Presents a comprehensive historical narrative that describes how and why ancient civilizations such as the Anasazi, Maya, and the Polynesian culture on Easter Island failed and fell into ruin and examines how lessons learned from the past can help in preserving the future.

The author of Armchair Nation and On Roads examines shyness in a"sparkling cultural history rang[ing]from Jane Austen to Silicon Valley" ( The Guardian ). Shyness is a pervasive human trait: even most extroverts know what it is like to stand tongue-tied at the fringe of an unfamiliar group or flush with embarrassment at being the unwelcome center of attention. And yet the cultural history of shyness has remained largely unwritten -- until now. With...

Did you know that Winston Churchill narrowly avoided assassination in the Second World War? Or that Prince Albert helped Britain avoid war with the United States in the nineteenth century from his deathbed? In this riveting read, James Moore and Paul Nero reveal fifty of history's most dramatic narrow escapes. From wars that were averted to invasions, revolutions and apocalyptic scenarios that we avoided by the skin of our teeth, History's Narrowest...

This is a novel about the friendship between an adolescent, pre-movie-star Louise Brooks, and the thirty-six-year-old woman who chaperones her to New York City for a summer, in 1922, and how it changes both their lives.

Cutting through the myths about the white trade, this is the story of cocaine as it's never been told before. Cocaine is big business and getting bigger. Governments spend millions on a losing war against it, yet it's still the drug of choice in the West. In Cocaine Nation, Tom Feiling travels the trade routes from Colombia via Miami, Kingston, and Tijuana to London and New York. Cutting through the myths about the white trade, this is the story...

Upon its initial publication, Ray Raphael's magisterial A People's History of the American Revolution was hailed by NPR's Fresh Air as "relentlessly aggressive and unsentimental." With impeccable skill, Raphael presented a wide array of fascinating scholarship within a single volume, employing a bottom-up approach that has served as a revelation. A People's History of the American Revolution draws upon diaries, personal letters, and other Revolutionary-era...

The rich history of British nursing comes to life in this lighthearted volume exploring the traditions and experiences of nurses across the 20th century. Nursing in the United Kingdom has been steeped in tradition since the Nurses Registration Act of 1919. Many of the customs and methods practiced today have been passed down through the generations. Rituals & Myths of Nursing collects amusing and poignant reminiscences of nursing through the 20th...

"The acclaimed food critic's two-thousand-year history of going out to eat, from the ancient Romans in Pompeii to the luxurious Michelin-starred restaurants of today. Starting with the surprisingly sophisticated dining scene in the city of Pompeii, William Sitwell embarks on a romp through culinary history, meeting the characters and discovering the events that shape the way we eat today. The Daily Telegraph restaurant critic and famously acerbic...

"Are we doomed? Is an almighty power or an earth-shattering meteor waiting for us just around the corner?In this thought-provoking book, Professor Adam Roberts explores our many different cultural visions of the end of the world - likely and unlikely, mundane and bizarre - and what they say about how we see ourselves and our societies. What is it is that we are really afraid of? An uncaring universe; an uncontrollable environment; the human capacity...

From intimate relationships to global politics, Sarah Schulman observes a continuum: that inflated accusations of harm are used to avoid accountability. Illuminating the difference between Conflict and Abuse, Schulman directly addresses our contemporary culture of scapegoating. This deep, brave, and bold work reveals how punishment replaces personal and collective self-criticism, and shows why difference is so often used to justify cruelty and shunning....