World Civilizations

Most people who pay attention to the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising.

Soul Machine takes us back to the origins of modernity, a time when a crisis in religious authority and the scientific revolution led to searching questions about the nature of human inner life. This is the story of how a new concept - the mind - emerged as a potential solution, one that was part soul and part machine but fully neither.

Over more than 25 years of teaching and research, Christine Desdemaines-Hugon has become an unrivaled expert in the cave art and artists of the Dordogne region. In Stepping-Stones she combines her expertise in both art and archaeology to convey an intimate understanding of the "cave experience." Her keen insights communicate not only the incomparable artistic value of these works but also the near-spiritual impact of viewing them for oneself.

The Zapotecs formed one of the most important of the pre-Columbian civilizations. For 1,000 years, their main city of Monte Albán was one of the largest and most sophisticated in Mesoamerica. Building this city was an astonishing engineering feat - it involved flattening a hill in the center of the Oaxaca Valley to create an artificial plateau and then constructing a series of large, ornate buildings on this inaccessible site. Maintaining this large city on a site with no natural source of water must have required an enormous and willing workforce.

In the early 17th century, a crippled, graying, almost toothless veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a novel. It was the story of a poor nobleman, his brain addled from studying too many novels of chivalry, who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. That story, Don Quixote, went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author, Miguel de Cervantes, the single most-read author in human history.

In 1999, few people had thought to examine the effects of climate on civilization. Now, due in part to the groundbreaking work of archaeologist Brian Fagan, climate change is a central issue. Revised and updated 10 years after its first publication, Floods, Famines and Emperors remains the definitive account of how the world's best-known climate event had an indelible impact on history.

Cette édition traduite en français a pour objet de livrer une vue d’ensemble, brève et concise, de certains aspects de la civilisation de l’Ancienne Égypte qui peuvent, encore aujourd’hui, nous être fort utiles dans notre vie quotidiennes, où quel que soit l’endroit du monde où nous nous trouvons. Le livre couvre des sujets tels que la responsabilisation de soi, l’amélioration des situations politiques, sociales, économiques et environnementales actuelles, la reconnaissance et la mise en application des principes harmoniques dans nos œuvres et nos actions, etc.

Weisman visits an extraordinary range of the world's cultures, religions, nationalities, tribes, and political systems to learn what in their beliefs, histories, liturgies, or current circumstances might suggest that sometimes it's in their own best interest to limit their growth.

In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology, and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity - and what it will take to sustain them.

The Inca Empire, which flourished in modern day Peru and along the west coast of South America, was the largest Native American empire in pre-Columbian America until Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors conquered them in the 16th century. What ultimately sealed their doom was the rumor that huge amounts of gold were available in regions south of the Andes Mountains.

In 2012 especially there was a renewed focus on the Mayans, whose advanced calendar led many to speculate the world would end on the same date the Mayan calendar ends. The focus on the doomsday scenario, however, has overshadowed the Mayans' true contributions to astronomy, language, sports, and art.

From the moment Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes first found and confronted them, the Aztecs have fascinated the world, and they continue to hold a unique place both culturally and in pop culture. Ironically, and unlike the Mayans, the Aztecs are not widely viewed or remembered with nuance, in part because their own leader burned extant Aztec writings. The World's Greatest Civilizations: The History and Culture of the Aztecs attempts to portray the Aztecs as they actually were.

This Series, in seven parts, tells the story of America from the earliest founding through the days of Woodrow Wilson and The Great War (World War I). In this volume, you'll hear stories of explorers and pioneers.

Home to the world’s most ancient religions and practices, India is indeed a nation enriched with a fascinating history. The subcontinent has hosted a legion of great empires, monumental battles, religions, cultures, foreign invasions, and much more. From prehistoric to modern, 50 of the most formative eras of the subcontinent are discussed. Relating the zenith and nadir of India’s past, this audiobook provides crisp and riveting accounts of one of the world’s most ancient nations.

En esta monumental historia, Vaclav Smil ofrece una impresionante panorámica de cómo la energía ha impulsado el progreso cultural y económico de las sociedades humanas durante los últimos diez mil años, desde los primeros grupos de cazadores-recolectores hasta la civilización fósil, pasando por las sociedades agrícolas tradicionales y la "gran transición" que lo cambió todo.

William Scott-Elliot (1849-1919) was a theosophist and follower of Helena Blavatsky. In The Story of Atlantis and the Lost Lemuria - first published in 1896 - the author explores the histories of the two legendary lost continents in light of Blavatsky's theories about ancient history and lost races. There are similarities with some of Edgar Cayce’s claims, and it is said that H P Lovecraft was inspired by Scot-Elliot’s writing in constructing the "Cthulhu Mythos".

Das Buch ist eine der schönsten Erfindungen der Menschheit. Bücher lassen Worte durch Zeit und Raum reisen und sorgen dafür, dass Ideen und Geschichten Generationen überdauern. Irene Vallejo nimmt uns mit auf eine abenteuerliche Reise durch die faszinierende Geschichte des Buches, von den Anfängen der Bibliothek von Alexandria bis zum Untergang des Römischen Reiches. Dabei treffen wir auf rebellische Nonnen, gewiefte Buchhändler, unermüdliche Geschichtenerzählerinnen und andere Menschen, die sich der Welt der Bücher verschrieben haben.

Babylon first became important in the 18th century BCE under the rule of King Hammurabi. It barely survived his death before it was conquered, first by the Hittites and then by the Assyrians. In the seventh century BCE, the city was completely destroyed after it rebelled against Assyrian rule, and it wasn’t until the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II that it once again became the heart of a large empire. After that, it was conquered by the Persians and in the fourth century BCE by Alexander the Great. After his death, Babylon entered a period of decline from which it never recovered.

"Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization" by John G. Jackson is a seminal work that challenges traditional Eurocentric perspectives on the origins of civilization. Originally published in 1939, Jackson's book seeks to highlight the significant contributions of African civilizations, particularly Ethiopia, to the development of human culture and civilization.

Cette nouvelle édition augmentée révèle différents aspects de la culture de l’Egypte antique, tels que les antiquités les plus lointaines d’Egypte; les caractéristiques des Egyptiens et leurs croyances et pratiques religieuses; leur système politique/social; leurs temples cosmiques; la richesse de leur langue; l’héritage musical et les sciences globales; leur médecine de pointe; leur économie florissante; l’excellence des produits agricoles et manufacturés; leur système de transport, et bien plus encore.