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A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from ter...
Written from a consciously anti-enthnocentric approach, this fascinating work is a survey of the civilizations of the modern world in terms of the broad sweep and continuities of history, rather than the "event-based" technique of most other texts.
“A lively popular history of an oft-overlooked element in the development of human society” (Library Journal)—walls—and a haunting and eye-opening saga that reveals a startling link between what we build and how we live. With esteemed historian David Frye as our raconteur-guide in Walls, which Publishers Weekly praises as “informative, relevant, and thought-provoking,” we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed—to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone, and with them effectively divide humanity: on one side were...
'An utterly dazzling book, the best piece of history I have read for a long time' Jerry Brotton, author of A History of the World in Twelve Maps 'Not merely an horologist's delight, but an ingenious meditation on the nature and symbolism of time-keeping itself' Richard Holmes The measurement of time has always been essential to human civilization, from early Roman sundials to the advent of GPS. But while we have one eye on the time every day, are we aware of the power clocks have given governments, military leaders and business owners, and how they have shaped our lives and our world? In this spectacularly far-reaching book, David Rooney narrates a history of timekeeping and civilization in twelve concise chapters. Over their course, we meet the most epochal inventions in horological history, from medieval water clocks to Renaissance hourglasses, and from stock-exchange timestamps to satellites in Earth's orbit. We discover how clocks have helped people navigate the globe and build empires, but also, on occasion, taken us to the brink of destruction. This is the story of time, and the story of time is the story of us.
Chronologically traces the course of human history and civilization from prehistoric times to the present day, covering key events, people, inventions and discoveries, and ideas and beliefs.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MARITIME MEDIA AWARDS 2014 A monumental, wholly accessible work of scholarship that retells human history through the story of mankind's relationship with the sea. An accomplishment of both great sweep and illuminating detail, The Sea and Civilization is a stunning work of history that reveals in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways. Lincoln Paine takes us back to the origins of long-distance migration by sea with our ancestors' first forays from Africa and Eurasia to Australia and the Americas. He demonstrates the cr...
In "History of Ancient Civilization," Charles Seignobos presents a meticulous examination of the foundations of human society, tracing the evolution of civilizations from the earliest communities to the complex societies that shaped the ancient world. Seignobos employs a clear, engaging literary style that marries rigorous academic scholarship with accessible prose, making it suitable for both scholars and general readers. Through a thematic approach, he explores interconnected aspects of culture, governance, and economic structures, contextualizing them within the broader narrative of humanity's progress and interaction over millennia. Charles Seignobos (1854-1942) was a distinguished Frenc...
Extensively illustrated and exceptionally appealing in its narrative style, this best-selling, classic survey of the history of Western civilization -- with emphasis on Western European societies -- offers a short, crisp, and balanced presentation of traditional and new subjects, approaches, and controversies, and shows throughout how the historian goes about the craft of research, interpretation, and writing. The book is available in a variety of volume splits to accommodate different lesson lengths. It includes extracts from historical and contemporary sources and documents, discussions on doing history, and detailed timelines.