Historical Non-Fiction (13-18)

Excerpt This compact, comprehensive, and generously illustrated history of ancient Greece takes us from the Stone Age roots of Greek civilization to the early Hellenistic period following the death of Alexander the Great. Designed for nonspecialist readers, it will be a welcome and needed resource for all who wish to learn about this important subject. Thomas Martin begins with a prehistory of late Stone Age activity that provides background for the conditions of later Greek life. He then describes the civilizations of the Minoans on the island of Crete and of their successors, the Mycenaeans, on the mainland; the Greek Dark Age and the Archaic Age; the Classical Age of Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.; the transformation of the kingdom of Macedonia into the greatest power in the Greek world; and the period after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., when monarchies emerging from Alexander's fragmented empire once again came to dominate Greek history. The narrative integrates political, military, social, and cultural history, with a focus on the development of the Greek city-state in the eighth to fourth centuries B.C. and on the society, literature, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age. The book, which includes useful timelines, maps, plans, and photographs, was adapted from and may be cross-referenced with the historical overview of Greece that is part of the multimedia interactive database Perseus: Interactive Sources and Studies on Ancient Greece, versions 1.0 and 2.0. The book extends the coverage of the Perseus overview, with its new sections on Greek prehistory, the Bronze and Dark Ages, and the Hellenistic period.

Almost thirty years ago, against the backdrop of the explosive Watergate scandal, Charles Colson revealed the story of his own search for meaning during the investigations that led to the collapse of the Nixon administration. A former special counsel to the President, Colson found new life not with success and power but, paradoxically, while in national disgrace and facing a term in prison.

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors. Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization: The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.