history

Traces the history of World War I, focusing on how and why it became one of the bloodiest wars in human history and exploring how anti-war protestors were treated both in America and abroad.

Looks at physics and the history of its study.

"This . . . [book] reviews the central events, machines, and people that feature in established accounts of the history of computing, critically examining received perceptions and providing a . . . look at the nature and development of the modern electronic computer"--Amazon.

"Tells the story of two unapologetically Black ballerinas, their friendship, and how they changed each other--and the dance world--forever. Misty Copeland shares her own struggles with racism and exclusion in her pursuit of this dream career and honors the women like Raven Wilkinson who paved the way for her but whose contributions have gone unheralded. She celebrates the connection she made with Raven, the only teacher who could truly understand the obstacles she faced, beyond the technical or artistic demands"--Provided by publisher.

". . . [A] recounting of Alexander Von Humboldt's five year expedition in South America . . . complete with excerpts from Humboldt's own diaries, atlases, and publications . . ."--Publisher provided.

"Illustrates the little-known story of pinball--how it works and why it all matters in an age of special effects and on-screen gaming"--Provided by publisher.

"A sweeping look at how the major transformations in history-from the rise of Homo sapiens to the birth of capitalism-have been shaped not by humans but by germs. According to the accepted narrative of progress, humans have thrived thanks to their brains and brawn, collectively bending the arc of history. But in this revelatory book, professor Jonathan Kennedy argues that the myth of human exceptionalism overstates the role that we play in social and political change. Instead, it is the humble microbe that wins wars and topples empires. Drawing on the latest research in fields ranging from genetics and anthropology to archaeology and economics, Pathogenesis takes us through 60,000 years of history, exploring eight major outbreaks of infectious disease that have made the modern world. Bacteria and viruses were protagonists in the demise of the Neanderthals, the growth of Islam, the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the devastation wrought by European colonialism, and the evolution of the United States from an imperial backwater to a global superpower"--Provided by publisher.

"Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces today. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, and natural disasters escalate, our current environmental crisis feels difficult to predict and understand. But climate change and its effects on us are not new. In a bold narrative that spans centuries and continents, [the author] argues that nature has always played a fundamental role in the writing of history. From the fall of the Moche civilization in South America that came about because of the cyclical pressures of El Ni?o to volcanic eruptions in Iceland that affected Egypt and helped bring the Ottoman empire to its knees, climate change and its influences have always been with us"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses the history of how humanity's invention of currency has shaped societies for thousands of years.

"Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France, to East Africa to South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions while offering the reader a new narrative of this lost Islamic history. ... The history of Islam and of the world's Muslims brings together diverse peoples, geographies, and states, all interwoven into one narrative that begins with Muhammad and continues to this day."--Back cover.