Spanning two and a half millennia, historian Pagden delves deep into the roots of the "clash of civilizations" between East and West that has always been a battle over ideas, and whose issues have never been more urgent. He begins in the ancient world, where Greece saw its fight against the Persian Empire as one between freedom and slavery, between monarchy and democracy. From there the story sweeps to Rome, which created the modern concepts of citizenship...

No country, no culture, no person today is untouched by what happens in the rest of the world. Technological innovation, environmental degradation, economic gain & loss, nuclear weapons, instant communication have all created unprecedented familiarity among the world's many cultures. While previous conflicts over religious differences may have been significant and regrettable, they did not threaten the very survival of humanity--now, a single spark...

A thrilling account of the brutal decades-long battle between Christendom and Islam for the soul of Europe. This struggle's brutal climax came between 1565 and 1571, seven years that witnessed a fight to the finish decided in a series of bloody set pieces: the epic siege of Malta, in which a tiny band of Christian defenders defied the might of the Ottoman army; the savage battle for Cyprus; and the apocalyptic last-ditch defense of southern Europe...

The final Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, is tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence, but meets with conflict as different sides clash in the face of monumental change.

Undoing the familiar notion of the Middle Ages as a period of religious persecution and intellectual stagnation, Menocal brings us a portrait of a medieval culture where literature, science, and tolerance flourished for 500 years. The story begins as a young prince in exile--the last heir to an Islamic dynasty--founds a new kingdom on the Iberian peninsula: al-Andalus. Combining the best of what Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures had to offer,...

Explaines why Jewish elders condemned Jesus because of his unorthodox interpretations of the law and argues that the schism between Judaism and Christianity arose not from a rejection of Jesus but from a rejection of Paul.

Includes information on Abbasid caliphate, Afghanistan, al Qaeda, Alexandria, Andalusia, Antioch, Arabic language, Armenians, Baghdad, Balkans, Beirut, Berbers, Byzantine Empire, Cairo, Christianity, Christians, Constantinople, Cordoba, Crusades, Damascus, Egypt, England, Europe, Fatimid dynasty, France, Franks, Greek Orthodox Church, ancient Greeks, Habsburgs, Caliph Harun al-Rashid, Hebrew language, Heraclius (Byzantine Emperor), Hezbollah, Holy...

In a near-future France, François, a middle-aged academic, is watching his life slowly dwindle to nothing. His sex drive is diminished, his parents are dead, and his lifelong obsession--the ideas and works of the novelist Joris-Karl Huysmans--has led him nowhere. In a late-capitalist society where consumerism has become the new religion, François is spiritually barren, but seeking to fill the vacuum of his existence. And he is not alone. As the...