1661 is a year of destiny for France and its young King, Louis XIV. Cardinal Mazarin, the prime minister who has reigned throughout the king's early years, lies dying. As a fierce power struggle develops to succeed him, a religious brotherhood, guardian of a centuries old secret, al... read more

Roman emperors, Arab scholars, and early travellers were already drawn to and enchanted by the fascination of the land along the Nile. The pyramids of Giza, the temple-city of Karnak, or the Valley of the Kings with the grave of Tutankhamen even today maintain their extraordinar... read more

From Buddha and Muhammad to King and Mandela, from the discovery of fire to the invention of the World Wide Web, and from Romeo and Juliet to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, this is a thorough and thoroughly entertaining compendium of important people and events.

With intricate cut-paper collages that reveal the insides of some of the world's most fascinating structures, this book shows how the purpose of these buildings greatly influenced their designs, locations, and materials used in construction. Full color.

Vikings at War presents a sumptuous depiction of how the Vikings waged war: their weapons technology, offensive and defensive warfare, military traditions and tactics, their fortifications, ships and command structure. It also portrays the Viking raids and conquest campaig... read more

Kith is Jay Griffiths's passionate polemic in defence of childhood. In Kith, Jay Griffiths seeks to discover why we deny our children the freedoms of space, time and the natural world. Visiting communities as far apart as West Papua and the Arctic, as well ... read more

The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most famous - and bestselling - books of all time. Yet the girl who wrote it remains an enigma. The real Anne Frank has been lost, hidden behind the phenomenon that her posthumously published Diary produced. This concise biograp... read more

Edward Jenner is a giant of modern medicine. Throughout history, smallpox had plagued humanity with disfigurement, blindness, and death. It was an incurable blight, the suffering of which Jenner helped bring to an end. Surmising from the immunity of milkmaids tha... read more

Cover-ups and mysteries, are they just a mix of wishful thinking and fantasy that grips the attention of millions of people: was JFK assassinated? Were the moon landings faked? Do secret societies such as the Illuminati control the world? Did Shake... read more

Why is Nelson a pocket GIANT? Because he was a brilliant and charismatic war-leader. Because he was a superb naval tactician. Because he saved Britain from Napoleonic invasion. Because he was a 'hero'.

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was the Shakespeare of opera, the composer of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida and Otello. The chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco (1842) is regarded in Italy as virtually an alternative national anthem - and the great trage... read more

A boy from Virginia becomes the first president Before he was the face on the dollar bill, George Washington was a shy boy with a hot temper. But George had character and adaptability. He taught himself courage and self-control. At an ea... read more