This highly readable survey traces the history of printing with movable type from its 15th-century beginnings in Gutenberg's workshop to the technical advances of the 20th century. Observations on type design, book production, bestsellers, censorship, and other topics explore associations between printing and education, language, and literature. S. H. Steinberg's classic study begins with the creative century, from 1450 to 1550, which witnessed the...

Diasporas comprise an inescapable part of the human experience and few are more interesting and diverse than African diasporas. By providing a panoramic view across time and geographical space this collection of essays illustrates the inherent variability of African, European and Asian diasporic formation. Even when such communities share a common origin, diasporas behave like living organisms that respond sensitively to specific geographical locations...

The fascinating story of how seven elements- iron, carbon, gold, silver, uranium, titanium, and silicon- have changed modern life, for good and ill. With carbon, we access heat, light and mobility at the flick of a switch, while silicon enables us to communicate across the globe in an instant. Yet our use of the Earth's mineral resources is not always for the benefit of humankind-our relationship with the elements is one of great ambivalence. Uranium...

La conquista de la actualidad no se expresa a través de grandes titulares sino en el desarrollo paciente y hasta azaroso de algunas ideas, que, lejos de toda celebridad, suelen reconocer como artífices a modestos y abnegados desconocidos. En esta historia laberíntica y casi secreta, Steven Johnson dirige su lupa hacia seis tópicos, El Vidrio, El Frío, El Sonido, La Limpieza, El Tiempo, La Luz, y analiza de qué modo fueron tratados a lo largo...

Eminent historian Paul Strathern opens the story of Empire with the Akkadian civilization, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our Western and Eastern roots. Next the narrative describes how a great deal of Western Classical culture was developed in the Abbasid and Umayyid Caliphates. Then, while Europe was beginning to emerge from a period of cultural stagnation,...

The Ukraine-Russia War Of 2022 started when Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022 in a "Special Military Operation" with a large force of over 150,000 troops. The surprising way the war progressed over the next four months was not unlike that of a mystery novel. Many mysteries and myths were perpetrated.Why did Russia choose to invade Ukraine at this time? Why did NATO and EU choose not to intervene militarily and send troops? Why did they choose...

Esta Historia Universal es una síntesis que ofrece al lector los acontecimientos más señalados de la Humanidad de una forma ágil, directa y bien documentada. Le acerca, además, a los últimos resultados de la investigación en los temas cruciales de la Historia. No solamente se atiende al innegable protagonismo europeo, sino también a los principales hitos históricos de los espacios americano y asiático, que tanta trascendencia han adquirido...

A lively history of the universe and human civilization, this authoritative volume tells the story of the cosmos, the stars, and human development on earth. The Little Book of Big History is an endeavor to encapsulate the entire story of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to the current day, into an engaging and comprehensive narrative. Combining methods from history, astronomy, physics, and biology to draw together the big story arcs of how the universe...

"The decline of the West, which at first sight may appear, like the corresponding decline of the Classical Culture, a phenomenon limited in time and space, we now perceive to be a philosophical problem that, when comprehended in all its gravity, includes within itself every great question of Being. "If therefore we are to discover in what form the destiny of the Western Culture will be accomplished, we must first be clear as to what culture is, what...

Ciudades milenarias, lugares de poder, objetos imposibles, tumbas, momias, reliquias sagradas, civilizaciones perdidas... Descubra los hallazgos arqueológicos que afianzan nuestra convicción de que el pasado de la humanidad esconde asombrosos secretos. Un viaje por el conocimiento hermético de la antigüedad, desde el génesis de nuestra especie, pasando por las primeras ciudades-estado, los constructores de megalitos, las pirámides egipcias,...