Author: Michael Powell
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
ISBN: 1435138910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
Book Description
Forty strange-but-true historical happenings—from a thirty-eight-minute war to the time when a top-hat caused a riot—from the author of Lies You Learned in School. Here are forty of the most curious events in world history. Though they span the centuries and circle the globe, they share one common trait: all were too peculiar to make it into the standard history books. Read these fascinating accounts and learn about: The craze for consuming powdered mummy to cure all ailments The medieval courtroom advocate who pled the case of plaintiff rats The U.S. President who was shot by an assassin but killed by his doctor’s earnest efforts to treat him If you thought you knew all you needed to know about history, this book will show you some truly curious gaps in your knowledge.
Curious Events in History
Author: Michael Powell
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
ISBN: 1435138910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
Book Description
Forty strange-but-true historical happenings—from a thirty-eight-minute war to the time when a top-hat caused a riot—from the author of Lies You Learned in School. Here are forty of the most curious events in world history. Though they span the centuries and circle the globe, they share one common trait: all were too peculiar to make it into the standard history books. Read these fascinating accounts and learn about: The craze for consuming powdered mummy to cure all ailments The medieval courtroom advocate who pled the case of plaintiff rats The U.S. President who was shot by an assassin but killed by his doctor’s earnest efforts to treat him If you thought you knew all you needed to know about history, this book will show you some truly curious gaps in your knowledge.
Publisher: Union Square + ORM
ISBN: 1435138910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185
Book Description
Forty strange-but-true historical happenings—from a thirty-eight-minute war to the time when a top-hat caused a riot—from the author of Lies You Learned in School. Here are forty of the most curious events in world history. Though they span the centuries and circle the globe, they share one common trait: all were too peculiar to make it into the standard history books. Read these fascinating accounts and learn about: The craze for consuming powdered mummy to cure all ailments The medieval courtroom advocate who pled the case of plaintiff rats The U.S. President who was shot by an assassin but killed by his doctor’s earnest efforts to treat him If you thought you knew all you needed to know about history, this book will show you some truly curious gaps in your knowledge.
A Million Years in a Day
Author: Greg Jenner
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125008945X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 125008945X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.
The Waterless Sea
Author: Christopher Pinney
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1780239696
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
Mirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry and art depict the above-horizon, superior mirage, or fata morgana, as exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources relate mirages to the “thirst of gazelles,” a metaphor for the futility of desire. Starting in the late eighteenth century, mirages became a symbol in the West of Oriental despotism—a negative, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More often, our obsession with mirages conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. The Waterless Sea is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion—and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity.
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1780239696
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
Mirages have long astonished travelers of the sea and beguiled thirsty desert voyagers. Traditional Chinese and Japanese poetry and art depict the above-horizon, superior mirage, or fata morgana, as exhalations of clam-monsters. Indian sources relate mirages to the “thirst of gazelles,” a metaphor for the futility of desire. Starting in the late eighteenth century, mirages became a symbol in the West of Oriental despotism—a negative, but also enchanted, emblem. But the mirage motif is rarely simply condemnatory. More often, our obsession with mirages conveys a sense of escape, of fascination, of a desire to be deceived. The Waterless Sea is the first book devoted to the theories and history of mirages. Christopher Pinney navigates a sinuous pathway through a mysterious and evanescent terrain, showing how mirages have impacted politics, culture, science, and religion—and how we can continue to learn from their sublimity.
ArtCurious
Author: Jennifer Dasal
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143134590
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143134590
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 289
Book Description
A wildly entertaining and surprisingly educational dive into art history as you've never seen it before, from the host of the beloved ArtCurious podcast We're all familiar with the works of Claude Monet, thanks in no small part to the ubiquitous reproductions of his water lilies on umbrellas, handbags, scarves, and dorm-room posters. But did you also know that Monet and his cohort were trailblazing rebels whose works were originally deemed unbelievably ugly and vulgar? And while you probably know the tale of Vincent van Gogh's suicide, you may not be aware that there's pretty compelling evidence that the artist didn't die by his own hand but was accidentally killed--or even murdered. Or how about the fact that one of Andy Warhol's most enduring legacies involves Caroline Kennedy's moldy birthday cake and a collection of toenail clippings? ArtCurious is a colorful look at the world of art history, revealing some of the strangest, funniest, and most fascinating stories behind the world's great artists and masterpieces. Through these and other incredible, weird, and wonderful tales, ArtCurious presents an engaging look at why art history is, and continues to be, a riveting and relevant world to explore.
