World Civilizations

"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.

For at least 20,000 years, we have led not just an earthly existence, but a cosmic one. Celestial cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are - our art, religious beliefs, social status, scientific advances, and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. It's a disconnect with a dire cost.

In the savage realm of Auropia, lurks a ghost in the form of a man. Valengetrix, exiled from his mysterious homeland, seeks redemption in the eyes of his people as he sets out to retrieve lost relics of the once renowned empire of Aratania. Accompanied by a sentient blade, forged from the soul of an ancient warrior of his race, Valengetrix begins to understand that the price for returning home must be paid in blood and treasure. Along his travels, the young Aratanian soon learns that though he shares no affinity to the gods of this realm, he is instead guided by his desire to live up to ...

For the first time, religious self-identification is on the decline in American. Some analysts have cited as cause a post-9/11 perception: that faith in general is a source of aggression, intolerance, and divisiveness - something bad for society. But how accurate is that view? With deep learning and sympathetic understanding, Karen Armstrong sets out to discover the truth about religion and violence in each of the world’s great traditions, taking us on an astonishing journey from prehistoric times to the present.

In The Power of Strangers, Joe Keohane sets out on a journey to discover what happens when we bridge the distance between us and people we don’t know. He learns that while we’re wired to sometimes fear, distrust, and even hate strangers, people and societies that have learned to connect with strangers benefit immensely.

Through an unforgettable cast of characters, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes explains how wood gave way to coal and coal made room for oil, as we now turn to natural gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy. Rhodes looks back on five centuries of progress, through such influential figures as Queen Elizabeth I, King James I, Benjamin Franklin, Herman Melville, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford.

If you want to discover the captivating history of the barbarians, then keep listening....

An exuberant and insightful work of popular history of how streets got their names, houses their numbers, and what it reveals about class, race, power, and identity. When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.

Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.

Millennium is a stunning panoramic account of the two centuries on either side of the apocalyptic year 1000. This was the age of Canute, William the Conqueror and Pope Gregory VII, of Vikings, monks and serfs, of the earliest castles and the invention of knighthood, and of the primal conflict between church and state. The story of how the distinctive culture of Europe - restless, creative and dynamic - was forged from out of the convulsions of these extraordinary times is as fascinating and as momentous as any in history.

The Spark of Genius: 20 Inventions That Changed the World takes readers on a thrilling journey through history’s most groundbreaking innovations—discoveries that reshaped civilization and propelled humanity forward. From the humble wheel to the marvels of artificial intelligence, this book explores the ingenuity, struggles, and triumphs behind the inventions that define our modern world. Packed with fascinating insights, surprising stories, and a glimpse into the minds of the visionaries who dared to dream, this book reveals the power of innovation to change the course of history. Each ...

Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it.

Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights.

Con una revolución comenzó el universo, con otra abrimos los ojos de la consciencia y comenzó nuestra historia. Aprendimos a pensar, a producir, a luchar por el poder, a venerar dioses, a surcar los mares, a descifrar el firmamento, a transformar el mundo, a viajar por el espacio.

The history and evolution of land ownership is a fascinating chronicle in the history of civilization, offering unexpected insights about how various forms of democracy and capitalism developed, as well as a revealing analysis of a future where the Earth must sustain nine billion lives. Seen through the eyes of remarkable individuals - Chinese emperors; German peasants; the 17th century English surveyor William Petty, who first saw the connection between private property and free-market capitalism.

לפני מאה אלף שנים חיו בכדור הארץ לפחות שישה מינים שונים של אדם. לאף אחד מהם לא היתה חשיבות מיוחדת. תפקידם בטבע לא היה גדול מזה של גורילות, גחליליות או סוסוני ים. לפני כשבעים אלף שנה התחולל שינוי מסתורי כלשהו בתודעתו של אחד ממיני האדם הללו — הומו סאפיינס — ודחף אותו להשתלט על העולם כולו. ההיסטוריה של הומו סאפיינס מאז ועד היום היא לעתים מזעזעת, לעתים משעשעת ותמיד מרתקת. מה בדיוק קרה להומו סאפיינס לפני שבעים אלף שנה שדחף אותו להשתלט על העולם? איך ולמה נעלמו כל יתר מיני האדם?

Ancient Egypt wasn't all pyramids, sphinxes and gold sarcophagi. For your average Egyptian, life was tough, and work was hard, conducted under the burning gaze of the sun god Ra.

Book Three in the Return to the Source Series After decoding secrets buried beneath the Great Pyramid, brothers Jacob and Isaac find themselves drawn into another ancient mystery—this time deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. When a strange map and a Watcher transmission lead them to a forgotten city, the brothers—armed with courage, a pendant from their late mother, and a powerful new ally—descend into the myth of Atlantis. But the city isn't sleeping. It’s waiting. With the Trident of Truth in their hands, trials that test their bond, and enemies who hide behind familiar faces, Jacob ...

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Tainos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken. Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe.

The Sumerians settled in the area known as Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, around 5,000 years ago. They produced many fundamental changes to the way in which human societies developed - these were the first city-builders, the first people to use wheeled vehicles, the first methodical astronomers, and the first people to develop a sophisticated written language. The Sumerians also produced art, music, and literature as well as created some of the first professional soldiers the world had ever seen.