“This is history on a grand scale, with a sweep and ambition that is rare... A proper historical epic of dazzling range and achievement.” (William Dalrymple, The Guardian) The epic history of the crossroads of the world - the meeting place of East and West and the birthplace of civilization It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. Peter Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. He vividly re-creates the emergence of the first cities in Mesopotamia and the birth of empires in Persia, Rome, and Constantinople, as well as the depredations by the Mongols, the transmission of the Black Death, and the violent struggles over Western imperialism. Throughout the millennia, it was the appetite for foreign goods that brought East and West together, driving economies and the growth of nations. From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts. 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. Read more

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In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion, and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization. Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some found solutions and persisted. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond traces the fundamental pattern of catastrophe, and weaves an all-encompassing global thesis through a series of fascinating historical-cultural narratives. Collapse moves from the Polynesian cultures on Easter Island to the flourishing American civilizations of the Anasazi and the Maya and finally to the doomed Viking colony on Greenland. Similar problems face us today and have already brought disaster to Rwanda and Haiti, even as China and Australia are trying to cope in innovative ways. Despite our own society’s apparently inexhaustible wealth and unrivaled political power, ominous warning signs have begun to emerge even in ecologically robust areas like Montana. Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid committing ecological suicide? Read more

Maps have a mysterious hold over us. Whether ancient, crumbling parchments or generated by Google, maps tell us things we want to know, not only about our current location or where we are going but about the world in general. And yet, when it comes to geo-politics, much of what we are told is generated by analysts and other experts who have neglected to refer to a map of the place in question. All leaders of nations are constrained by geography. In this audiobook, now updated to include 2016 geopolitical developments, journalist Tim Marshall examines Russia, China, the US, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Japan, Korea, and Greenland and the Arctic - their weather, seas, mountains, rivers, deserts, and borders - to provide a context often missing from our political reportage: how the physical characteristics of these countries affect their strengths and vulnerabilities and the decisions made by their leaders. Marshall explains the complex geo-political strategies that shape the globe. Why is Putin so obsessed with Crimea? Why was the US destined to become a global superpower? Why does China's power base continue to expand? Why is Tibet destined to lose its autonomy? Why will Europe never be united? The answers are geographical. Read more

Expertly researched and designed, National Geographic's World with Flags & Facts Map is the authoritative map of the world by which other reference maps are measured. The folded world map is designed for travel and durability.Product Features:Signature Classic style map with bright, easy to read color palette with blue oceans and colorful bordersBackground shows mountain ranges and valleys in subtle shaded relief with mountain ranges labeled Major water bodies including rivers, lakes, glaciers, oceans, seas, gulfs, bays, straits, and bathymetryClearly defined international boundaries, cities, islands, airports, and physical featuresThousands of place names carefully and artfully placed to maintain legibility in heavily populated areasUp-to-date international boundaries and territorial control reflect de facto status on the groundMeticulously researched using multiple authoritative sources including the U.N., U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and policies of individual governments.Accurate place names use a combination of conventional English names, official national names, and standard transliterations for non-Latin alphabets. Drawn in Winkel Tripel projection with distortions minimized unlike other World maps (e.g. Greenland is shown the same size as Argentina, not South America)Corner inset maps feature vegetation, land use, population density, and north and south polar regionsNational facts and flags with each country's area, population, capital city, GDP per capita, and flagThe map is printed in the USA on durable waterproof, tear-resistant synthetic paper to withstand repeated folding.Map Scale = 1:37,213,000Sheet Size = 37.75" x 25.5"Folded Size = 4.25" x 9.25" Read more