These Truths: A History of the United States
Author: Jill Lepore
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635252
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 733
Book Description
“Nothing short of a masterpiece.” —NPR Books A New York Times Bestseller and a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation. Widely hailed for its “sweeping, sobering account of the American past” (New York Times Book Review), Jill Lepore’s one-volume history of America places truth itself—a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence—at the center of the nation’s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas—“these truths,” Jefferson called them—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise? These Truths tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation’s truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore wrestles with the state of American politics, the legacy of slavery, the persistence of inequality, and the nature of technological change. “A nation born in contradiction… will fight, forever, over the meaning of its history,” Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. With These Truths, Lepore has produced a book that will shape our view of American history for decades to come.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635252
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 733
Book Description
“Nothing short of a masterpiece.” —NPR Books A New York Times Bestseller and a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation. Widely hailed for its “sweeping, sobering account of the American past” (New York Times Book Review), Jill Lepore’s one-volume history of America places truth itself—a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence—at the center of the nation’s history. The American experiment rests on three ideas—“these truths,” Jefferson called them—political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise? These Truths tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation’s truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore wrestles with the state of American politics, the legacy of slavery, the persistence of inequality, and the nature of technological change. “A nation born in contradiction… will fight, forever, over the meaning of its history,” Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. With These Truths, Lepore has produced a book that will shape our view of American history for decades to come.
A Curious History of Sex
Author: Kate Lister
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783528060
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow – hopefully for the better – but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from. Based on the popular research project Whores of Yore, and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex draws upon Dr Kate Lister’s extensive knowledge of sex history. From medieval impotence tests to twentieth-century testicle thefts, from the erotic frescoes of Pompeii, to modern-day sex doll brothels, Kate unashamedly roots around in the pants of history, debunking myths, challenging stereotypes and generally getting her hands dirty. This fascinating book is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang, and illustrated with eye-opening, toe-curling and meticulously sourced images from the past. You will laugh, you will wince and you will wonder just how much has actually changed.
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783528060
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless. The act of sex has not changed since people first worked out what went where, but the ways in which society dictates how sex is culturally understood and performed have varied significantly through the ages. Humans are the only creatures that stigmatise particular sexual practices, and sex remains a deeply divisive issue around the world. Attitudes will change and grow – hopefully for the better – but sex will never be free of stigma or shame unless we acknowledge where it has come from. Based on the popular research project Whores of Yore, and written with her distinctive humour and wit, A Curious History of Sex draws upon Dr Kate Lister’s extensive knowledge of sex history. From medieval impotence tests to twentieth-century testicle thefts, from the erotic frescoes of Pompeii, to modern-day sex doll brothels, Kate unashamedly roots around in the pants of history, debunking myths, challenging stereotypes and generally getting her hands dirty. This fascinating book is peppered with surprising and informative historical slang, and illustrated with eye-opening, toe-curling and meticulously sourced images from the past. You will laugh, you will wince and you will wonder just how much has actually changed.
Curious Bypaths of History
Author: Augustin Cabanès
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography
Languages : en
Pages : 404
Book Description
Curious Encounters
Author: Adriana Craciun
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487503679
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
With contributions from historians, literary critics, and geographers, Curious Encounters uncovers a rich history of global voyaging, collecting, and scientific exploration in the long eighteenth century. Leaving behind grand narratives of discovery, these essays collectively restore a degree of symmetry and contingency to our understanding of encounters between European and Indigenous people. To do this the essays consider diverse agents of historical change, both human and inanimate: commodities, curiosities, texts, animals, and specimens moved through their own global circuits of knowledge and power. The voyages and collections rediscovered here do not move from a European center to a distant periphery, nor do they position European authorities as the central agents of this early era of globalization. Long distance voyagers from Greenland to the Ottoman Empire crossed paths with French, British, Polynesian, and Spanish travelers across the world, trading objects and knowledge for diverse ends. The dynamic contact zones of these curious encounters include the ice floes of the Arctic, the sociable spaces of the tea table, the hybrid material texts and objects in imperial archives, and the collections belonging to key figures of the Enlightenment, including Sir Hans Sloane and James Petiver.
