Ebooks de historia, página 11 de 31

The world was once a place of insurmountable distances until humanity learned to conquer friction. The Wheel Mandate documents the mechanical revolution that laid the foundation for every civilization. From Sumerian potters wheels to the paved roads of Romewe examine how the circular shape exponentially increased human reach. It is the story of logistics as an instrument of power.Learn how the chariot changed warfare and how the heavy cart first made trade in bulk goods possible. We analyze the physical hurdles of land transport and how the wheel fueled the emergence of the first megacities. This book shows that the wheel was not just an invention, but a law of efficiency that reordered the hierarchies of the world. Look behind the heroic battles at the wooden axles that carried empires.A fascinating account of the simplest and at the same time most powerful machine of mankind. Understand the mechanics of transport and how it made our planet shrink. Without the wheel, there would be no stagnation, but also no progress.

In 1859, a bankrupt rice merchant named Joshua Norton walked into a newspaper office in San Francisco and declared himself Emperor of the United States. In any other city, he would have been institutionalized. In San Francisco, they saluted him."The Pauper Emperor" is the heartwarming and bizarre true story of Norton I, the monarch who issued his own currency (which local shops accepted), fired Abraham Lincoln by decree, and ordered the building of a bridge that wouldnt be constructed for another sixty years. It explores the psychology of collective delusion and the unique social contract of a city that decided kindness was better than reality. Norton wasnt just a madman; he was a mirror for the American dream in its most unhinged form.

In the 1920s, radiation wasnt a danger; it was a cure-all. "Radithor," a patent medicine made of triple-distilled water and radium, promised to cure impotence, fatigue, and aging. Eben Byers, a wealthy industrialist and golf champion, loved it so much he drank three bottles a day. He recommended it to friends and even fed it to his racehorses.Then his teeth started falling out. Then his jaw came off. This is the gruesome but necessary story of the "Radithor" craze and the slow, agonizing death of its most famous advocate. It is a history of unregulated medicine, the publics fascination with the "energy" of the atom, and the tragedy that finally forced the government to regulate radioactive substances.

In May 1962, the town council of Centralia, Pennsylvania, hired volunteer firefighters to clean up the town landfill by setting it on fire. It was a routine procedure, but they made a fatal mistake: the landfill sat atop an exposed vein of coal that connected to a vast labyrinth of abandoned mines beneath the town. The fire didnt go out. It went down."The Town That Burned From Beneath" chronicles the slow-motion apocalypse that followed. For decades, the fire raged underground, heating the ground until tomatoes cooked on the vine and carbon monoxide filled basements. The government ignored the problem until a 12-year-old boy fell into a steaming sinkhole that opened up in his backyard.Today, Centralia is a ghost town with a population of less than five. The fire is still burning and is expected to burn for another 250 years. This book is a terrifying look at an environmental disaster that cannot be stopped, exploring the incompetence of bureaucracy and the resilience of the few residents who refused to leave their burning homes.

In 1984, the president of Glico, a major Japanese candy company, was kidnapped from his home by masked men. He escaped, but the nightmare was just beginning. A group calling themselves "The Monster with 21 Faces" began sending mocking letters to the police and media, threatening to poison the companys candy on store shelves with cyanide.This book investigates one of the most bizarre unsolved crimes in history. The criminals didnt just want money; they wanted chaos. They taunted the police ("Dear stupid police officers..."), gave clues that led nowhere, and successfully forced recalls that cost millions. The "Fox-Eyed Man," a prime suspect, was spotted multiple times but never caught."The Monster with 21 Faces" explores the cultural impact of the case, which led to the suicide of a police superintendent out of shame. After months of terrorizing multiple food companies, the group simply announced they were bored and would stop harassment. They vanished forever, leaving a nation gripped by paranoia about what was inside their snacks.