Winner of the ECPA Book of the Year Award for Bibles | Explore the Ancient World Behind the Written WordThe ESV Archaeology Study Bible roots the biblical text in its historical and cultural context, offering readers a framework for better understanding the people, places, and events recorded in Scripture. With editorial oversight from Dr. John Currid (PhD, University of Chicago) and Dr. David Chapman (PhD, University of Cambridge), as well as contributions from a team of field-trained archaeologists, the Archaeology Study Bible assembles a range of modern scholarship―pairing the biblical text with over 2,000 study notes, 400 full-color photographs, 200 maps and diagrams, 200 sidebars, 14 articles, and 4 timelines. These features bring life to the ancient texts, helping readers situate them in their historical context while recognizing the truth that the eternal God became flesh entered human history at a specific time and in a specific place.Dig Deeper into the Historical Context: Features 15 articles, including “Introduction to the ESV Archaeology Study Bible,“ “Expository Preaching and Archaeology,“ and “Daily Life in Judea-Palestine in New Testament Times”4-Color Interior: Includes maps, photographs, and drawingsAdditional Resources: Dictionary,  concordance, charts, and sidebarsThoroughly Developed: Features contributions from a team of field-trained archaeologists Read more

A dazzling new history of the irrepressible demographic changes and mass migrations that have made and unmade nations, continents, and empiresThe rise and fall of the British Empire; the emergence of America as a superpower; the ebb and flow of global challenges from Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Soviet Russia. These are the headlines of history, but they cannot be properly grasped without understanding the role that population has played.The Human Tide shows how periods of rapid population transition - a phenomenon that first emerged in the British Isles but gradually spread across the globe - shaped the course of world history. Demography - the study of population - is the key to unlocking an understanding of the world we live in and how we got here.Demographic changes explain why the Arab Spring came and went, how China rose so meteorically, and why Britain voted for Brexit and America for Donald Trump. Sweeping from Europe to the Americas, China, East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, The Human Tide is a panoramic view of the sheer power of numbers. Read more

Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times best-selling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature. As the Mediterranean shaped the classical world and the Atlantic connected Europe to the New World, the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow. With China on the rise, so, too, are the American cities of the West Coast, including Seattle, San Francisco, and the long cluster of towns down the Silicon Valley. Today the Pacific is ascendant. Its geological history has long transformed us - tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis - but its human history, from a Western perspective, is quite young, beginning with Magellan's 16th-century circumnavigation. It is a natural wonder whose most fascinating history is currently being made. In telling the story of the Pacific, Simon Winchester takes us from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn, from the Yangtze River to the Panama Canal, and to the many small islands and archipelagos that lie in between. He observes the fall of a dictator in Manila, visits aboriginals in Northern Queensland, and is jailed in Tierra del Fuego, the land at the end of the world. His journey encompasses a trip down the Alaska Highway, a stop at the isolated Pitcairn Islands, a trek across South Korea, and a glimpse of its mysterious northern neighbor. Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives. Read more

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 Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts.  Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.Also available: The New Silk Roads, a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East. Read more

The powerful, untold story of the 1950 revolution in Puerto Rico and the long history of U.S. intervention on the island, that the New York Times says "could not be more timely." In 1950, after over fifty years of military occupation and colonial rule, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico staged an unsuccessful armed insurrection against the United States. Violence swept through the island: assassins were sent to kill President Harry Truman, gunfights roared in eight towns, police stations and post offices were burned down. In order to suppress this uprising, the US Army deployed thousands of troops and bombarded two towns, marking the first time in history that the US government bombed its own citizens. Nelson A. Denis tells this powerful story through the controversial life of Pedro Albizu Campos, who served as the president of the Nationalist Party. A lawyer, chemical engineer, and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School, Albizu Campos was imprisoned for twenty-five years and died under mysterious circumstances. By tracing his life and death, Denis shows how the journey of Albizu Campos is part of a larger story of Puerto Rico and US colonialism. Through oral histories, personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, congressional testimony, and recently declassified FBI files, War Against All Puerto Ricans tells the story of a forgotten revolution and its context in Puerto Rico's history, from the US invasion in 1898 to the modern-day struggle for self-determination. Denis provides an unflinching account of the gunfights, prison riots, political intrigue, FBI and CIA covert activity, and mass hysteria that accompanied this tumultuous period in Puerto Rican history. Read more

