Ebooks de historia, página 6 de 30

A fitting tribute to the greatest county in England DAVID SWIFT, author of Scouse RepublicCotton, coal and canals. Trains, technology and television. Lancashire has shaped the modern world. Liverpool was once the worlds busiest port. Manchester powered the industrial revolution and became a symbol of global free trade. Blackpool invented the working-class seaside resort. All three are situated in the historic county of Lancashire: unique, often misunderstood, sometimes maligned and at the heart of our national story.In Lancashire, travel writer Chris Moss returns after an absence of four decades. As he visits familiar and unknown corners of his home county, he reaches beyond the cliches to trace lines from the deep past through to the present day.

"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.

Ancient civilizations achieved engineering feats that challenge modern understanding, constructing monuments whose precision and scale seem impossible given available technology. This exploration examines how societies without modern machinery built structures like Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, Inca stonework, and Gothic cathedrals, using archaeological evidence, experimental archaeology, and engineering analysis to reconstruct plausible construction methods.Through systematic investigation of tool marks, quarry sites, ramp remains, and structural analysis, discover the practical solutions ancient engineers developed. Examine how Egyptians moved multi-ton blocks using sledges, rollers, and coordinated labor rather than mythical lost technologies. Witness how Roman engineers calculated aqueduct gradients with remarkable precision using simple leveling instruments. Understand how Inca masons achieved earthquake-resistant masonry through empirical experimentation rather than theoretical knowledge.Archaeological evidenceabandoned quarries, unfinished monuments, construction debris, tool assemblagesprovides concrete information about techniques. Experimental archaeology, where researchers attempt reconstruction using period-appropriate methods, tests hypotheses about feasibility and labor requirements. Engineering analysis reveals how ancient builders understood structural principles through practice even without formal mathematical theory.Each case study examines specific monuments and their construction contexts. Understand how social organization enabled massive labor mobilization, how religious or political motivations justified enormous resource investment, how incremental technological improvements accumulated across generations, and how practical problem-solving rather than mysterious lost knowledge explains achievements that continue inspiring wonder.

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.

On a dry September night in 1666, a small fire started in Thomas Farriners bakery on Pudding Lane. Due to a strong wind and the hesitation of the Lord Mayor, who famously remarked a woman could "piss it out," the flames escaped. Four days later, 80% of medieval London was ash. "The City of Embers" is a minute-by-minute account of the Great Fire of London, a disaster that destroyed 13,200 houses and the iconic St. Pauls Cathedral.The book follows the terrified citizens fleeing to the Thames, the diarist Samuel Pepys burying his parmesan cheese to save it from the flames, and the King taking command when the city government failed. But the story doesnt end with the fire. It explores the monumental rebuilding effort led by Christopher Wren, which transformed London from a wooden deathtrap into a modern metropolis of stone and brick.This is a story of destruction and rebirth. It shows how the catastrophe wiped out the last traces of the Great Plague and paved the way for London to become the global capital of the future. It is history written in fire and stone.

Certain individuals achieved cultural influence that transcended their specific artistic or creative fields, becoming symbols of broader social transformations and shaping how entire generations expressed identity, challenged conventions, and imagined alternative possibilities. This exploration examines figures whose innovations in art, music, fashion, or performance catalyzed cultural shifts, using contemporary documentation, media coverage, and cultural reception to reconstruct how individual vision achieved mass influence.From Coco Chanels redefinition of womens fashion to Miles Daviss musical innovations, from Andy Warhols Pop Art challenge to high culture boundaries to David Bowies gender performance experimentation, discover how these figures positioned themselves at intersections of artistic innovation and social change. Examine the contexts that enabled their influencetechnological changes in media distribution, generational tensions seeking new forms of expression, economic shifts creating new consumer markets, political movements demanding cultural representation.Documentary evidenceinterviews, critical reviews, sales figures, censorship battles, fan correspondencereveals how contemporaries recognized these figures subversive potential while audiences embraced their challenges to established norms. Media coverage shows how controversy amplified visibility, transforming artistic innovation into cultural phenomenon.Each case study analyzes factors beyond individual talent that enabled cultural impact. Understand how timing intersected with vision, how commercial success paradoxically validated countercultural authenticity, how media representation shaped public persona, and how these icons became templates for subsequent cultural movements.

