A comic history of humankind`s love affair with booze, from the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of The Etymologicon` Haha!... Highly suitable for Xmas!`
- Margaret Atwood Almost every culture on earth has drink, & where there`s drink there`s drunkenness. But in every age & in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day`s work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle.A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind`s love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, answering every possible question along the way: What did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy & Romans got rat-arsed, & find out how bars in the Wild West were never quite like in the movies. This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
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This is a definitive concise account of our remarkable past. From the Battle of Catterick (AD 598) to the premiership of Tony Blair, one of Britain's most respected journalists, Simon Jenkins, weaves together a strong narrative with all the most important & interesting dates in a book that characteristically is as stylish as it is authoritative. There have been long synoptic histories of England but until now there has been no standard short work covering all significant events, themes & individuals. Published with the support of the National Trust, & beautifully illustrated, this magisterial history will be the standard work for years to come. ...

This is the definitive concise account of our remarkable past. Which battle was fought ` For Engl&, Harry & St George`? Who demanded to be painted `warts & all`? What
- & when
- was the Battle of the Bulge? In ”A Short History of England”, bestselling author Simon Jenkins answers all these questions
- & many more
- as he tells the tumultuous story of a fascinating nation. From the invaders of the dark ages to today`s coalition, via the Tudors, the Stuarts & two world wars, Jenkins weaves together a gripping narrative with all the most important & interesting dates in his own inimitable style. Until now there has been no short history of England covering all significant event themes & individuals: this bestselling book, published in association with the National Trust, will be the standard work for years to come.



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From the invaders of the dark ages to the aftermath of the coalition, one of Britain`s most respected journalists, Simon Jenkins, weaves together a strong narrative with all the most important & interesting dates in a book that characteristically is as stylish as it is authoritative.A Short History of England sheds light on all the key individuals & events, bringing them together in an enlightening & engaging account of the country`s birth, rise to global prominence & then partial eclipse. There have been long synoptic histories of England but until now there has been no standard short work covering all significant events, themes & individuals. Now updated to take in the rapid progress of recent events & beautifully illustrated, this magisterial history will be the standard work for years to come. ...

The first short narrative history of the continent, from the author of the bestselling A Short History of England Europe has for two millennia been a remarkably successful continent. In this dazzling new history, bestselling author Simon Jenkins tells the story of its evolution from a battlefield of warring tribes to peace, wealth & freedom
- a story that twists & turns from Greece & Rome, through the Middle Ages, Reformation & French Revolution, to the two World Wars & the present day. Jenkins embraces individuals from Julius Caesar & Joan of Arc, to Wellington & Angela Merkel, as well as cultural figures from Aristotle to Shakespeare & Picasso. Tracing themes down the ages, from youthful ambition & religious conflict to geographical constraints & invasion, he brings together the key forces & dominant periods into one chronological narrative
- all with his usual insight, colour & authority. While experiencing almost constant turbulence, Europe has left an indelible mark on the world. How did one small continent become so powerful? How did these diverse peninsulas & islands, over time, develop a collective consciousness? How did diplomacy so often collapse into bloodshed, & what are the implications of this today? Despite the importance of Europe`s politics, economy & culture, there has not been
- until now
- a concise book to tell this story. Covering the key events, eras & individuals, Jenkins` portrait of the continent could not be more timely
- or more masterful.




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Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can`t contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization
- how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. Bill Bryson`s challenge is to take subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry & particle physics, & see if there isn`t some way to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. The ultimate eye-opening journey through time & space, A Short History of Nearly Everything is the biggest-selling popular science book of the 21st century, & reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
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This pocket book tells the memorable stories of the men & women who have risked their lives by challenging the Arctic & the Antarctic. With tales of famous explorers such as Scott, & Shackleton, this book also looks at the hold that these regions have often had on the imaginations of artists & writers in the last two hundred years examining the paintings, films & literature that they have inspired. ...

How did everything get so dumb?.. How did we become hostages to idiocy?.. What must we do to be freed from a captor whose ransom note simply reads, `D`oh`?.. The deteriorating quality of our public debate & the dwindling of common sense in media, politics & culture can drive you to despair & rage. It certainly drove writers Helen Razer & Bernard Keane to a desperate act: befriending each other for long enough to write a book... Join forces with these uneasy allies to fight against a world that has lost its reason. Explore what`s behind the remorseless spread of idiocy, & why there`s just so much damn Stupid around you... Stupid isn`t just ignorance; it`s not just laziness. Worse than the absence of thought, Stupid is a virus that drains our productivity & leaves us sick & diminished. & Stupid has a long, complex & terrible past, one we need to understand in order to defeat it...A Short History of Stupid traces the origins of this maddening ill, examining the different ways in which we`ve been afflicted over the last three thousand years. It damns those who have spread Stupid & celebrates the brave few who resisted. It shows how Stupid tightens the grubby grip of the foolish around our throats... Hilarious, smart, unpleasant, infuriating & rude, A Short History of Stupid is at once a provocation & a comfort. It will spark debate, soothe the terminally frustrated & outrage the righteously Stupid. It is a book whose Stupid time has come. ...

Situated at the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East has confounded the ambition of conquerors & peacemakers alike. Christianity, Judaism & Islam all had their genesis in the region but with them came not just civilization & religion, but also some of the great struggles of history. A Short History of the Middle East makes sense of the shifting sands of Middle Eastern History, beginning with the early cultures of the area & moving on to the Roman & Persian Empires; the growth of Christianity; the rise of Islam; the invasions from the east; Genghis Khan`s Mongol hordes; the Ottoman Turks & the rise of radicalism in the modern world symbolized by the Islamic State. ...

The Mongol Empire was the mightiest land empire the world has ever seen. At its height it was twice the size of its Roman equivalent. For a remarkable century & a half it commanded a population of 100 million people, while the rule of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan marched undefeated from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. George Lane argues that the Mongols were not only subjugators who swept all before them but one of the great organising forces of world history. His book traces the rise of the Great Khan in 1206 to the dissolution of the empire in 1368 by the Ming Dynasty. He discusses the unification of the Turko-Mongol tribes under Chinggis` leadership; the establishment of a vigorous imperium whose Pax Mongolica held mastery over the Central Asian steppes; imaginative policies of religious pluralism; & the rich legacy of the Toluid Empire of Yuan China & Ilkhanate Iran. Offering a bold & sympathetic understanding of Mongol history, the author shows that commercial expansion, cultural assimilation & dynamic political growth were as crucial to Mongol success as desire for conquest. ...