Marvin Heemeyer was a skilled welder in Granby, Colorado, who felt wronged by the local government. After a zoning dispute destroyed his muffler shop business and fines piled up, he decided he had nothing left to lose. He didnt hire a lawyer; he bought a Komatsu bulldozer. "The Concrete Tank" tells the story of the "Killdozer."For 18 months, Heemeyer secretly modified the bulldozer in his shed, encasing it in layers of steel and concrete that made it impervious to small arms fire and even explosives. He installed cameras for visibility and air conditioning for comfort. On June 4, 2004, he sealed himself insidewith no plan to ever come outand went on a rampage.This book avoids glorifying the violence but analyzes the "snap." It details the two hours of destruction where he systematically flattened the town hall, the mayors house, and the businesses of his enemies, while police fired futilely at the armor. It is a tragedy about the tipping point of rage and the terrifying capability of a man with a grievance and a welding torch.

Tarrare was a French showman in the late 18th century with an appetite that defied science. He could eat a quarter of a cow in a single day and still be hungry. He swallowed stones, live cats, corks, and baskets of apples. "The Bottomless Stomach" tells the gruesome and tragic true story of the man with the most extreme case of polyphagia (insatiable hunger) ever recorded.The book follows his life from being kicked out by his parents to becoming a street performer and eventually a spy for the French Revolutionary Army. Generals realized his unique talent: he could swallow a metal box containing secret documents, pass through enemy lines, and retrieve the box "naturally." But his hunger was a curse. In the military hospital, he was caught drinking blood from patients undergoing bloodletting and eating corpses from the morgue.When a 14-month-old toddler disappeared from the ward, Tarrare was chased out. This biography is a medical mystery and a horror story, exploring the autopsy results that revealed a stomach that filled his entire abdomen. It is a look at a human life consumed by a biological drive he could not control.

In the labs of Los Alamos, after the bombs fell on Japan, one plutonium core remained. The scientists called it "Rufus," but history remembers it as the Demon Core. It was a perfect sphere of death that tolerated no mistakes. Yet, the brilliant physicists played with it, tickling the dragons tail with nothing but a screwdriver and steady hands.This book chronicles the chilling true stories of Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin, who both died triggering the cores blue flash of criticality. It is a harrowing examination of scientific hubris, the psychological disconnect between genius and safety, and the invisible, melting destruction of acute radiation sickness. A gripping reminder that the most dangerous weapon is not the bomb itself, but the arrogance of the men who hold it.

On October 27, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet submarine B-59 was trapped deep in the Caribbean. US Navy destroyers were dropping depth charges to force it to surface. Inside, the air conditioning had failed, temperatures rose to 120F, and carbon dioxide levels were toxic. The captain, believing war had already started, ordered the launch of a nuclear torpedo."The Depth of Silence" focuses on Vasili Arkhipov, the Commodore on board who stood between humanity and extinction. Unlike other subs, B-59 required unanimous consent from three officers to launch. The captain and the political officer screamed "Fire!". Arkhipov said "No."This book reconstructs the most dangerous moment in human history, minute by minute. It explores the psychological pressure of the suffocating heat, the terrifying sound of depth charges, and the incredible moral courage of one man who refused to start the apocalypse based on a guess. Arkhipov was never honored in his lifetime; this book gives him the recognition he deserves as the man who saved the world.

The story is legendary: On Halloween night 1938, Orson Welles broadcast a radio adaptation of "The War of the Worlds." Millions of Americans, believing Martians were actually invading New Jersey, fled their homes in terror, clogged highways, and hid in basements. It is cited as the ultimate example of the power of media and human gullibility. There is just one problem: most of it never happened."The Panic That Wasnt" debunks the myth of the War of the Worlds panic. Robert Hughes reveals that the broadcast had very few listeners (most were listening to a ventriloquist act on a rival channel). The reports of mass hysteria were largely fabricated by newspapers the next day. Why? Because the print industry was terrified of the new medium of radio stealing their ad revenue. They wanted to prove that radio was dangerous and untrustworthy.This book is a fascinating investigation into the first major "Fake News" event about fake news. It explores how a small artistic experiment was weaponized by corporate rivals to create a legend that persists to this day. It teaches us to be skeptical not just of what we hear, but of the stories we are told about how we reacted.

