Platt, Richard

Examines the world of pirates, from the bloodthirsty Viking raiders to the cutthroat buccaneers of the Spanish Main.

Provides the history of espionage.

Uses the perspective of tiny people traveling through a man's body to present its various systems and organs and how they work.

Traces the history of disease and pestilence from the perspective of the bugs and pests that cause them, featuring case studies, illustrations, diagrams, and more.

Examines how the people of ancient Rome designed and used technology, covering concrete, arches, waterwheels, calendars, roads, sewers, heating, domes, and other topics.

Looks at how knowledge and inventions were discovered and how they spread to other parts of the world from Europe during the Renaissance, 1485 to 1714, discussing firearms, clocks, navigation, oil paint, arithmetic, distilled alcohol, and other topics.

Examines how the people of ancient Greece designed and used technology, covering money, pulleys, screw thread, city planning, mining, and other topics.

Examines how the people of ancient Egypt designed and used technology, covering pyramids, sailing ships, paper and ink, embalming, irrigation, measurement, and other topics.

In ancient Egypt, Nakht records his experiences as his family moves from the small town of Esna to the big, exciting city of Memphis, where he studies to be a scribe like his father and helps discover who has been robbing graves. Includes information on ancient Egyptian society and religious practices.

A collection of color illustrations that provide detailed, cross-section views of a variety of buildings, vehicles, cities, bridges, natural wonders, the human body, a castle, a man-of-war, and a range of everyday items such as soap and aluminum foil.