World Civilizations

Finding from my own personal experience how troublesome it is to hunt through piles of dusty old volumes, I have decided to make a small selection of these papers which I consider are not only rare and very interesting, but which also give an insight into the varied activities and achievements of Burton’s crowded life. It will, I think, be realized that such a volume as this will not be superfluous, for, apart from saving people an enormous amount of trouble, it will give them further insight into the life-work of one of the greatest men of the Victorian era.

Das erste Volk, dem es gelang, sich zu einer Kultur zu entwickeln, waren die Olmeken. Aber warum sind sie bisher relativ unbekannt geblieben, versteckt in den langen, dunklen Korridoren der vergessenen Geschichte? Die Wahrheit ist, dass nur wenige Historiker bereit sind, sich der Aufgabe zu stellen, die wahre Geschichte der Olmeken zu entschlüsseln. Vier faszinierende Manuskripte in einem Buch: Die Olmeken, Die Kultur der Zapoteken, Die Geschichte der Maya, Geschichte der Azteken.

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.

A dazzling account of the men (and occasional woman) who led the world’s empires, a book that probes the essence of leadership and power through the centuries and around the world. From the rise of Sargon of Akkad, who in the third millennium BCE ruled what is now Iraq and Syria, to the...

Before it was a cigarette. Before it was a vape. Before it was a pouch in your lip. Nicotine was a sacred tool, a spiritual key, and a global empire waiting to happen. This is the full story — of how one tiny molecule rewired the human brain, built fortunes, funded nations, and turned ritual into addiction. From jungle ceremonies to tobacco plantations, filtered lies to fruit-flavored vapes, nicotine has been at the center of culture, power, craving, and capitalism for centuries. This isn’t a self-help book. It’s a history of control — and what it takes to take it back.

From one of our most acclaimed historians comes an account of human solidarity throughout the ages, provocatively arguing against the received wisdom that history is best understood as a chronicle of groups in conflict. Investigating the six most pervasive categories of human difference - religion, nation, class, gender, race, and civilization - Cannadine asks how determinative each of them has really been over the course of history.

Virtually anyone, anywhere knows that six million Jewish human beings were killed in the Jewish Holocaust. But how many African human beings were killed in the Black Holocaust - from the start of the European slave trade (c. 1500) to the Civil War (1865)? And how many were enslaved? The Black Holocaust, a travesty that killed millions of African human beings, is the most underreported major event in world history.

Inside you will find some of the most famous highlights from history along with the greatest stories ever written. Children will learn about the past and our ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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".

Humans are, in in fundamental ways, a migratory species, more so than any other land mammal. Migration is one of the most toxically controversial subjects of our day, but it is not only an issue of our age. Migrants are expected to assimilate and encouraged to remain distinctive; to defend their heritage and adopt a new one. They are sub-human and super-human; romanticised and castigated, admired and abhorred. Migrants tells us that this is not a new narrative; this is the history of migration, which is part of everybody's backstory.

Through 10 unique cities, from the founding of ancient capitals to buzzing modern megacities, Paul Strathern explores how urban centres lead civilisation forward, enjoying a moment of glory before passing on the baton. We journey back to discover Babylonian mathematics, Athenian theatre and intellectual debate, and Roman construction that has lasted millennia. We see Constantinople evolve into Istanbul, revolutionary sparks fly in Enlightenment Paris, and the railways, canals and ships that built Imperial London.

This captivating audiobook delves into the complexities of the Quran's message and Charles Darwin's theory, exploring the intersections of faith, science, and the human experience. Through a rich historical narrative, listeners will embark on a journey that illuminates the profound ideas that have shaped our understanding of existence and the human spirit.

In May 1315 it started to rain. It didn't stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe's livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives - one eighth of Europe's total population.

Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted fans and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Now, he returns with a provocative account of an overlooked form of technology - personal transportation - and explores how it has shaped societies and cultures over millennia. Beginning around 3,500 BCE with the wheel - a device that didn't catch on until a couple thousand years after its invention - Standage zips through the eras of horsepower, trains, and bicycles, revealing how each successive mode of transit embedded itself in the world we live in.

When one thinks of the world’s first cities, Sumer, Memphis, and Babylon are some of the first to come to mind, but if the focus then shifts to India, then Harappa and Mohenjo Daro will likely come up. These cities owe their existence to India’s oldest civilization, known as the Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan Civilization, which was contemporary with ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, and had extensive contacts with the former, making it one of the most important early civilizations in the world.

The Toltec are one of the most famous Mesoamerican groups in South America, but they are also the most controversial and mysterious. The Toltec have been identified as the group that established a strong state centered in Tula (in present-day Mexico), and the Aztec claimed the Toltec as their cultural predecessors, so much so that the word Toltec comes from the Aztec's word Tōltēcatl, translated as artisan.

The Zulu are one of the most famous ethnic groups in Africa and possibly one of the most misunderstood. Of course that was due almost entirely to the fact that European colonial powers encountered the powerful group in the 19th century and found that they were more than willing to resist and fight them. At the height of its power in the southern part of Africa, the Zulu could rely on an army of 40,000 warriors, presenting a formidable obstacle to the designs of the British.

Our age is obsessed by the idea of conspiracy. We see it everywhere---from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Diana. In this age of terrorism we live in, the role of conspiracy is a serious one---one that can fuel radical or fringe elements to violence. For award-winning journalist David Aaronovitch, there came a time when he started to see a pattern among these inflammatory theories.

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.

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.