On 8 February 1421 the largest fleet the world had ever seen sailed from its base in China. The ships, 500 foot long junks made from the finest teak and mahogany, were led by Emperor Zhu Di's loyal eunuch admirals. Their mission was 'to proceed all the way to the end of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond ... read more

This title offers a unique insight into the index of social development that measures change in East and West - and that forms the core of the international bestseller. In "Why the West Rules - For Now" Ian Morris argues that to understand the development of East and West, we need to look beyond 'long-term lock-in' theories (... read more

For most of western history, all sex outside marriage was illegal, with the church and state punishing any dissent. Between 1600 and 1800, this entire world-view was shattered by revolutionary new ideas - that consenting adults have the freedom to do what they like with their own bodies, and morality cannot be imposed by forc... read more

The decline of the West is something that has long been prophesied. Symptoms of decline are all around us today, it seems: slowing growth, crushing debts, aging populations, anti-social behaviour. But what exactly is amiss with Western civilization? The answer, Niall Ferguson argues, is that our institutions - the intricate f... read more

The period between Hitler's invasion of Poland and the attack on Pearl Harbor was the turning point of the twentieth century. While the American public and Congress were eager to isolate themselves from the conflict, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to bring their considerable might to the aid of the Allies.
To bui... read more

Alain de Botton's The Consolations of Philosophy takes the discipline of logic and the mind back to its roots. Drawing inspiration from six of the finest minds in history - Socrates, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche - he addresses lack of money, the pain of love, inadequacy, anxiety and conformity. De B... read more

Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, was the archetypal 'Renaissance man': a brilliant soldier, scholar and ally of the pope, he spent much of the vast wealth on commissioning artists to decorate the city. Sigismondo Malatesta, lord of the neighbouring city of Rimini, was also a brilliant soldier and generous patron of th... read more

In this highly personal follow-up to Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali examines the high cost of freedom - estrangement from her family and country, the loud criticism of her by many Muslims (some of them women), the 24-hour security which came as a result of death threats, and her struggle to come to terms with an often lonely indepe... read more

* A best-selling sociologist presents a concise and very readable history of love * Kaufmann focuses on the question of why so many people are searching for love, hoping to find in love a kind of happiness that they cannot find in their work or by surrounding themselves with material goods.

From Neil MacGregor, the acclaimed creator of "A History of the World in 100 Objects" and the Director of the British Museum, comes a unique, enthralling exploration of the age of William Shakespeare to accompany a new BBC Radio 4 series. Shakespeare lived through a pivotal period in human history. With the discovery of the N... read more

"A Short History of Byzantium" is renowned historian, and author of "A History of Venice", John Julius Norwich's classic history of Byzantium. Constantine the Great moved the seat of Roman power to Constantinople in AD 330 and for eleven brutal, bloody centuries, the Byzantine Empire became a beacon of grand magnificence and ... read more

Jeffrey Sachs draws on his remarkable 25 years' experience to offer a thrilling and inspiring vision of the keys to economic success in the world today. Marrying vivid storytelling with acute analysis, he sets the stage by drawing a conceptual map of the world economy and explains why, over the past 200 years, wealth and pove... read more

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In many countries, internet censorship has become one of the key human rights issues of the twenty-first century.Best-selling author Antony Loewenstein conducts a searching examination of the ways the internet is threatening the rule of some of the planet's most repressive governments, including in countries such as Iran, Sau... read more

Presents an examination of the effects of hyperconsumerism on contemporary life that provides a comprehensive look at how choices affect the balance between work and life in society. Using past experiences, the author explores issues that concern many and asks the question, Is it possible to have too much choice?

The story of the world-famous monument and the extraordinary world's fair that introduced it In this first general history of the Eiffel Tower in English, Jill Jonnes-acclaimed author of "Conquering Gotham"-offers an eye- opening look not only at the construction of one of the modern world's most iconic structures, but also ... read more

Daniel Jonah Goldhagen has written an original and important study of genocide that reconceives its very nature. He does so not by examining a series of genocides but by exploring the nature of mass killing itself. Our failure to clearly describe, explain, and understand the mechanisms of genocide has made it difficult to pre... read more

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The second novel in the chronology of Vidal's epic CHRONICLES OF EMPIRE, embodying the passage of American history.

An account of life as a sheep-shearer.