Modern World History

In April 2020, the United States will embark on what has been called "the largest peacetime mobilization in American history": the decennial population census. It is part of a tradition of counting people that goes back at least three millennia and now spans the globe. In The Sum of the People, data scientist Andrew Whitby traces the remarkable history of the census, from ancient China and the Roman Empire, through revolutionary America and Nazi-occupied Europe, to the steps of the Supreme Court.

Consider, for example, the case of the Swedish match king. At one time, Ivar Kreuger, manufactured almost half of the world's matches, with monopolies in 16 countries. He had so much money that he was a reliable lender to many countries, becoming known as the 'saviour of Europe' for his willingness to give aid to banks crippled by World War I. At the time of the 1929 market crash, his was the most widely held stock in the world. When he killed himself three years later, the whole thing went up in flames.

World domination is a vision most kings, queens, and emperors can only dream of, and is a path less visited for good reason. It is one that requires above all, patience, as well as skill, tenacity, and an impenetrable plan of action. The only one to ever come close to this impossible level of prestige is none other than the legendary British Empire.

The American occupation of Japan holds a singular and problematic place in the histories both of Japan and of American foreign policy. For the Japanese, the occupation marked the transition from war to peace, from authoritarianism to democracy, and from privation to plenty, making it a passage from one of the darkest chapters in Japanese history to one of the brightest.

The Well-Tempered Society has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.

Beretningen om enkekejserinde Cixi, der regerede i Kina i mere end 50 år, er et stykke ukendt kinahistorie og et fascinerende portræt af en af verdenshistoriens mest magtfulde kvinder. Jung Chang, der blev verdensberømt på at fortælle sin mormors, sin mors og sin egen historie i bogen De vilde svaner, retter spottet mod endnu en dramatisk kvindeskæbne og giver samtidig et unikt indblik i Kinas historie i perioden op til kejserdømmets opløsning i 1908.

Hiya! Alison Hammond here! I love getting to know all about different people, and I'll tell you a secret...sometimes people we don't know much about are the most interesting of all! Which is really what this book is all about. Let me ask you a question: How many Black people can you name from our history? Mary Seacole? Ira Aldridge? George Bridgetower? Pablo Fanque? Walter Tull? Have you heard of these people? Yes? That's great! But if you haven't, don't worry, you're not alone, which is why I'm so excited to tell you all about them.

Between the 18th and early 19th centuries, Britain experienced massive leaps in technological, scientific, and economical advancement. This powerful period has since been immortalized as the great Industrial Revolution, during which Britain became a formidable force that boasted unmatched economical growth, drastic changes in living conditions, and even the emergence of a neglected social class. Vast portions of rural lands were transformed into interconnected, complex, and multitasking cities.

The story of Atlantis has captured the minds and hearts of historians, scientists, artists, and writers for millennia, and yet it never ceases to amaze people when told that the only literary evidence that exists comes from a single fourth century BCE author. The Athenian philosopher Plato, famous for his dialogues in which the Socratic Method was invented, was the first writer to mention the mysterious continent of Atlantis.

Now tell us - did you ever like Japan? Do you know anything about its history, or just what you learned from television and anime, in general? That's a good starting point, anyway. If you want to delve deeper into Japanese history, in chronological order, and see the main events that transformed Japan into what it is today, you've just hit the jackpot.

This audiobook was originally inspired by Harry Truman, who said, "Give me a one-handed economist!" As an empiricist I advocate that no ideology is right or wrong but that conditions and data are all that should drive our policymaking decisions. Every policy has a place where it will or will not work. My view on economic policymaking and world poverty is unique to the literature, since it is precisely opposite to Harry Truman's desire. The world is complex; Harry Truman needed a Three Handed Economist; one hand was never enough.

You eat three times a day. But do you know what you’re eating? From prehistoric fire pits to fast food assembly lines, Lunchtime is the story of how food evolved—then got hijacked. This isn't a diet book. It’s a history of what meals used to mean, and how we quietly traded them for convenience, branding, and shelf life. You’ll follow the breadcrumb trail through: Ancient kitchens and imperial banquets, factories, war zones, supermarkets, and drive-thrus. By the time you finish, you won’t just think differently about food. You’ll feel it.

India has been the location of many different empires throughout its long history. The Indus Valley Civilization was home to one of the world’s first civilizations more than 5,000 years ago, which was followed by the Aryan-Vedic culture and then a host of other kingdoms that flourished across the subcontinent. India has also been the birthplace of many religions. The Vedic religion of the Aryans evolved into the Hindu religion, and Buddhism and Jainism were also born in India. By the Middle Ages, India was home to many different religions and ethnic groups.

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.

In the opening months of 1949, US President Harry S. Truman found himself faced with a looming diplomatic catastrophe - "perhaps the greatest that this country has ever suffered", as the journalist Walter Lippmann put it. Throughout the spring and summer, Mao Zedong's Communist armies fanned out across mainland China, annihilating the rival troops of America's onetime ally Chiang Kai-shek and taking control of Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities.

On September 3, 1901, a Protestant missionary named Ellen Stone set out on horseback across the mountainous hinterlands of Balkan Macedonia and was ambushed by a band of armed revolutionaries. In The Miss Stone Affair, Teresa Carpenter re-creates an event that captured the attention of the world and posed a dilemma for incoming president Theodore Roosevelt. Should he send in the Navy or not? And, if so, send it where? Drawing upon a wealth of contemporary correspondence and documents, Carpenter constructs a narrative that is suspenseful, harrowing, and at times even comical. It is a story for our time.

During the late nineteenth century, tens of thousands of diggers, prospectors, merchants, and dealers extracted and shipped over 50 million carats of diamonds from South Africa to London. The primary supplier to the world, South Africa's diamond fields became one of the formative sites of modern capitalist production. At each stage of the diamond's route through the British empire and beyond—from Cape Town to London, from Amsterdam to New York City—carbon gems were primarily mined, processed, appraised, and sold by Jews.

Delve into the enigmatic realms of "The Salem Witchcraft, the Planchette Mystery, and Modern Spiritualism." This audiobook uncovers the mysterious and supernatural, exploring the historical witch trials of Salem and the intriguing phenomenon of the planchette. From the chilling tales of accused witches to the eerie world of communicating with the beyond, this audiobook delves into the boundaries between the seen and the unseen. With meticulous research and thought-provoking analysis, it navigates the complexities of belief, superstition, and the inexplicable.

What is virtue? What is moderation? What is justice? What is courage? What is good? What is piety? Socrates thought that understanding the perspectives of others on these six great questions would help him become a more excellent human being.

Considering herself unsuitable for any other contribution to the war effort, Monica Dickens opts for nursing, imagining herself gliding through the wards, serene in a pure white halo cap. On enrolment, however, she is promptly stripped of all illusions. Intelligent and headstrong, Monica struggles to submit to the iron rule of the Matron and toils over the mountains of menial work that are a trainee's lot. But there are friends among the staff and patients, night-time escapades to dances with dashing army men and her secret writing project to keep her going.