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487503679
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
With contributions from historians, literary critics, and geographers, Curious Encounters uncovers a rich history of global voyaging, collecting, and scientific exploration in the long eighteenth century. Leaving behind grand narratives of discovery, these essays collectively restore a degree of symmetry and contingency to our understanding of encounters between European and Indigenous people. To do this the essays consider diverse agents of historical change, both human and inanimate: commodities, curiosities, texts, animals, and specimens moved through their own global circuits of knowledge and power. The voyages and collections rediscovered here do not move from a European center to a distant periphery, nor do they position European authorities as the central agents of this early era of globalization. Long distance voyagers from Greenland to the Ottoman Empire crossed paths with French, British, Polynesian, and Spanish travelers across the world, trading objects and knowledge for diverse ends. The dynamic contact zones of these curious encounters include the ice floes of the Arctic, the sociable spaces of the tea table, the hybrid material texts and objects in imperial archives, and the collections belonging to key figures of the Enlightenment, including Sir Hans Sloane and James Petiver.
Curiosity
Author: Barbara M. Benedict
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226042640
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
In this striking social history, Barbara M. Benedict draws on the texts of the early modern period to discover the era's attitudes toward curiosity, a trait we learn was often depicted as an unsavory form of transgression or cultural ambition.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226042640
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Book Description
In this striking social history, Barbara M. Benedict draws on the texts of the early modern period to discover the era's attitudes toward curiosity, a trait we learn was often depicted as an unsavory form of transgression or cultural ambition.
The Meatshower
Author: Mick Sullivan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578460239
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34
Book Description
The Meatshower is a new children's book by author Mick Sullivan that tells the true story of the day meat fell from the sky on March 3, 1876 in Bath County, Kentucky. (Really, it happened.) The story is told by a piece of the very old meat who now sits in a lonely jar on a museum shelf. He reflects on his humble beginnings and speculates about all the possibilities of how he came to be. Just how and why did chunks of meat rain from the sky 150 years ago? The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan has all the answers. We promise this will be the weirdest, craziest, and meatiest book you'll read with your kids this year. It's just one of the bizarre stories Mick covers on his award-winning children's podcast, The Past and The Curious, which covers bizarre phenomenon from throughout the insane history of the world. Mick Sullivan is a musician and museum educator with a passion for sharing stories and history. He lives with his wife and two sons in Louisville, KY. Mick is the creator and producer of The Past and The Curious, an award-winning and internationally recognized history podcast for kids and families. If you want more history fun, you can find it for free wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.ThePastAndTheCurious.com.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578460239
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34
Book Description
The Meatshower is a new children's book by author Mick Sullivan that tells the true story of the day meat fell from the sky on March 3, 1876 in Bath County, Kentucky. (Really, it happened.) The story is told by a piece of the very old meat who now sits in a lonely jar on a museum shelf. He reflects on his humble beginnings and speculates about all the possibilities of how he came to be. Just how and why did chunks of meat rain from the sky 150 years ago? The Meatshower by Mick Sullivan has all the answers. We promise this will be the weirdest, craziest, and meatiest book you'll read with your kids this year. It's just one of the bizarre stories Mick covers on his award-winning children's podcast, The Past and The Curious, which covers bizarre phenomenon from throughout the insane history of the world. Mick Sullivan is a musician and museum educator with a passion for sharing stories and history. He lives with his wife and two sons in Louisville, KY. Mick is the creator and producer of The Past and The Curious, an award-winning and internationally recognized history podcast for kids and families. If you want more history fun, you can find it for free wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.ThePastAndTheCurious.com.