Historical figures transformed into cultural legends often bear little resemblance to their documented lives, as successive generations reshaped their stories to serve contemporary needs. This exploration examines how mythology obscures historical reality for figures like Robin Hood, William Tell, King Arthur, and others, using primary sources, archaeological evidence, and textual analysis to distinguish verifiable facts from accumulated legend.Through systematic comparison of earliest documentary references against later embellishments, discover how cultural needs shaped legendary narratives. Examine how medieval chroniclers transformed possible historical figures into moral exemplars, how nationalist movements appropriated legends for political legitimacy, how romantic literature added layers of fiction that subsequent generations accepted as fact, how modern media further distorted already mythologized figures.Documentary evidencecontemporary chronicles, legal records, property documents, archaeological findingsprovides baseline information about historical contexts in which legendary figures may have existed. Textual analysis traces how stories evolved across manuscript traditions, revealing additions, omissions, and transformations that reflect changing cultural values rather than historical discovery.Each case study analyzes specific mechanisms of myth-making. Understand how oral tradition altered details through transmission, how political agendas shaped written records, how gaps in evidence invited imaginative speculation, how popular demand for heroic narratives overwhelmed scholarly caution, and why separating historical kernel from legendary accretion remains methodologically challenging yet intellectually necessary.

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.

On the afternoon of April 14, 1935, a wall of black earth, three miles high and hundreds of miles wide, swept across the Great Plains, turning day into instant midnight. They called it "Black Sunday," the terrifying apex of a catastrophe that defined a decade. But the Dust Bowl was not a natural disaster; it was a man-made apocalypse. "The Black Sunday" exposes the combination of agricultural hubris, economic greed, and climatic ignorance that led farmers to strip the protective buffalo grass from millions of acres of prairie, leaving the soil vulnerable to the relentless winds.This book chronicles the harrowing decade of the "dirty thirties," describing the "dust pneumonia" that filled childrens lungs, the static electricity that shorted out cars, and the plagues of jackrabbits and locusts that followed the dust. It follows the desperate exodus of the "Okies," families forced to flee their buried homesteads for a California that did not want them.Through gripping eyewitness accounts and meteorological analysis, James Caldwell paints a vivid picture of what happens when humanity breaks the biological skin of the earth, offering a stark historical warning for our modern environmental challenges. It is a story of resilience in the face of a sky turned black.

The decipherment of ancient writing systems represents intellectual breakthroughs that transformed archaeological finds into historical testimony, giving voice to civilizations silent for millennia. This exploration examines major decipherment achievementsfrom Egyptian hieroglyphs to Linear B, from Maya glyphs to cuneiformusing scholarly correspondence, breakthrough discoveries, and methodological analyses to reconstruct how patient research unlocked languages no living person could read.Through the Rosetta Stones trilingual key, Jean-François Champollion cracked Egyptian hieroglyphs after decades of false starts by predecessors. Michael Ventris revealed Linear B as Greek centuries before scholars expected alphabetic writing in the Aegean. Yuri Knorozov demonstrated Maya glyphs were phonetic despite entrenched scholarly resistance. Henry Rawlinsons copying of the Behistun inscription enabled cuneiform decipherment that opened Mesopotamian history.Documentary evidencedecipherment notebooks, scholarly debates, incremental publications, verification processesreveals the painstaking detective work behind breakthroughs often misrepresented as sudden inspiration. Each decipherment required identifying script types, finding bilingual texts, recognizing phonetic versus logographic elements, and systematic testing of hypotheses against expanding textual corpora.Each case study examines specific challenges and breakthrough methodologies. Understand how different script types demanded different approaches, how scholarly preconceptions hindered progress, how collaboration and competition both accelerated research, and how decipherment transformed static archaeological artifacts into dynamic historical sources that continue yielding new insights as scholars refine translation techniques.

