First Civilization

Something ancient has been unearthed on Mars… and it’s hungry. In 2052, a squad of Marines from the Earth Military Federation is dispatched to investigate a terraforming colony that has gone mysteriously silent. What they discover is a nightmare: the entire outpost has been brutally slaughtered after unearthing a massive alien structure buried beneath the Martian surface. As the unit delves deeper into the station, they uncover horrifying evidence of what caused the massacre—and realize too late that the true threat is still alive. Now, trapped in the dark corridors of the colony, the...

Orphaned and six and sent to an orphanage, Jericho Rolland discovers an interstellar sim when he’s eight. Soon realizing actual trading like this will be the focus of his life. He applies his massive intellect and drive toward preparing himself for that goal. Knowing he can go to space at twelve, Jericho starts setting things up six months before his birthday. The only resistance he runs into is with the interstellar bank. The bank officials really don’t know who they are tangling with, but they find out much to their regret. At Twelve, when many of his almost always brilliant ancestors...

The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem! WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL Over 1 million copies sold in North America “A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The Wall Street Journal “Fascinating.”—TIME ...

New York Times Bestseller | Wall Street Journal Bestseller | Publishers Weekly Bestseller | Publishers Marketplace 2020 Buzz Book | Amazon Best Book of the Year | Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award “Provocative and thrilling ... Loeb asks us...

They crossed the stars to build a new home. But by the time they arrived, humanity was already a ghost. After the harrowing journey of the Aurora across centuries and light-years, Captain Morrow and her mismatched crew hoped to find an untouched world ripe for hope and rebuilding. Instead, they awaken to a silent planet—its cities shattered, its stations derelict, and the only survivor a centuries-old, half-human being whose memories might be as dangerous as they are vital. Determined to understand their fate and claim a place in this impossible future, Morrow’s crew must navigate the ...

This program is read by Rosalind Chao, who stars as Ye Wenjie in the Netflix adaptation, 3 Body Problem. WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL Over 1 million copies sold in North America “A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The...

In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold, and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens took on the Great King of Persia, and thereby saved not only themselves, but Western civilization as well, is as heart-stopping and fateful as any episode in history.

From the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the...

For fans of the Halo games and readers of military science-fiction and alien-culture sagas, Halo: Broken Circle dives deep into Forerunner technology, elite honor codes, and the secret dawn of one of the Halo universe’s greatest conflicts. Centuries before the Human-Covenant War would rage...

In this newly revised and expanded edition, updated throughout with recent developments, geologist Robert Schoch builds upon his revolutionary theory that the origins of the Sphinx date back much further than 2500 BCE and examines scientific evidence of the catastrophe that destroyed early high culture nearly 12,000 years ago. Weaving together a new view of the origins and antiquity of civilization and the dynamics of the planet we live on, Schoch maintains we must heed the megalithic warning of the past and collectively prepare for future events.

The rise to global predominance of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five hundred years. All over the world, an astonishing proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations.

Best-selling author Brian Fagan brings early humans out of the deep freeze with his trademark mix of erudition, cutting-edge science, and vivid storytelling. Cro-Magnon reveals human society in its infancy, facing enormous environmental challenges - including a rival species of humans, the Neanderthals. For ten millennia, Cro-Magnons lived side by side with Neanderthals, an encounter that Fagan fills with drama.

One of the most significant works on our evolutionary ancestry since Richard Leakey's Origins, The First Signs is the first-ever exploration of the geometric images that accompany most cave art around the world—the first indications of symbolic meaning, intelligence, and language.

America has a God-shaped hole in its heart, argues New York Times bestselling author Ben Shapiro, and we shouldn't fill it with politics and hate. In 2016, Ben Shapiro spoke at UC Berkeley. Hundreds of police officers were required from 10 UC campuses across the state to protect his speech...

Blending history, science, and culture, a stunning and highly engaging evolutionary story exploring how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet’s dominant species. Humans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four legs—a locomotion known as bipedalism. We strive to...

After Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801, Barbary pirates captured 300 U.S. sailors and marines. President Jefferson sent navy squadrons to the Mediterranean, but he also authorized a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. He chose an unlikely diplomat, William Eaton, to lead the mission, but before Eaton departed, Jefferson grew wary of the affair and withdrew his support.

Travel back to a thousand years before the Aztecs, when volcanos obliterated cities, impelling the survivors to find a place of safety. These survivors built the largest city in the Americas and one of the world’s top seven megacities. They erected the highest pyramid in Mexico and apartment compounds for 125,000 people. Teotihuacan stood out as Mesoamerica’s leading metropolis from the third to sixth century CE. Its multi-ethnic population developed coast-to-coast trade, extending south to Central America.

Latitude is a gloriously exciting tale of adventure and scientific discovery that has never been told before. Nicholas Crane, the former president of the Royal Geographic Society, documents the remarkable expedition undertaken by a group of 12 European adventurer-scientists in the mid-18th century. The team spent years in South America, scaling volcanoes and traversing jungles, before they achieved their goal of establishing the exact shape of the Earth by measuring the length of one degree latitude at the equator.

On a historic mission to Mars, Dr. Delilah Dweck, a determined physician, and Dr. Jacob Stern, an inquisitive astrobiologist, embark on a journey that transcends time and space. They are part of an elite team of fourteen scientists, each selected for their unparalleled skills, all united in a one-way voyage to breathe life into the red dust of a barren world. As they prepare to build a new Eden, destiny reveals its capricious nature. The crew unearths evidence of life—an extraordinary discovery that shatters their understanding and redefines their mission. With technology centuries ahead ...

A global history of free speech, from the ancient world to today Hailed as the “first freedom,” free speech is the bedrock of democracy. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the...