In 2011, a young idealist named Ross Ulbricht launched a website called Silk Road. It was an Amazon for drugs, hidden in the dark web and powered by a new, untraceable currency called Bitcoin. Ulbricht believed he was creating a libertarian utopia, a free market beyond the reach of the state. "The Pirate Roberts" charts the rise and fall of the worlds most notorious online marketplace.Operating under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts," Ulbricht grew his startup into a multimillion-dollar empire. But as the site grew, so did the violence. The book details how the philosophical idealist began ordering hits on blackmailers (though no bodies were found) and how he was hunted by a ragtag team of DEA, FBI, and IRS agents.It culminates in the dramatic arrest in a San Francisco public library, where agents had to snatch his open laptop before he could encrypt it. This is a digital thriller about the corruption of ideals, the birth of the crypto-economy, and the thin line between a startup founder and a drug lord.

"With Pictures and Maps"My Disillusionment in Russia is a famous book by Emma Goldman. The book was based on a much longer manuscript entitled "My Two Years in Russia" which was an eyewitness account of events in Russia from 1920 to 1921 that ensued in the wake of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and which culminated in the Kronstadt rebellion.Long-concerned about developments with the Bolsheviks, Goldman described the rebellion as the "final wrench. I saw before me the Bolshevik State, formidable, crushing every constructive revolutionary effort, suppressing, debasing, and disintegrating everything".Much to Goldmans dismay, only upon receiving the first printed copies of the book did she become aware that the publisher had changed the title; and the last twelve chapters were entirely missing, including an Afterword which Goldman felt was "the most vital part" of the book. Sympathetic to the initial Russian Revolution, the (complete) book is nonetheless a strong and impassioned left critique of the Bolshevik Revolution as well as Vladimir Lenins New Economic Policy-an "all-powerful, centralized Government with State Capitalism as its economic expression".

On Thanksgiving Eve 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle, ordered a bourbon and soda, and calmly handed the stewardess a note claiming he had a bomb in his briefcase. What followed is the only unsolved air piracy case in commercial aviation history."The Skyjackers Ghost" dissects the legend of D.B. Cooper, the polite criminal who ransomed a plane for $200,000, demanded four parachutes, and then jumped into the freezing rain over the Washington wilderness, never to be seen again. Was he a genius daredevil who escaped to a tropical island, or a desperate amateur who died on impact in the dense forest?This book explores the thousands of FBI files, the discovery of rotting cash on a riverbank years later, and the fascinating lineup of suspectsfrom special forces veterans to transgender mechanics. It goes beyond the facts to examine why Cooper became an American folk hero, a symbol of anti-establishment rebellion who beat the system and vanished into thin air without hurting a soul.

In 1942, Polish soldiers escaping the Soviet Union via Iran bought a Syrian brown bear cub from a local boy for a few cans of food. They named him Wojtek. But Wojtek didnt stay a pet; he became a soldier. "The Bear Who Went to War" tells the heartwarming and hilarious true story of the only bear to be officially enlisted in a modern army, complete with a rank, serial number, and a paybook.Wojtek grew up drinking beer, smoking cigarettes (which he ate), and wrestling with the troops. But his finest hour came during the brutal Battle of Monte Cassino. Amidst heavy mortar fire, the bear was seen carrying heavy crates of artillery shells to the front lines, never dropping a single one. He became a symbol of hope and resilience for the Polish II Corps.This book follows Wojteks journey from the mountains of Iran to the bloody battles of Italy and finally to his retirement in Edinburgh Zoo. It is a story about the absurdity of war and the incredible bonds that form between humans and animals in the darkest of times.

It was weighed with gold and it changed the taste of world history. The Spice Monopoly documents the rise of simple plant substances to the most valuable trading goods on earth. We examine how the hunger for pepper, cinnamon, and cloves drove explorers across the oceans and created the first true world economy.It is the story of greed, adventure, and total control over global supply chains. Learn how the Portuguese and Dutch built empires through spice monopolies based on the aroma of distant islands. We analyze the effects of the spice trade on European cuisine, medicine, and the emergence of modern capitalism. This book shows that pepper was not just a spice, but a geopolitical lever that financed wars and toppled kingdoms. Look behind the scenes of the East India Companies and discover the forensics of wealth. A fascinating account of a time when a bag of nutmeg could buy an entire life.Understand the chemistry of power and how a scent redrew the world map. Pepper was the first currency of the globalized world.