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.

First published in 1923, The Prophet is a timeless masterpiece of spiritual and philosophical literature. This internationally beloved classic follows Almustafa, a wise prophet who, after living for twelve years in the city of Orphalese, prepares to return to his homeland. Before he departs, the townspeople gather to seek his guidance on lifes most meaningful questions.In a series of poetic and deeply moving discourses, Almustafa speaks on love, marriage, children, work, freedom, joy, sorrow, and deathoffering insights that are both simple and profound. Written in lyrical prose, Gibrans words blend spirituality, philosophy, and emotional truth in a way that resonates across cultures and generations.Celebrated for its universal themes and elegant language, The Prophet remains one of the best-selling and most translated books of all time. A book to be cherished, gifted, and revisited, it continues to inspire readers seeking wisdom, comfort, and a deeper understanding of life.

The Falklands War: Britains Unexpected Battle for a Remote Island ChainWhy did two countries end up fighting over a group of islands barely anyone had heard of?In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, kicking off a short but intense war with Britain that caught the world off guard. On the surface, it looked like a small territorial dispute, but behind it were years of colonial history, clashing national identities, and rising political pressure on both sides.This book looks closely at how it all happened: what led to the invasion, how Britain responded so quickly, and why the Falklands became such a symbolic flashpoint for both nations. Its a detailed, balanced look at a war that wasnt supposed to happen, and how it changed the people and countries involved. Inside, youll learn about: The long and complicated backstory of who really "owned" the Falklands. What pushed Argentinas military leaders to launch an attack? How the British response helped shape the countrys modern identity. What the islanders themselves thought, and why their voices mattered. The political and military fallout that lasted long after the shooting stopped. And much, much more! This isnt just a timeline of events, its a deeper look at what the war meant and why it still matters today.Click Add to Cart now to explore one of the most unexpected and revealing conflicts of the late 20th century.

A partir de um luto inominável, a ficcionista Yiyun Li compõe um livro de memórias sublime, nem trágico, nem elegíaco: transformador.FINALISTA: National Book Award | Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excelle

The Art of War (Dellarte della guerra), is one of the lesser-read works of Florentine statesman and political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli.The format of The Art of War was in socratic dialogue. The purpose, declared by Fabrizio (Machiavellis persona) at the outset, "To honor and reward virtu, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good." To these ends, Machiavelli notes in his preface, the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents.Written between 1519 and 1520 and published the following year, it was the only historical or political work printed during Machiavellis lifetime, though he was appointed official historian of Florence in 1520 and entrusted with minor civil duties.Many, Lorenzo, have held and still hold the opinion, that there is nothing which has less in common with another, and that is so dissimilar, as civilian life is from the military. Whence it is often observed, if anyone designs to avail himself of an enlistment in the army..

For nearly four centuries, the transatlantic slave trade and plantation slavery created a system of racialized bondage that commodified human beings, generated immense wealth for European and American economies, and inflicted incalculable suffering on millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants. This history examines slaverys brutal mechanisms, the resistance enslaved people mounted against their bondage, and the protracted struggles that ultimately achieved legal abolition.Drawing on slave narratives, plantation records, legislative debates, abolitionist publications, and court documents, the narrative traces slaverys evolution from Portuguese Atlantic expeditions through Caribbean sugar economies, North American cotton kingdoms, and Brazilian coffee plantations. The Middle Passage transported approximately twelve million Africans across the Atlantic under horrific conditions. Survivors faced forced labor, family separation, violence, and legal status as property without human rights.The book explores slaverys economic foundations and ideological justifications. Plantation agriculture generated profits sustaining European industrialization and American expansion. Pseudo-scientific racism provided moral rationalization for exploitation. Legal codes denied enslaved people basic protections while criminalizing resistance. Yet enslaved communities maintained cultural traditions, created kinship networks, and preserved dignity despite systematic dehumanization.

