Early History

Throughout the Roman Empire cities held public speeches and lectures, had libraries, and teachers and professors in the sciences and the humanities, some subsidized by the state. There even existed something equivalent to universities, and medical and engineering schools. What were they like? What did they teach? Who got to attend them? In the first treatment of this subject ever published, Dr. Richard Carrier answers all these questions and more.

Splendiferous Speech explores the main sources of the American vernacular - the expanding western frontier, the bumptious world of politics, and the sensation-filled pages of popular 19th-century newspapers. It's a process that started with the earliest English colonists (first word adoption - the Algonquian raccoon) and is still going strong today. Author Rosemarie Ostler takes listeners along on the journey as Americans learn to declare linguistic independence and embrace their own brand of speech.

Jesus asked his heavenly Father to make his followers completely one “so that the world may know that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-23). The Father granted his Son’s prayer. The history of the Church records how Christians, in unity, have recounted the Lord’s teachings, passion, and resurrection, celebrated the holy sacraments instituted by Christ, and made disciples of all peoples. In fact, the unity of the Church offers a compelling witness to the truth of the gospel. Reflecting on the amazing survival and expansion of the early Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), ...

He lived in a time when ideas could spark revolutions—or get you exiled. John of Damascus chose to write anyway. In a world split by empires, threatened by heresy, and shadowed by the rise of Islam, he didn’t retreat. He answered with logic, clarity, and conviction. And what he wrote still shapes how Christians worship, think, and speak about God today. He defended icons when the Church was ready to destroy them. He explained the Trinity in words so precise they’re still used in catechisms. He bridged Greek philosophy with Christian faith—centuries before the West caught up. He ...

Kindle the Unseen: Discover the Resilient Spirit of the Huguenots In Times of Darkness, the Brightest Flames of Faith Are Kindled Have you ever pondered how, in the direst epochs of religious persecution, certain communities not only survive but spiritually thrive? "Flames of Faith: The Huguenot Spirit in the Face of Adversity" dives deep into this phenomenon through the lens of the Huguenots during one of history's darkest periods.Envision a World Wrapped in Peril Yet Radiating with an Unshakable Strength This isn't merely a recount of history; it's an exploration into how, amidst looming ...

Debates over paper money and banking are older than the United States of America itself. Eighteenth and 19th century Americans were deeply ambivalent about paper money and central banks, and political fights over these issues were among the bitterest in American history. In fact, controversies over the country’s central bank birthed both the first (1792-1824) and second (1828-1852) party systems. Frequently, policymakers crafted responses to the crisis at hand, and as a result, they implemented policies that were inadequate to the challenges the country faced in the future.

Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women. Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.

A historical non-fiction book set in North America and beyond during the late 15th to early 16th century. Step back into a pivotal time in history that reshaped the Americas forever. "Missions Gold and Misery" offers an eye-opening exploration of the Spanish conquistadors whose ambitions and actions laid the groundwork for colonization. Through the lens of renowned figures such as Columbus, Cortés, and Pizarro, author [Author Name] uncovers the complexities and contradictions of the New World explorations, revealing the dramatic narratives that have been overlooked in mainstream historical...

What does it mean for Jesus to be “deified” in early Christian literature? Litwa’s samples take us beyond the realm of abstract theology to dwell in the second- and third-century imagination of what it meant to be a god and shows that the Christian depiction of Christ was quite at home there.

The Foundations of Faith series features important writings from the early Christian Church, with modernized language to make these influential works more accessible to today's reader. Included in Volume 1 are the following works: The Didache (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) The First and Second Epistles of Clement The Epistle of Barnabas The Odes of Solomon The Epistle of Polycarp The Martyrdom of Polycarp The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus The Seven Prison Epistles of Ignatius Ignatius to the Ephesians Ignatius to the Magnesians Ignatius to the Trallians Ignatius to the Romans ...

"LaFond offers an investigation of the true story of Jesus Christ in this spiritual memoir... The author explains in this personal account how ancient sources, such as those of historian Flavius Josephus, shaped his views,... and he gives readers who are interested in questions of Christian theology plenty to consider." ~Kirkus Reviews "...thought-provoking memoir that intertwines personal spiritual experiences with historical analysis to explore the true story of Jesus Christ... Overall, the book provides an enlightening journey into the intersections of history, theology, and personal ...

No sport has been more associated with America’s sense of itself, with its identity, than baseball. No sport has been so inextricably bound with America’s traditions—with its notions of democracy and fair play—than baseball. And no professional sport in America has been as dramatically connected to social change as Major League Baseball when it became racially integrated the moment Jackie Robinson took the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

With the same ability to make personalities and events come alive that characterizes his classic Skid Road, Murray Morgan here tells the colorful story of Tacoma, "the City of Destiny," and southern Puget Sound, where many major events of Washington's history took place. Drawing upon original journals and reports, Morgan builds Puget's Sound around individuals, interweaving portraits of well-known historical figures with a raucous parade of saloonkeepers, politicians, union organizers, schemers, and swindlers.

The book not only provides a vivid window into the world of early Christianity but also offers spiritual encouragement and inspiration for Christian life today.

In December, 2020, forensic scientists at the University of Tokyo confirmed that bones recently excavated by archaeologists in Hirado, Japan, were those of the English adventurer William Adams. The mystery of where, exactly, this man had been buried was finally solved. Now, the final chapter of the life and death of a sailor and samurai who, in so many ways, exemplified the age of Elizabethan exploration can be told. The character John Blackthorne in James Clavell's novel Shogun was based on Adams, but there is much more to the real story. Leaving England in 1598 with a small group of ...

The IWW’s members have been known for more than a century as the Wobblies, and no one knows how they got the name, although there are stories that an immigrant had trouble pronouncing the letters. The Wobblies quickly became a considerable force in American labor, and by far the most colorful union of its era, if not always particularly effective. This work tells the story of how they came about, the peak of their influence, and the lasting legacy they forged.

What if everything you thought you knew about the early Church was only the surface of a much deeper story—one marked by blood, courage, controversy, and divine encounters? From the fiery descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the thunderclap of Martin Luther's 95 Theses on the Wittenberg door, Introduction to Church History pulls back the curtain on nearly 1,500 years of rich, raw, and revolutionary Christian history. But this isn’t just a textbook—it’s a journey into the soul of the global Church. For many believers, the past feels like a dusty archive—distant, irrelevant, ...

For as long as medicine has been a practice, women's bodies have been treated like objects to be practiced on: examined and ignored, idealized and sexualized, shamed, subjugated, mutilated, and dismissed. The history of women’s healthcare is a story in which women themselves have too often been voiceless—a narrative instead written from the perspective of men who styled themselves as authorities on the female of the species, yet uninformed by women’s own voices, thoughts, fears, pain and experiences.

"Escaping the Incas" delivers an unforgettable historical adventure set in the contrasting locales of Peru and New York during the tumultuous period of the early 20th century. The tale begins in the vibrant city of New York, following our protagonist, John, as he navigates the struggles of city life only to set off on an exciting, perilous journey to the distant lands of South America. The Setting This deeply immersive narrative effortlessly transports you from the dazzling streets of 1900s New York, marked by rapid growth and cultural dynamism, to the majestic, treacherous landscapes of ...

You’ll be amazed to discover the incredible leaps humanity made and how each ancient civilization flourished. Learn more about the culture, achievements, and religions of some of the world’s most famous civilizations. You will be surprised to learn just how much the six ancient civilizations in this audiobook had in common, despite being thousands of miles apart or even thousands of years apart! And you’ll be amazed when you hear how much their cultures have shaped our own societies today.