Nonfiction

This illustrated introduction offers a fresh approach to the history of the Islamic world from its origins to the present day. Told in six chapters, arranged both chronologically and thematically,...

New from the author of the highly successful The Story of Writing, here is the first fully illustrated guide to the human passion for measurement - of ourselves, our experiences,...

India has had many histories. To pilgrims from ancient China, India was the birthplace of the Buddha; to Alexander the Great it was a land of clever naked philosophers and...

Chocolate - 'the food of the Gods' - has had a long and eventful history. Its story is expertly told here by the doyen of Maya studies, Michael Coe, and...

`What a wonderful, eclectic daily diet of historical speech! Each entry - one for each day of the year - transports us back to hear the voices of the past,...

The Khmer Empire of Cambodia which flourished from the 9th to the 15th century, gave birth to some of the world's richest works of art and architecture. At its peak...

Asian empires led the world economically, scientifically and culturally for hundreds of years, and posed a constant challenge to the countries of Europe. How and why did those empires gain...

This fascinating book continues the story begun in the bestselling and critically acclaimed book The Mind in the Cave. Drawing on the latest research and recent discoveries, the authors skilfully...

Cracking the Egyptian Code is the first biography in English of Jean-Francois Champollion, the impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution who made the vital breakthrough in deciphering...

The tomb of Tutankhamun, with its breathtaking treasures, remains the most sensational archaeological find of all time. This brilliantly illustrated volume takes the reader through Tutankhamun's tomb room-by-room in the...

The Middle East: The Cradle of Civilization synthesizes the latest research and information from a range of disciplines to tell the compelling story, from the Neolithic period through to the...

In this lively, authoritative account of a crucial period in Britain's history, Guy de la Bedoyere - the popular face of Romano-British archaeological studies - puts the Roman conquest and...

In recent decades archaeologists have made enormous progress in revealing the prehistory of the rich and varied civilizations of ancient Mesoamerica. This textbook captures the excitement and rich details of...

Who are the Europeans? Where did they come from? In recent years scientific advances have yielded a mass of new data, turning cherished ideas upside down. The idea of migration...

The story of the Highland clans is a gripping one, full of celebrated names and heroic deeds. It is also, as Alistair Moffat reveals, the story of a fearless people,...

Principles of Archaeology provides the building blocks for students to learn how archaeologists think. Retaining its focus on teaching the major methods of thought and analysis and the importance of...

From the eminent historian Norman Stone, who has lived and worked in the country since 1997, comes this concise survey of Turkey's relations with its immediate neighbours and the wider...

The apparent glamour of the Indian Raj continues to fascinate long after the British quit the subcontinent. But along with the beauty of the Indian landscape and the privilege of...

This authoritative volume has been revised throughout and expanded, with stunning new images and accounts of the major discoveries of recent years. Recent findings have been added to expand our...

Like every era, the Renaissance brims with stories. In this book, Robert Davis and Beth Lindsmith highlight dozens of notable lives from between 1400 and 1600. They bring to life...

Your Emperor needs you! The year is ad 100 and Rome stands supreme and unconquerable, from the desert sands of Mesopotamia to the misty highlands of Caledonia. But the might...

The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers and philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1,400-year-long development of today's secondlargest world religion. But who were these people?...

Lose yourself in the vast sewer networks that lie beneath the world's great cities - past and present. Let detailed archival plans, maps and photographs guide you through these subterranean...

The story of thirteen modern Empires, a story full of suspense, cruelty, conflict, heroism, great explorations and extraordinary feats of endurance, is here told with a rich profusion of illustrations...

Previously published as PeacemakersBetween January and July 1919, after the war to end all wars, men and women from all over the world converged on Paris for the Peace Conference....

The ancient city of Angkor in Cambodia has fascinated scholars and visitors alike since its rediscovery in the mid-19th century. All are wonderstruck by the beauty and multiplicity of the...

Pocket Museum: Vikings brings together nearly 200 of the most remarkable artefacts that are held in museum collections around the world. Although the popular image of the Vikings is one...

King David is a pivotal figure in the Bible, which provides stirring accounts of his deeds, including the slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath and the founding of his capital...

Who are the English? Their language and culture have had an impact on the modern world out of all proportion to the size of their homeland. But what do we...

Ivory is a wonderful material: tactile, beautiful, workable into many different forms and the strongest in the animal kingdom. Unfortunately for the elephant, it has been highly prized from the...

John Haywood presents a grand sweep of global history in an immediately accessible format via concise, insightful and engaging text summaries alongside timelines, maps and illustrations. There are 50 sections,...

'A spectacular treasury of treats. Page after page of utter joy: I can't tear my eyes away' - Derren BrownIn The Spectacle of Illusion, professional magician-turned experimental psychologist Dr. Matthew...

In December 1937, the Japanese army swept into the ancient city of Nanking. Within weeks, more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and soldiers were systematically raped, tortured, and murdered,a death toll...

Martin Luther King Jr today is an uncontroversial figure, and we tend to see him as a saint whose legacy is entirely uncomplicated. But in 1968, King was a polarizing...