'A stunning, clear-sighted history of ancient Egypt' Sunday TimesThe extraordinary history of Ancient Egyptian civilization - from its earliest origins to the creation of its greatest monument - from specialist John RomerThis exceptional book draws on a lifetime of research and thought to recreate the previously untold story of how a civilization which began with handfuls of semi-itinerant fishermen settled, spread...

The final chapter in the definitive, three-volume history of the world's first known stateArchaeologist John Romer has spent a lifetime chronicling the history of Ancient Egypt, and here he tells the epic story of an era dominated by titans of the popular imagination: the radical iconoclast Akhenaten, the boy-king Tutankhamun and the all-conquering Ramesses II. But 'heroes' do not forge history by themselves. This was also a time of international trade, cultural ex...

This definitive, multi-volume history of the world's first known state reveals that much of what we have been taught about Ancient Egypt is the product of narrow-minded visions of the pastDrawing on a lifetime of research, John Romer chronicles the history of Ancient Egypt from the building of the Great Pyramid through the rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom: a peak of Pharaonic culture and the period when writing first flourished. He reveals how the grand narrativ...

The Book of the Dead is a unique collection of funerary texts from a wide variety of sources, dating from the fifteenth to the fourth century BC. Consisting of spells, prayers and incantations, each section contains the words of power to overcome obstacles in the afterlife. The papyruses were often left in sarcophagi for the dead to use as passports on their journey from burial, and were full of advice about the ferrymen, gods and kings they would meet on the way. Offering valuabl...

Every morning, ecologist Tim Blackburn is inspired by the diversity contained within the moth trap he runs on his roof. Beautiful and ineffably mysterious, these moths offer a glimpse into a larger order, one that extends beyond individual species and into a hidden landscape.Footmen, whose populations are on the march as their lichen food recovers from decades of industrial pollution. The Goat Moth, a thumb-sized broken stick mimic, that takes several years to mature deep in the wo...

'A delightful storybook . . . a portrait of our whole world created from the contents of the ground' Literary Review'A real cabinet of curiosities' Sunday TimesFrom the hematite used in cave paintings to the moldavite that became a TikTok sensation; from the stolen sandstone of Scone to the unexpected acoustics of Stonehenge; from crystal balls to compasses, rocks and mine...

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt uniquely covers 700,000 years of ancient Egypt from the stone age to the Roman conquest. The story of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their conquest by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans makes for fascinating reading, with subjects ranging from the changing nature of life and death in the Nile valley to some of the earliest masterpieces of art, architecture, and literature in the ancient world.An international team of experts in th...

Change - sometimes gentle and subtle, sometimes shocking and violent - is the dynamic of Simon Schama's unapologetically personal and grippingly written history of Britain, especially the changes that wash over custom and habit, transforming our loyalties.What makes or breaks a nation? To whom do we give our allegiance and why? And where do the boundaries of our community lie - in our hearth and home, our village or city, tribe or faith? What is Britain - one country or many? Has B...

An eye-opening and urgent re-examination of nature in our cities, from the Sunday Times bestselling author.‘Awe-inspiring… full of wonder, warning and hope’ISABELLA TREE, author of WildingOur modern-day cities might seem to represent our separation from the vitality of the natural world. Yet, as Ben Wilson reveals in this invigorating re-examination of urban landscapes across the globe, nature has always been at the...

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKA NEW SCIENTIST BOOK OF THE YEAR'A stunning and unforgettable voyage through the stars' STEPHEN FRY'Trotta writes like a poet' WALL STREET JOURNAL'Illuminating' Robin Ince'Will leave readers viewing the stars with fresh eyes' MARTIN REESA sweeping inquiry into how the night sky has shape...

'Witty and geekily eclectic' The TimesAn erudite and amusing exploration' Financial Times'Full of jawdropping facts' Mail on Sunday'Remarkable . . . engrossing' Sunday Times'A pleasure' Spectator'An infectiously enthusiastic history' Times Literary SupplementThe encyclopaedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Now these huge books sell for almost nothing on eBay while ...

*A TIME, New Yorker, Financial Times and History Today Book of the Year*'Hilarious' Sam Leith'I loved this book' Susie Dent''Witty and affectionate' Lynne TrussPerfect for book lovers, a delightful history of the wonders to be found in the humble book indexMost of us give little thought to the back of the book - it's just where you go to look things up. But here, hiding in pl...