Human Civilization

A Brief History of the World offers a sweeping yet accessible journey through the grand story of humanity—from the origins of life on Earth to the rise of civilizations, empires, revolutions, and global connections. Written for curious minds and lifelong learners, this book distills the most significant moments in human history into a clear, engaging narrative that reveals how our world came to be. Rather than an exhaustive chronicle, this concise guide highlights the pivotal ideas, cultures, achievements, and conflicts that have shaped the human experience. It begins with the emergence ...

All golden ages are marked by periods of spectacular cultural flourishing, scientific exploration, technological achievement and economic growth; yet no two are the same. Their beliefs, societies and place in the wider world all vary. Despite this, all previous golden ages have ended, whether it...

Human Smoke delivers an indictment of the treasured myths that have romanticized much of the 1930s and '40s. Incorporating meticulous research and well-documented sources---including newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, and diaries---the book juxtaposes hundreds of interrelated moments of decision, brutality, suffering, and mercy. Vivid glimpses of political leaders and their dissenters illuminate the gradual, horrifying advance toward overt global war and Holocaust.

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 ...

The story of human civilization can be read most deeply in the materials we have found or created, used or abused. They have dictated how we build, eat, communicate, wage war, create art, travel, and worship. Some, such as stone, iron, and bronze, lend their names to the ages. Others, such as gold, silver, and diamond, contributed to the rise and fall of great empires.

Modern humans have come a long way in the seventy thousand years they’ve walked the earth. Art, science, culture, trade—on the evolutionary food chain, we’re true winners. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, and sometimes—just occasionally—we’ve managed to truly f*ck things...

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Tainos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken. Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe.

In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality. "There is a signature motif discernible in...

From the world’s most influential psychologist and bestselling author of the “compelling” (Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com) Flourish, a landmark work spanning ancient Greece to the age of AI that identifies agency—the fusion of efficacy, optimism, and imagination—as the hidden engine of...

Since its inception, the story of human civilization has been told almost entirely from places where evidence survived. River valleys, plateaus, and arid landscapes dominate our understanding of early complexity—not necessarily because they were the only places it emerged, but because they were the places most accessible and least altered by ice and rising seas. Rethinking the Origins of Human Civilization asks what happens when preservation bias is taken seriously. Focusing on the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, the book explores how long-adapted northern populations could have ...

Blood for the Gods. Death for Power. Ritual for Eternity. Across continents and centuries, the altar of civilization has been stained with blood. From the scorched pyramids of the Aztecs to the dark groves of the Druids, from the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs to the icy Andean peaks of the Inca, human sacrifice was not just a myth - it was a sacred, terrifying reality. Origins and Rituals of Human Sacrifice in Ancient Civilizations is a chilling and deeply researched exploration of one of history's most disturbing yet revealing practices. This book uncovers the beliefs, rituals, and brutal ...

Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.

The oldest stories ever written. The gods who came before all other gods. The myths that built every civilization that followed. Five thousand years ago, in the world's first cities, a civilization pressed its beliefs into clay. Those tablets contained the original versions of the stories the modern world thinks it knows — the Great Flood, the creation of humanity, the descent into the underworld, the hero who could not accept death. The Sumerians told these stories first, told them without apology, and told them with a brutal honesty about the nature of gods and humans that every ...

In The Fiat Standard, world-renowned economist Saifedean Ammous applies his unique analytical lens to the fiat monetary system, explaining it as a feat of engineering and technology just as he did for bitcoin in his global bestseller The Bitcoin Standard. This time, Ammous delves into the...

What if humanity’s greatest civilizations were built on a covenant of blood — one not with gods, but with alien overseers? From the ziggurats of Mesopotamia to the pyramids of Mexico, from Egypt’s temples to China’s tombs, one truth repeats: blood was the offering, and unseen powers received it. In A Blood Covenant: The Alien Agenda Behind Civilization and Human Domestication, experiencer and researcher Erik Nanstiel exposes the disturbing throughline binding humanity’s past to its present. Ancient sacrifices, cattle mutilations, and alien abductions are not separate mysteries —...

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.

What if everything you were taught about humanity's origins is only part of the story? New Age Bible takes you on a provocative journey through ancient Kemet, African spirituality, human origins, forgotten civilizations, extraterrestrial theories, genetic engineering, lost worlds, and the mysteries hidden beneath the surface of our world. From the origins of humanity to the possibility of ancient visitors from the stars—and from the mysteries of the ancient Egyptians to the legends of Atlantis, Agartha, and the Hollow Earth—this book challenges readers to question what they think they ...

A Best Book of 2020 NPR A Best Book of 2020 The Economist A Top Ten Best Science Book of 2020 Smithsonian A Best Science & Technology Book of 2020 Library Journal A Must-Read Book to Escape the Chaos of 2020 Newsweek Starred review Booklist Starred review Publishers Weekly An historically...

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER* America's favorite astrophysicist has written the most entertaining and universally appealing book of his stellar career: a practical guide for dealing with Alien visitors, an exploration of how it might happen, and a cultural history of our fascination with...

This is the history of humans from 6 million years ago until the Mesolithic Period, based entirely on evidence-based discoveries. From 1.8 million years ago, the focus shifts mainly to the Eurasian continent and the very specific adaptations our ancestors made there, evolving eventually into the modern Eurasians of today. From 120,000 years ago, a sharp light is shone on European-specific evolution, revealing how Europeans became the people they were finally to become. The narrative reveals how the varying environment — both climate and fauna in Eurasia — played a unique role in forcing...