The inspiration author Michael B. Hammer received when speaking with others about the Israeli-Palestinian problem led to The Dot on the I in History: On Gentiles and Jews—Scrolling the Internet with the goal of helping others better understand the problem. When the issues involve intertribal, interracial, interreligious, and international human relationships lasting over several generations, they often become so complex one does not see the forest for trees, unless one knows where and when...

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next."A rare book that makes you question your assumptions about the world.” —The Wall Street JournalFrom the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the...

Mankind has come a long way since our ancestors first stood up on two feet, but how did we get to where we are today? This book tells the story, through conflict and intrigue, power won and lost, great empires built and destroyed.With over 350 illustrations, timelines and box features, A Short History of the World is a comprehensive and entertaining look at the ways in which man has spent his time on earth. Find out how the great Egyptian dynasties crumbled, how medieval E...

NEW EDITION - FEATURING UPDATED INTRODUCTION AND NEW CHAPTERSThe giant characters of history - from Mozart to Michelangelo, Shakespeare to Einstein, Henry VIII to Hitler, Catherine the Great to Margaret Thatcher, Jesus Christ to Genghis Khan - lived lives of astonishing drama and adventure, debauchery and slaughter, but they also formed our world and will shape our future. In this eclectic and surprising collection of short and entertaining life stories, Simon Seba...

The author of The Rise of Christianity reviews the history of the seven major crusades from 1095-1291 in this work of religious revisionist history.Distinguished and award-winning scholar Rodney Stark takes on the current vogue in liberal thinking to argue that, in fact, the Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism. They were not conducted for land, loot, or converts. The Crusad...

A rich study of Jews and Jewish history that offers a unique look at a people who have persevered through unspeakable adversity and have contributed incredible advancements to the world we know today.How have the Jews survived through so many millennia while other civilizations have declined and perished? What qualities mark the culture that has produced Moses, Christ, Spinoza, Marx, Freud, and Einstein?From ancient Palestine through Europe and Asia, to Ame...

Spanning two and a half millennia, Anthony Pagden’s mesmerizing Worlds at War delves deep into the roots of the “clash of civilizations” between East and West that has always been a battle over ideas, and whose issues have never been more urgent.Worlds At War begins in the ancient world, where Greece saw its fight against the Persian Empire as one between freedom and slavery, between monarchy and democracy, between individuality and the worship of men as gods. Her...

"An admirable job of covering 60,000 years of human history in one volume. . . . fascinating stories, hilarious oddities, and plenty of fun." — School Library JournalThe Mental Floss History of the World is an amazingly entertaining joyride through sixty millennia of human civilization. As audacious as it is edifying, here is a hilarious and irreverent—yet always historically accurate—overview of the ascent (or descent) of humankind, courtesy of th...

"I have committed many acts of cruelty and had an incalculable number of men killed, never knowing whether what I did was right. But I am indifferent to what people think of me."- Genghis KhanA spine-chilling chronicle of dictators and their crimes against humanity, Tyrants introduces the most bloodthirsty madmen - and women - ever to wield power over their unfortunate fellow human beings.From Herod the Great, persecutor of...

It takes charisma and inspiration to lead any group of people. Leaders who Changed the World explores the lives and careers of such extraordinary individuals as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Some have slogged and suffered in order to change the world for the better, while others, like Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden have only succeeded in damaging humanity. Throughout history there have only been a handful of people capable of supreme leadership. Wha...

A sweeping history of Islam and the West from the seventh century to todayEurope and the Islamic World sheds much-needed light on the shared roots of Islamic and Western cultures and on the richness of their inextricably intertwined histories, refuting once and for all the misguided notion of a "clash of civilizations" between the Muslim world and Europe. In this landmark book, three eminent historians bring to life the complex and tumultuous relations bet...

An incisive look into the lives, politics, and horrible deeds of fifty-six of history's most notorious world leaders—and how they shaped our world for the worst.For the most notorious leaders in the history of the world, evil is more than just a moment of weakness—it's a way of life.For every noble king, righteous emperor, and peace-loving president, history seems to serve up a double portion of murderous pharaohs, deranged dictators, or corrupt czars. ...