Frank McDonough

A revolutionary new history that reveals how climate change has dramatically shaped the development—and demise—of civilizations across time...

From the master storyteller and internationally bestselling author - the story of humanity from prehistory to the present day, told through the one thing all humans have in common: family. We begin with the footsteps of a family walking along a beach 950,000 years ago. From here, Montefiore takes us on an exhilarating epic journey through the families that have shaped our world: the Caesars, Medicis and Incas, Ottomans and Mughals, Bonapartes, Habsburgs and Zulus, Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Krupps, Churchills, Kennedys, Castros, Nehrus, Pahlavis and Kenyattas, Saudis, Kims and Assads. A rich cast of complex characters form the beating heart of the story. Some are well-known leaders, from Alexander the Great, Attila, Ivan the Terrible and Genghis Khan to Hitler, Thatcher, Obama, Putin and Zelensky. Some are creative, from Socrates, Michelangelo and Shakespeare to Newton, Mozart, Balzac, Freud, Bowie and Tim Berners-Lee. Others are lesser-known: Hongwu, who began life as a beggar and founded the Ming dynasty; Kamehameha, conqueror of Hawaii; Zenobia, Arab empress who defied Rome; King Henry of Haiti; Lady Murasaki, first female novelist; Sayyida al-Hurra, Moroccan pirate-queen. Here are not just conquerors and queens but prophets, charlatans, actors, gangsters, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, lovers, wives, husbands and children. This is world history on the most grand and intimate scale - spanning centuries, continents and cultures, and linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the centre of the human drama. As spellbinding as fiction, The World captures the story of humankind in all its joy, sorrow, romance, ingenuity and cruelty in a ground-breaking, single narrative that will forever shift the boundaries of what history can achieve.

Explore the mechanics of revolution with William Sheridan Allen's classic analysis on the Nazi Party's subversion of democracy. Beginning at the end of the Weimar Republic, Allen examines the entire period of the Nazi Revolution within a single locality. Through legal records and interviews with primary sources, Allen dissects the transformation of Northeim, Germany from a sleepy town to a Nazi stronghold. Revised to include newly discovered Nazi documents, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of how Hitler rose to power through democratic tactics that incited localized support.

Explore Ireland's fascination with death and the role it plays in their cultural identity through the haunted and grim sites that form their history. Follow author Gillian O'Brien as she delves into the macabre rituals and stories that have helped shape Ireland's obsession with the moribund, from war to revolution, famine to emigration, and finally death and ghosts. Discover the undiscovered stories behind these sites and gain a new perspective on Ireland's past.

Explore the enduring mystery surrounding Hitler's death with expert Luke Daly-Groves. Did the Führer shoot himself or cunningly slip past the Soviets to live in South America? Daly-Groves delves deep into the evidence and scrutinizes the most recent arguments of conspiracy theorists, using scientific methods. This impeccably researched book analyzes MI5 files, unpublished sketches of Hitler's bunker, and personal accounts of intelligence officers to present the full, captivating story of Hitler's death.

El corazón que ha movido la historia del mundo, nos dice Peter Frankopan, investigador de la Universidad de Oxford, se encuentra en las tierras de Eurasia que recorrían las rutas de la seda. Allí surgieron los grandes imperios de la antigüedad y las grandes religiones de alcance universal. Allí se han desarrollado las mayores batallas de la historia, desde las conquistas de Alejandro a las dos Guerras Mundiales, pasando por las Cruzadas. Allí se libra también, desde hace más de cien años, la gran guerra por el petróleo que desangra a Oriente Próximo. Dominar este corazón del mundo era el sueño que perseguía Hitler y el que ha enfrentado, desde la guerra de Crimea hasta la actualidad, a Rusia con sus rivales. En un libro original y provocador, basado en una extraordinaria erudición, Peter Frankopan nos propone una nueva visión de la historia, nos descubre relaciones insospechadas entre los hechos del pasado y nos estimula a ver con una mirada distinta los acontecimientos del presente.