As the clock ticked down to midnight on December 31, 1999, the world held its breath. Experts warned that airplanes would fall from the sky, nuclear power plants would melt down, and the global banking system would collapseall because early computer programmers had used two digits instead of four to represent the year. This was the Y2K bug, the first global panic of the digital age."The Bug That Cost Billions" revisits the hysteria and the massive engineering effort that took place behind the scenes. It tells the story of the army of retired COBOL programmers who were called back into service to patch billions of lines of code in legacy systems. It explores the survivalist movement that stocked up on canned food and ammo, convinced that civilization would end when the calendar flipped.Crucially, the book addresses the modern misconception that Y2K was a hoax because "nothing happened." It argues that nothing happened precisely because $300 billion was spent fixing it. It is a fascinating case study in prevention paradox: when you successfully prevent a disaster, everyone assumes the danger was never real.

"The 38 Minute War The history of the shortest conflict of all time" details the Anglo-Zanzibar War of August 27, 1896. When a new Sultan took power in Zanzibar without British permission, the Royal Navy issued an ultimatum. At 9:00 AM, the ultimatum expired.Historian Edward Stone chronicles the "war." Three British cruisers opened fire on the wooden palace. Within minutes, the Sultans artillery was destroyed, his yacht sunk, and 500 of his defenders killed or wounded. By 9:38 AM, the flag was lowered.This book is a tragicomedy of imperial power. It illustrates the overwhelming technological gap of the era and serves as a bizarre footnote in military history where a war started and finished before lunch.

"The Roach of the Sea How the poor mans protein became a luxury meal" tells the improbable rags-to-riches story of the lobster. In 17th-century America, lobsters were so abundant they washed up on beaches in piles. They were considered "sea cockroaches," fit only for fertilizer, prisoners, and indentured servants. There were even laws forbidding masters from feeding lobster to their servants more than three times a week because it was cruel.Food historian Emily Cook tracks the transformation. With the advent of canning and railways, lobster could be shipped to inlanders who didnt know its reputation. Chefs rebranded it with butter and status.This book is a case study in perceived value. It illustrates how marketing and scarcity can flip an object from garbage to gold, proving that taste is often more about culture than flavor.

Long before the EU, there was a network that dominated the North of Europewithout an army, only through contracts and ships. The Hanseatic Territory reveals the mechanics of a power based on trust and profit. We look behind the facades of the grand merchant houses and show the brutal reality of long-distance trade in the Middle Ages.It was a game of monopolies, pirates, and political intrigue. How did cities like Lubeck and Danzig manage to bring kings to their knees? This book is a search for traces in the archives and along the coasts of the Baltic Sea. We analyze the operating system of the first global marketplace and what we can still learn from these pioneers of capitalism today.A gripping account of a time when a merchants word weighed more than a knights sword. Discover how they managed to maintain a complex network of trade across diverse cultures and laws, and how their influence shaped the political map of Europe for centuries. Learn the secrets of their success and the reasons for their eventual decline. This is history as a high-stakes business thriller, proving that the most effective empire is the one you cant see on a map. Dive into the world of the Hanse and see the foundations of modern trade.

To my thinking, all modern English books on the Devil and his works are unsatisfactory. They all run in the same groove, give the same cases of witchcraft, and, moreover, not one of them is illustrated. I have endeavoured to remedy this by localizing my facts, and by reproducing all the engravings I could find suitable to my purpose.I have also tried to give a succinct account of demonology and witchcraft in England and America, by adducing authorities not usually given, and by a painstaking research into old cases, carefully taking everything from original sources, and bringing to light very many cases never before republished.For the benefit of students, I have givenas an Appendixa list of the books consulted in the preparation of this work, which, however, the student must remember is not an exhaustive bibliography on the subject, but only applies to this book, whose raison detre is its localization.The frontispiece is supposed to be the only specimen of Satanic caligraphy in existence, and is taken from the Introductio in Chaldaicam Linguam, etc., by Albonesi (Pavia, 1532).