Museum History

After the extinction of the dodo and Carolina parakeet and the collapse of the American bison population, naturalists expected many more vulnerable species to die out with spread of industrialization. This triggered a race to collect rare species of animals expected soon to be lost forever. Established in 1893, Chicago's Field Museum aimed to become a global center of study. Zoologist Daniel Giraud Elliot persuaded museum patrons to fund an immediate expedition to British Somaliland (contemporary Somalia). There, his team hunted and killed hundreds of animals for the growing collection.

One man. One fight. One nation watching. On America’s 250th birthday, President Preston D. Barron hosts the most outrageous spectacle in U.S. history—a televised UFC-style battle on the White House lawn meant to settle the war between “freedom” and “the radical left.” But as public outrage spirals and democracy teeters, a rogue fight promoter hatches a desperate plan: rig the match, defeat Barron's handpicked warrior, and force the president to resign—live on air. What he doesn’t know is that the president has already rewritten the rules—and the final blow might not be the...

From July to September 1940 the British people watched the From July to September 1940, the British people watched the Battle of Britain play out in the skies above them, aware that the eventual outcome would decide their fate. From September through to the following May, Hitler attempted to "blitz" London and other major cities into submission. For a year, the citizens of Britain were effectively front-line soldiers in a battle that united the country against a hated enemy.

Secrets lie buried at Parker Plantation, known only to its last owner who took them to his grave. When magazine photographer Carson Hudson arrives for a shoot, he finds more than just Georgian architecture through his lens. Local historian Bailey Barrows accompanies him, driven by her own mysterious connection to the property. As they delve into the history and discover the forgotten archives, they uncover a web of family secrets that leads straight to Bailey's ancestors. The discovery forces her to confront not just her heritage, but also the careful walls she's built around her heart. ...

In this deeply researched, immersive history, Adam Kuper tells the story of how foreign and prehistoric peoples and cultures were represented in Western museums of anthropology. Originally created as colonial enterprises, their halls were populated by displays of plundered art, artifacts, dioramas, bones, and relics.

The Shadow Directive – A Gripping Political Thriller You Can’t Put Down In the shadows of modern America, LGBTQIA+ citizens are vanishing—discreetly, efficiently, without a trace. No raids. No bar scenes. Just everyday people, taken off the streets by hooded figures claiming to be federal agents. The government denies everything. The media stays silent. And a chilling agenda creeps forward under the radar. When a gay investigative journalist and a tough ex-cop turned private investigator join forces, they uncover a disturbing network of data-driven surveillance, extremist influence, ...

Catherine the Great ushered in the Russian Enlightenment. She had an unmatched passion for the arts, and she began a private art collection that would eventually evolve into galleries upon galleries of historical treasures shipped in from all over the world. This fabled museum was none other than the Hermitage, located in the heart of Saint Petersburg, a city founded by the imperial empire's very own Peter the Great.

Claire Wilcox has been a curator of fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum for most of her working life. In Patch Work, she steps into the archive of memory, deftly stitching together her dedicated study of fashion with the story of her own life lived in and through clothes. From her mother's black wedding suit to the swirling patterns of her own silk kimono, her memoir unfolds in spare, luminous prose the spellbinding power of the things we wear.

En este clásico ensayo el filósofo Eugenio d´Ors realiza un recorrido por la que es considerada una de las pinacotecas más importantes del mundo, el Museo del Prado. A través de la visita por las diferentes salas del museo, d´Ors nos guía a través de una selección de obras y a través de ellas nos ofrece su particular visión sobre los fundamentos estéticos del arte dentro de la Historia.

The dream of capturing and organizing knowledge is as old as history. From the archives of ancient Sumeria and the Library of Alexandria to the Library of Congress and Wikipedia, humanity has wrestled with the problem of harnessing its intellectual output. The timeless quest for wisdom has been as much about information storage and retrieval as creative genius. In Cataloging the World, Alex Wright introduces us to a figure who stands out in the long line of thinkers and idealists who devoted themselves to the task.

