From crusades to world wars, from ancient monuments to bloody revolutions, here is a fascinating tour of the historical events that have helped shape the world today. How did the ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid? How did Alexander the Great conquer so much of the world? How did the Vikings accidentally discover North America? Who led the "reign of terror" in the French revolution? Who stormed the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg? Who was Lawrence of Arabia? When was communism born? When did Montezuma rule? When was the Normandy invasion? With perspective, scope, and clarity to great events in history, this book answers these questions and many, many more. Great Events that Changed the World shows children the history of our amazing world in easy-to-follow panoramic tableaux and maps. Filled with superbly detailed artwork and exciting text, this is a valuable and enjoyable source book for the entire family.
Join the editors of TIME in a fast-paced journey through the adventures of man on Planet Earth in this richly illustrated volume, which explores history's most important turning points. Here are the great religions: Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Here are the great empires, from the vanished civilization of the Minoans on Crete to the glories of Classical Greece and Rome to the mysterious collapse of the Maya culture in Mexico. Here are the visionary scientists who altered our view of nature's laws: Newton and Darwin, Copernicus and Einstein. Here are the great conquerors,including Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and Napoleon. And here are the great clashes between cultures, as Christian knights besiege Muslim citadels in the Crusades, a handful of Spanish conquistadors topple the empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and Japan attacks the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. The book is arranged chronologically, rapidly accelerating in pace as it reports the development of the technologies that define the modern world, from the coming of the railroad and the telegraph to the advent of photography, the cinema and television and culminating in the invention of the transistor and the boot-up of the World Wide Web. And it offers fresh perspectives on cultures too often overlooked, from the Golden Age of Islam to the voyages of Viking mariners to China's renascence under the Ming dynasty. Presented in a special oversized format, this beautifully illustrated volume also offers a sweeping panorama of man's greatest artistic achievements, from the cave paintings of Lascaux to marvelous medieval maps and on to the great paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance. As an illuminating guide to mankind's triumphs and sorrows, and as a gallery of human culture, science, art and architecture, it offers a dazzling and provocative encounter with the great turning points of history.
The currents of History run deep and often unseen beneath the everyday ripple of events. But now and again the current rises to the surface, and the events of a single day shed an exceptional light on the meaning of the past. Such events are the subject of Days that Changed the World. Some of the 50 days described here mark the end of an era; others the start of something new. Many are the dates of bloody battles or murders; others of momentous decisions or breathtaking discoveries. All are remembered as powerful symbols of their time. Our story begins almost 2500 years ago on 28 September 480 before the Christian Era, when the Athenian navy destroyed the Persian invasion fleet in the Bay of Salamis. Had the Persians won we might never have heard the names of Plato, Aristotle or Alexander, nor recognize the word democracy. Charting 50 such defining moments, concluding with 11 September 2001 and the destruction of New York's Twin Towers, Days that Changed the World is a unique and fascinating way to portray the story of world history. These 50 history-making days include: The Battle of the Salamis; The Assassination of Julius Caesar; The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ; The Dedication of Constantinople; The Death of Muhammad; The Coronation of Charlemagne; The Death of Genghis Khan; The Fall of Constantinople; The Defeat of the Spanish Armada; The Defenestration of Prague; The Fall of the Bastille; The Battle of Waterloo; Parliament Passing the Emancipation Act; The Battle of Sedan; The Boxer Rebellion; The First Day of the Somme; The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor; The Bombing of Hiroshima; Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream'; The Breaching of the Berlin Wall; Nelson Mandela's Release from Prison; Nine Eleven.
WINNER OF THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 1919 was a world-shaking year. America was recovering from World War I and black soldiers returned to racism so violent that that summer would become known as the Red Summer. The suffrage movement had a long-fought win when women gained the right to vote. Laborers took to the streets to protest working conditions; nationalistic fervor led to a communism scare; and temperance gained such traction that prohibition went into effect. Each of these movements reached a tipping point that year. Now, one hundred years later, these same social issues are more relevant than ever. Sandler traces the momentum and setbacks of these movements through this last century, showing that progress isn't always a straight line and offering a unique lens through which we can understand history and the change many still seek.
This book is the second part of a comprehensive academic and research project initiated by H.E. Prof. Jamal Sanad Al-Suwaidi. In the first part of the project, Eternal Imprints: Figures That Made History and Others That Changed the Future of Their Countries, first published in 2016, he wrote about personalities who achieved great accomplishments to influence their countries and the world. The second part of the project looks at historical events that triggered major shifts, both positive and negative, and changed the history of regions and countries, or humanity itself. In Events That Changed History, the author revisits events that made history from the perspective that history will never repeat itself. However, its events may share similarities. Therefore, a retrospective narrative of the past is in fact an attempt to better understand the present, and not a tendency to ponder on and seek refuge in the past. The book examines twenty issues and events relevant to different periods of history, which fall within categories such as politics, the military, the economy and technology. Some of these events took place in the Arab region and others outside it. Not content with analyzing events of the distant past, the author also covers a wide range of events from recent times, including the establishment of the UAE Federation in December 1971, the October War of 1973, the building of Aswan High Dam in 1970 and the attacks of September 11, 2001. The book also reviews historical events in which the past, present and future interplay. These events are closely linked to the sweeping changes the contemporary world is witnessing, which have implications for the future. This book is an invitation from an intellectual who is concerned with issues relevant to both his homeland and world; an invitation to comprehensively, and not selectively, re-read both our history and that of the world from an open and enlightened perspective, in order to narrate historical events the way they happened. It is our responsibility to help the new generation understand the past and present, and not to be an accomplice in deceiving and confusing them, which is a heinous historical crime that distorts awareness and poisons the mind.
From the launching of America's first newspaper to YouTube's latest phone-videoed crime, the media has always been guilty of indulging America's obsession with controversy. This encyclopedia covers 100 events in world history from the 17th century to the present—moments that alone were major and minor, but ones that exploded in the public eye when the media stepped in. Topics covered include yellow journalism, the War of the Worlds radio broadcast, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, JFK's assassination, the Pentagon papers, and Hurricane Katrina. These are events that changed the way the media is used—not just as a tool for spreading knowledge, but as a way of shaping and influencing the opinions and reactions of America's citizens. Thanks to the media's representations of these events, history has been changed forever. From classified military plans that leaked out to the public to the first televised presidential debates to the current military tortures caught on tape, 100 Media Moments That Changed America will demonstrate not only an ever-evolving system of news reporting, but also the ways in which historical events have ignited the media to mold news in a way that resonates with America's public. This must-have reference work is ideal for journalism and history majors, as well as for interested general readers. Chapters are in chronological order, beginning with the 17th century. Each chapter starts with a brief introduction, followed by media event entries from that decade. Each entry explains the moment, and then delivers specific details regarding how the media covered the event, America's response to the coverage, and how the media changed history.
From Buddha and Muhammad to King and Mandela, from the discovery of fire to the invention of the World Wide Web, and from Romeo and Juliet to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, this is a thorough and thoroughly entertaining compendium of important people and events.