Across the ages, nefarious individuals have sought to shape the course of history by eliminating the most powerful figures of the day. Kings, emperors, presidents and prime ministers have all fallen foul of the assassin's blade.This fascinating compilation explores the men and women behind the murders, their motives, means and mistakes along the way and the legacies of their killings. Sometimes working alone and other times assisted by well-resourced teams sponsored by terrorist gr...

Across the ages, nefarious individuals have sought to shape the course of history by eliminating the most powerful figures of the day. Kings, emperors, presidents and prime ministers have all fallen foul of the assassin's blade.This fascinating compilation explores the men and women behind the murders, their motives, means and mistakes along the way and the legacies of their killings. Sometimes working alone and other times assisted by well-resourced teams sponsored by terrorist gr...

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...

**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A magisterial world history unlike any other that tells the story of humanity through the one thing we all have in common: families • From the author of The RomanovsA Best Book of the Year: The New Yorker, Smithsonian****“Succession meets Game of Thrones.” —The Spectator • “The author brings his cast of dynastic titans, rogues and psychopaths to life...An epic that both entertains and inform...

"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...

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...

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller!By the #1 bestselling history author in the world, Bill O'Reilly: A dramatic confrontation with good, evil, and the worst people who ever livedThe concept of evil is universal, ancient, and ever present today. The biblical book of Genesis clearly defines it when Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. Evil is a choice to make another suffer. As long as human beings have walked, evil has bee...

“An amusing (really) account of the murderous ways of despots, slave traders, blundering royals, gladiators and assorted hordes.”—New York TimesEvangelists of human progress meet their opposite in Matthew White’s epic examination of history’s one hundred most violent events, or, in White’s piquant phrasing, “the numbers that people want to argue about.” Reaching back to the Second Persian War in 480 BCE and moving chronologically through history, White surrounds hard facts...

When the World Stood Still is part of the Pocket History series - a conveniently portable, stylishly packaged and eminently collectible set of twelve books that each open a window onto a selection of remarkable stories, characters and themes from the past. How different would our world be if Christopher Columbus had turned for home when his crew grumbled that they had sailed too long? How long would World War II have gone on if atomic bombs hadn't brought it to a swift and terribl...

Humankind 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 our story, through conflict and intrigue, power won and lost, and great empires built and destroyed.Clearly written and accessible, illustrated throughout, and the chapters progress chronologically with each section focusing on a different part of the world, making this book ideal for quick reference or for an enjoyable in-depth read. Whether you w...

The ultimate guide to the worst dictators in history: 64 profiles by 64 different historians, politicians and journalists compiled by leading political commentator Iain DaleWere the signs that Putin is a ruthless dictator there all along? How should we deal with President Xi of China? It is time to seek warnings, and lessons, from history.In The Dictators, Iain Dale brings together 64 essays by historians, academics, journalists and politi...

"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...