Explore the lands of the Bible and the history of scripture with unprecedented clarity.This major revision of the Gold Medallion Award-winning Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible is a visual feast that will help you experience the geography and history of Scripture with unprecedented clarity. The first section of the Atlas introduces the "playing board" of biblical history. The next section, arranged historically, begins with Eden and traces the historical progression of the Old and New Testaments. It concludes with chapters on the history of Jerusalem, the disciplines of historical geography, and the most complete and accurate listing and discussion of place-names found in any atlas.Unique features include:Stunning multidimensional and three-dimensional mapsOver 100 new relevant-to-topic imagesRevised engaging textInnovative chronological charts and graphicsA complete geographical dictionary and index available for in-depth studiesThe Zondervan Atlas of the Bible is destined to become a favorite guide to biblical geography for students of the Bible. This accessible and complete resource will assist you as you enter into the world of the Bible as never before. Read more

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The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated.   But who was the real James Cook?  This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation. Leading a crew of men into uncharted territories, Cook would face the best and worst of humanity as he took himself and his crew to the edge of the known world - and beyond.  With his masterful storytelling talent, Peter FitzSimons brings the real James Cook to life. Focusing on his most iconic expedition, the voyage of the Endeavour, where Cook first set foot on Australian and New Zealand soil, FitzSimons contrasts Cook against another figure who looms large in Australasian history: Joseph Banks, the aristocratic botanist. As they left England, Banks, a rich, famous playboy, was everything that Cook was not. The voyage tested Cook's character and would help define his legacy.  Now, 240 years after James Cook's death, FitzSimons reveals what kind of man James was at heart. His strengths, his weaknesses, his passions and pursuits, failures and successes.  James Cook reveals the man behind the myth. Read more

• Waterproof • Tear-Resistant • Reference MapExpertly researched and designed, National Geographic's United States Flags & Facts Map is the authoritative map of the United States by which other reference maps are measured. The map side includeds a political map showing countries, cities and other landmarks and a physical map shows the landforms such as mountain ranges and rivers.Clearly defined boundaries, major cities, and physical featuresHundreds of place names carefully placed to maintain legibility in heavily populated areasIncludes the United States and adjacent regions within Canada and MexicoDetailed physical map of the United States with mountain ranges, plains, lakes, and riversFlags and facts with detailed information about cultural and physcial attributes of each statePrinted in the U.S.A. on extremely durable, waterproof, and tear-resistant materialThis Reference Map is printed on durable synthetic paper, making it waterproof, tear-resistant and tough — capable of withstanding the rigors of any kind of use in the home or classroom.Sheet Size = 37.75" x 25.5"Folded Size = 4.25" x 9.25" Read more

Beautifully designed maps, flags and country profile data make this atlas an ideal source of information about our ever changing world.If you're interested in finding out more about the geography of the world we live in, then this world atlas book is perfect for you. Compact World Atlas provides an excellent source of accurate and informative  geographical information in an attractive, affordable, user-friendly package.Journey all over the world as you explore:- New fully revised 8th Edition incorporating hundreds of updates to maps and statistics.- Over 60 regional maps, 196 country fact files, flags and statistics.- 25 larger scale inset maps of cities and smaller countries- Fully cross-referenced index/gazetteer.Arranged in three main sections, the Compact World Atlas proves ideal for family reference, encompassing  crosswords and quizzes, whilst presenting an intriguing and absorbing journey around the world in which we live.Divided into three sections, the first section gives a global overview with political, physical and time-zone maps. This is followed by 120 pages of crisp, clear regional mapping, arranged by continent, covering all of  the world’s 196 nations. Each map is rich in topographical information including cities, physical features, rivers, lakes, roads and railways. The second section features a comprehensive set of country fact files, packed with up-to-date reference data including total area, population, languages, religions, and currency as well as each country’s national flag. There is also an exhaustive cross-referenced index and gazetteer that enables you to quickly identify and locate places in the atlas.The whole wide world is at your fingertips! Read more