One of the most studied and written about episodes in US history, the American Civil War remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate. The conflict was one of the earliest industrial wars in which mass-produced weapons were employed. The mobilization of civilian factories, shipyards, transportation, and food supplies all foreshadowed the impact of industrialization in World War I, World War II, and subsequent conflicts.

What if the real fight for America didn’t start in Washington—but in a van parked behind a strip mall? When 64-year-old David Mercer, a former nonprofit founder now living in his car, uploads a video declaring he’s suing both major political parties for abandoning the people, he has no idea the spark he’s about to ignite. What begins as a desperate cry for help becomes a national movement—uniting veterans, teachers, mothers, whistleblowers, and coal miners across the country. Led by civil rights attorney Rosa Calderón, the class-action lawsuit shakes the foundations of American ...

The Gunmen of the American Wild West Collection brings to life the history of the frontier west of the Mississippi in the latter parts of the 19th century. The gunmen ranged from lawmen to cowboys, ranchers, and outlaws. Most of the outlaws in the Old West preyed on banks, trains, and stagecoaches. Although spread thin, the law was present, usually on the level of deputy US marshal, county sheriff, and the town marshal or constable.

Explore Rome and Discover Overlooked Treasures Beyond the City Walls Planning a trip to Rome? Don’t just see the Eternal City, experience it like a local with the only travel guide that combines curated walking tours, restaurant recommendations, expert travel tips, and unforgettable festivals in one immersive volume. This unique guide takes you deeper than a checklist of monuments. It helps you design the kind of Roman holiday most travelers never imagine. Navigate Rome with Ease, Thanks to Self-Guided Walks & Local Secrets This guide helps you explore the city in walkable order, with ...

For years, British journalist Cash Peters trekked around Europe and America visiting some of the tackiest attractions in the world for his hugely popular public-radio series, The Bad Taste Tours. But a guy can only take so much. Now, as Peters prepares to leave his travel-reporting days behind forever, he takes us along on some of the more ridiculous journeys and adventures of his career.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN LARGE PRINT Get ready to immerse yourself in centuries of history! Discover Venice's past and its tremendous legacy of beauty, churches, museums, and stunning mansions. Get to know the lagoon city everybody loves with this comprehensive guidebook for cultured travelers. Learn the story behind such world-famous landmarks as St. Mark's Square St. Mark's Basilica The Bell Tower The Clock Tower The Grand Canal, with its beautiful bridges The historic mansions And many more. Please note that this is a historical guide. It does not include lists of hotels and restaurants, nor ...

The Louvre. The very name conjures up scenes of art and elegance, and of long halls filled with beauty and people strolling through them whispering quietly among themselves about the glories they are witnessing. Even those who have never been to the Louvre know some of its most prized possessions, from ancient statues to Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. As the world's largest museum, the Louvre is the cultural highpoint of Paris, a city that has long been considered the cultural center of Europe.

Where hope meets resistance, ordinary people kindle extraordinary change. From a bluebonnet-strewn Texas dream to a covert tunnel network battling a modern-day purge, these twelve powerful stories trace a single arc: when we dare to feel with one another, we ignite the strength to remake the world. Meet writers rediscovering their legacy, lovers crafting magic in wax and gold, leather-clad elders proving age is power, professors and pastors unlearning dogma, and underground rebels turning grief into action. Every page brims with radical empathy, queer joy, and the unbreakable resolve of ...

Abolitionism was the movement that strove to end slavery in the United States. The abolitionists saw slavery as a stain and an affliction on the United States and made it their goal to eradicate slave ownership. Abolitionists produced anti-slavery literature, sent petitions to Congress, and ran for political office.

Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, the Metropolitan Museum of Art began an ambitious program of collection building and physical expansion that transformed it into one of the world’s foremost museums, an eminence that it has maintained ever since. Two men of singular qualities and accomplishments played key roles in the Met’s transformation—J. P. Morgan, America’s leading financier and a prominent art collector, and Roger Fry, the headstrong English expert in art history who served as the Met’s curator of painting.