of the Common Era.

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it by knowing? Is it by inspiration? As the dialogue proceeds, the nature of human creativity emerges as a mysterious process and an unsolved puzzle.