World Civilizations

Duty bound to save the Empire from falling further under a tyrannical usurper, Cursor resolves to unravel the conspiracy and bring the perpetrators to justice. Aiding him is an old friend; a retired Master Centurion named Gaius Calvinus. Regrettably, they know that if successful, Tiberius' retribution will be swift and brutal, sparing neither the innocent nor the guilty. This leaves only two dark paths for Cursor and Calvinus; either allow the pending reign of terror under a ruthless usurper, or unleash the unholy vengeance of an emperor betrayed.

Nearly everyone has played chess at some point in their lives. Its rules and pieces have served as a metaphor for society including military strategy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, literature, and the arts. It has been condemned as the devil’s game by popes, rabbis, and imams, and lauded as a guide to proper living by different popes, rabbis, and imams. In his wide-ranging and ever fascinating examination of chess, David Shenk gleefully unearths the hidden history of a game that seems so simple yet contains infinity.

Would you invade an enemy planet... by yourself?Only eleven years old and fifteen thousand light-years from home, Tanit continues to get into trouble. The last one is that she committed to recover a sacred amulet that caused a war that has been raging for fourteen hundred years. The bad news is that, to execute this mission, Tanit and her alien family will have to infiltrate an enemy planet, where the best thing that can happen to them is that they get killed... not to forget what might happen if they return. Episode #7 of the popular Spanish SciFi series "In strange orbits". This book is ...

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?

There is much of human history which we don’t know due to lost records, the oceans covering our ancestor’s cities, natural disasters, and reasons we don’t know. There are also many anomalies which have been found showing ruins and objects from the far past which should not exist.

Over the last 500 years, life for the average human being has changed dramatically - plagues no longer wipe out entire families, and no longer do we empty our chamber pots into the street. Nope, not today. But, Western progress has shown that no matter how many dangers we neutralize, new ones emerge. Now we remain at the mercy of an invisible enemy - fear. Our well-being suffers and our imaginations are stifled.

The latest title in the series style of Artists, Writers, Philosophers, and Composers, this lavish audiobook goes under the skin of cities both ancient and modern - from Persepolis and Tikal, Paris and Vienna to Prague, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Dubai. Which ancient civilization founded the precursor to Mexico City? Why was Venice the gateway to the East? What was the Belle Epoque? Which was the first city to build sewers? Great Cities takes you there, and tells you all this and more.

Civilization and Its Enemies is an extraordinary tour de force by America's reigning philosopher of 9/11, Lee Harris. In it, Harris focuses on the next great conflict: the war between the civilized world and the international terrorists who wish to destroy it.

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.

The evolutionary path from the original primates to modern man is a long one and has taken many twists and turns, but naturally, as the fossil record grows, scientists gain a more complete understanding of our own mental and physical history in terms of genetics and anatomy. However, the correct order and relationships of the various specimen types are difficult to pin down.

As the most celebrated European to explore Asia, Marco Polo was the original global traveler and the earliest bridge between East and West. A universal icon of adventure and discovery, he has inspired six centuries of popular fascination and spurious mythology. Now, from acclaimed author Laurence Bergreen, comes the first fully authoritative biography of one of the most enchanting figures in world history.

Embark on an awe-inspiring odyssey through the cosmos with "The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia" - your ultimate guide to the universe's greatest mystery the existence of life beyond Earth. This groundbreaking work navigates the broad expanse of space and time in the search for extraterrestrial life, breathing new life into the age-old questions that have fascinated mankind for centuries. Dive deep into the celestial seas of our universe as you traverse through chapters that unravel the mesmerizing grandeur of the cosmos and the possible habitats that might cradle life. Explore a riveting ...

Eso no estaba en mi libro de Historia del Antiguo Egipto es una obra amena, destinada a todos los amantes de la cultura faraónica. Agrupados en seis grandes apartados (Descubrimientos arqueológicos, Grandes faraones, El período amárnico, La sociedad del valle del Nilo, La Gran pirámide y «Enigmas» que no lo son tanto) se estudian en sus páginas temas variopintos que capturan desde el primer momento el interés del oyente, como puedan ser el día a día de una excavación arqueológica en Egipto, el ascenso al poder de la reina Nefertiti, y más.

Another fascinating title in the fantastically funny history series from the acclaimed Tony Robinson. Tony Robinson takes you on a headlong gallop through time, pointing out all the most important, funny, strange, amazing, entertaining, smelly and disgusting bits about the Greeks! It's history, but not as we know it! Find out everything you ever needed to know in this brilliant, action-packed, fact-filled book.

This is a "science fiction" book that is intended for adults 18 and over. It is NOT for the faint of heart. This book will take you to places and events I know you will find interesting. I was inspired to write this book by something I saw in the sky many years ago. Are we alone in the universe? Do cats eat doughnuts?

Today, we take for granted that a telescope allows us to see galaxies millions of light years away. But before its invention, people used nothing more than their naked eye to fathom what took place in the visible sky. So how did four men in the 1500s - of different nationality, age, religion, and class - collaborate to discover that the Earth revolved around the Sun? With this radical discovery that went against the Church, they created our contemporary world. Heaven on Earth is an intimate examination of this scientific family.

Of all the peoples of the ancient Near East, the Phoenicians are among the most recognizable but also perhaps the least understood. The Phoenicians never built an empire like the Egyptians and Assyrians; in fact, the Phoenicians never created a unified Phoenician state. Instead, they existed as independent city-state kingdoms scattered throughout the Mediterranean region.

The morning of August 24, AD 79, seemed like any other in the Roman city of Pompeii. So no one was prepared when the nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, spouting ash that buried the city and its inhabitants. The disaster left thousands dead, and Pompeii was no more than a memory for almost 1,700 years. In 1748, explorers rediscovered the port city with intact buildings and beautiful mosaics.

Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium, history reversed. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself in freefall. This is not the first time the global order has witnessed such a dramatic rise and fall. The Roman Empire followed a similar arc from dizzying power to disintegration - a fact that is more than a strange historical coincidence.

Good. Evil. Dangerous. Glamorous. Will the real Cleopatra please stand up? Almost everything we know about the last queen of Egypt came from her enemies the Romans. Now it's time to meet the ''real'' Cleopatra, a ruler more complex, brilliant, and powerful than we ever knew. Cleopatra didn't just rock the boat when she became queen at seventeen. She rocked the world with brilliant alliances that kept her in power and in control. When Mark Antony tried to put Egypt under his thumb, she negotiated for - and won - more territory than any Egyptian ruler had snagged in generations.