history

Chronicles society's fascination with gold from ancient times through the twenty-first century.

Provides an overview of the era in which Jane Austen lived, including descriptions of the fashions, foreign affairs, social rank, transportation, candle etiquette, sanitation practices, and other related topics and explaining how they were reflected in Austen's novels.

Tells the story of the devastating fire that leveled London in 1666, based on firsthand accounts of people who survived the blaze, discusses the reasons why many Londoners believed the fire was a judgment from God, and speculates about the origins of the conflagration.

Chronicles the history of theatre from antiquity to the present, profiling popular playwrights and their works, actors and actresses, and critics and theorists from all corners of the globe.

Chronicles the perilous 1937 expedition of Brad Washburn and Bob Bates to the top of Mount Lucania in Canada's Yukon Territory, describing their struggle to survive stranded for over a month amid unusual and threatening weather conditions, with limited supplies.

Tells the story of Glenn Hammond Curtiss and his quest to construct a reliable and stable airplane, discussing his collaboration with engineers around the world, and the opposition he received from Orville and Wilbur Wright who sued in an attempt to keep Curtiss out of the market.

A history of American manners from the Revolutionary War to the twenty-first century, looking at both the good and the bad that have come out of the discarding of imperialism, and arguing that the diversity of cultures in the U.S. puts the country in a unique position for creating a standard of etiquette for the entire world.

Discusses the history of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, including its construction, the plays that were performed there, its financial aspects, and the reconstruction in 1995.

David Hockney makes a visual presentation of his theory that many Western artists of the past, dating from the early fifteenth century, used mirrors and lenses to create living projections which were then used to produce drawings and paintings. Includes a collection of extracts from documents used in Hockney's research, as well as related notes, essays, and letters.

A history of drug-taking, telling the story of five centuries of addicts and users, from monarchs to school children, and arguing that prohibition has turned illicit medicines into the world's most lucrative black market.