Expertly researched and designed, National Geographic's United States wall map is the standard by which other reference maps of the U.S. are measured.Product Features:Signature Classic styling with bright, easy to read color palette with blue water and colorful state bordersAll 50 states with insets for Hawaiian Islands and Alaska plus inset showing relative size of AlaskaClearly defined state and country boundaries, cities, islands, national parks, and physical featuresThousands of place names carefully and artfully placed to maintain legibility in heavily populated areasBackground shows mountain ranges and valleys in subtle shaded relief with mountain ranges labeled Major water bodies including rivers, lakes, gulfs, bays, straits, and ocean bathymetryTransportation routes including interstate highways, major state routes, airports, waterways, canals, and ferriesEnlarged maps provide an immersive experience in any home or office environment. The exceptional cartography is even easier to appreciate at the larger size. The map is encapsulated in heavy-duty 1.6 mil laminate which makes the paper much more durable and resistant to the swelling and shrinking caused by changes in humidity. Laminated maps can be framed without the need for glass, so the frames can be much lighter and less expensive. Map Scale = 1:2,815,000Sheet Size = 69.25" x 48" Read more

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A visual journey through the history of North America via a series of engaging, detailed maps, explaining key events and eras from prehistory to the 21st century.Specially created maps tell the story of this vast region: the first human populations and the lands of indigenous peoples; the complex ancient civilizations that arose in Mexico; the first Westerners to arrive on the shores, from the Vikings to the Mayflower; early settlements and the devastating consequences for the indigenous population; the stories of enslaved people and the abolition of slavery; the American Revolution and Civil War that shaped the modern United States; the Mexican-American War; the founding of Canada; and the industrial era and the growth of a global superpower. Brand new maps are accompanied by historic maps, documents, and artefacts, while timelines clearly lay out the chronology of events. Each era is introduced and explained, while features offer a closer look at selected moments. Whether for casual browsing or a deep dive into the past, History of North America Map by Map is essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about this fascinating land. Read more

Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction | One of Time Magazines's 100 Must-Read Books of 2020 | Finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards, Best History & Biography 2020 | Longlisted for the 2020 Porchlight Business Book Awards"An entertaining quest to trace the origins and implications of the names of the roads on which we reside." ―Sarah Vowell, The New York Times Book ReviewWhen most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class. In this wide-ranging and remarkable book, Deirdre Mask looks at the fate of streets named after Martin Luther King Jr., the wayfinding means of ancient Romans, and how Nazis haunt the streets of modern Germany. The flipside of having an address is not having one, and we also see what that means for millions of people today, including those who live in the slums of Kolkata and on the streets of London. Filled with fascinating people and histories, The Address Book illuminates the complex and sometimes hidden stories behind street names and their power to name, to hide, to decide who counts, who doesn’t―and why. Read more

"Prisoners of Geography meets Bill Bryson: a funny, fascinating, beautifully illustrated—and timely—history of countries that, for myriad and often ludicrous reasons, no longer exist. “Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They’re all equally implausible once you get up close.” Countries die. Sometimes it’s murder, sometimes it’s by accident, and sometimes it’s because they were so ludicrous they didn’t deserve to exist in the first place. Occasionally they explode violently. A few slip away almost unnoticed. Often the cause of death is either “got too greedy” or “Napoleon turned up.” Now and then they just hold a referendum and vote themselves out of existence. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so full of schemers, racists, and con men that it’s impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff. Because of this – and because treating nation-states with too much reverence is the entire problem with pretty much everything – these accounts are not concerned with adding to the earnest flag saluting in the world, however nice some of the flags might be." Read more