Resistance to Nazi occupation took countless forms beyond armed combatfrom forging documents to hiding refugees, from sabotaging production to circulating forbidden newspapers. This exploration examines how ordinary people organized clandestine networks under conditions of constant surveillance and lethal reprisal, using resistance archives, Gestapo records, and survivor testimony to reconstruct the organizational structures and daily operations that sustained underground movements across occupied Europe.From French maquis to Polish Home Army, from Dutch rescue networks to Norwegian civil disobedience, discover how disparate groups coordinated actions despite communication difficulties and penetration risks. Examine the ethical dilemmas resistance members facedweighing individual survival against collective action, balancing sabotage effectiveness against reprisal consequences, negotiating cooperation between ideologically opposed factions united only by opposition to occupation.Documentary evidencecoded messages, forged papers, underground newspapers, post-liberation interrogationsreveals operational methods and security procedures developed through trial and fatal error. Survivor accounts provide testimony to the psychological burden of maintaining double lives, the constant fear of betrayal, and the bonds formed under shared danger.Each chapter explores specific networks and their contexts, analyzing factors that determined success or failure. Understand how geography influenced resistance tactics, how pre-war social networks became organizational foundations, how class and political divisions complicated unity, and how Allied support both enabled and constrained underground operations.

Dynasties that once commanded absolute authority over vast territories have been erased from historical consciousness, their palaces excavated as archaeological puzzles rather than remembered as centers of power. This exploration traces royal lineages that shaped regions for generations before conquest, succession crises, or gradual decline ended their rule and consigned them to scholarly footnotes.Through documentary evidence and archaeological remains, discover how the Ghaznavid sultans built an empire spanning Persia to India before fragmenting into warring factions. Follow the Zagwe dynasty of Ethiopia, whose rock-hewn churches survive while their political achievements remain obscure. Witness the Ayyubid familys transformation from Saladins prestige to rapid dissolution across multiple successor states. Understand how the Ghurid rulers controlled Central Asian trade routes before vanishing so completely that historians debate their ethnic origins.Each dynasty reveals patterns in royal powers fragilitysuccession disputes that fractured kingdoms, military defeats that shattered legitimacy, cultural assimilation that dissolved distinct identities, geographic isolation that prevented recovery. Court chronicles and administrative documents show how these families perceived their permanence, while material evidence marks the physical traces of their authority.These were not minor players during their erathey commanded armies, administered justice, patronized culture, and shaped the political landscape. Their disappearance demonstrates that historical memory depends on factors beyond contemporary significance.

Naval warfare determined which empires controlled global trade, colonial expansion, and strategic waterways. This exploration examines decisive sea battles that transformed political landscapes, using ships logs, battle reports, and underwater archaeology to reconstruct encounters where tactical brilliance, technological superiority, or strategic positioning decided the fate of nations.From the Battle of Lepantos clash between Christian and Ottoman fleets to Trafalgars confirmation of British naval supremacy, from the Spanish Armadas catastrophic defeat to Tsushimas demonstration of modern naval power, discover how these engagements reshaped maritime dominance. Examine the tactical innovationsline-ahead formations, broadside gunnery, steam propulsion, ironclad armorthat revolutionized naval combat across four centuries.Documentary evidence reveals commanders decisions under pressure, logistical challenges of maintaining fleets far from home ports, and diplomatic consequences that rippled from battle outcomes. Archaeological investigations of wrecks provide material testimony to ship construction, armament capabilities, and the violent reality of naval combat that official reports sanitized.Each battle analysis considers strategic context, technological factors, leadership decisions, and weather conditions that influenced outcomes. Understand how control of sea lanes enabled colonial empires, how naval power projection enforced trade monopolies, and how maritime defeats triggered political realignments that lasted generations.