"A lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality--a brilliant reflection of humanity itself."--Dust jacket.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning recreation of the powderkeg that was Europe during the crucial first thirty days of World War I traces the actions of statesmen and patriots alike in Berlin, London, St. Petersburg, and Paris.

From bullet-pierced armor, skeletons of horses, medals, coins, and teeth of deceased soldiers-a rich trove of Waterloo treasure survives 200 years onObjects allow us to reach out and touch the past and they play a living role in history today. Through them we can come closer to the reality experienced by the soldiers who fought at Waterloo-that most iconic of all battles. Using stunning photography, rare objects from the Napoleonic era tell us their...

"Long before the invention of printing, let alone the availability of a daily newspaper, people desired to be informed. In the pre-industrial era news was gathered and shared through conversation and gossip, civic ceremony, celebration, sermons, and proclamations. The age of print brought pamphlets, edicts, ballads, journals, and the first news-sheets, expanding the news community from local to worldwide. This groundbreaking book tracks the history...

Traces the sobering history of World War II's largest female concentration camp, revealing the torturous experiences and deaths of thousands of women prisoners of more than twenty nationalities. A masterly and moving account of the most horrific hidden atrocity of World War II: Ravensbruck, the only Nazi concentration camp built for women. On a sunny morning in May 1939 a phalanx of 867 women--housewives, doctors, opera singers, politicians, prostitutes--was...

An account of the lives of six individuals who lived during the Middle Ages: a Frankish peasant; Marco Polo; Madame Eglentyne; a middle class Parisian housewife; and, two English merchants.

"The millennium between the breakup of the western Roman Empire and the Reformation was a long and hugely transformative period--one not easily chronicled within the scope of a few hundred pages. Yet distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken up the challenge in this landmark book, and he succeeds in producing the most riveting account of medieval Europe in a generation. Tracking the entire sweep of the Middle Ages across Europe, Wickham focuses...

"The rich cultural and political life of Spain has emerged from its complex history, from the diversity of its peoples, and from continual contact with outside influences. This book traces that history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. Written in an engaging style, it introduces readers to the key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture. These include its varied...

"Genius. The word connotes an almost unworldly power: the power to create, to grasp universal secrets, even to destroy. As renowned intellectual historian Darrin McMahon explains in Divine Fury, the concept of genius can be traced back to antiquity, when men of great insight were thought to be advised by demons. The modern idea of genius emerged in tension with a growing belief in human equality; contesting the notion that all are created equal, geniuses...

"The inspiring story of one woman's struggle to survive during the Holocaust. An expanded edition of the remarkable story of Rena Korneich, one of the few women who survived the first Jewish transport to Auschwitz and more than three years in the Nazi death camp. Rena's Promise is a compelling story of the fleeting human connections that fostered determination and made survival a possibility. Moving from the bonds between mothers, daughters, and sisters...