Between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, in a few favored areas of the world, humankind mastered the formulas that released it from the Stone Age. For the first time in history, people became civilized. This globe- and time-trotting book vividly describes how a number of major civilizations - the Mayans, the Egyptians, the Khmers, the Etruscans, and more - emerged, thrived, faded, but left a mark on our collective imagination and culture. Memories of some of these civilizations linger in the for...

Of all the great ancient civilizations, Egypt has provided the world the most alluring portraits of women. Here, from author Leonard Cottrell, are the fascinating stories of those women - from the legendary beauty, Nefertiti, and Nefertari, the favorite wife of the great Ramesses II; to Tiye, wife of the uxorious, luxury-loving Amenophis III, and the formidable Hatsepshut, the only queen of Egypt to rule as a divine pharaoh in her own right.

More than 3,000 years ago, a young man of seventeen named Tutankhamen became pharaoh of Egypt. His reign came toward the end of a vital period in Egypt's history when Thebes was the wealthiest and most splendid city in the world. Great temples soared into the sky, and in the temple workshops, hundreds of craftsmen labored to turn the riches of Egypt into magnificent garments, furniture and houses, ornaments, and weapons for all their heavenly gods and for their earthly god, the pharaoh. In...

The Tomb of Tutankhamun. A candle flame flickers on treasures that have lain in darkness for 3,250 years. Lord Carnarvon: "Can you see anything?" Howard Carter: "Yes . . . wonderful things!" Carter did, indeed, stumble on wonderful things. Here is one of the world's most exciting detective stories, told by a master Egyptologist, filled with the adventures of those who first unraveled the mysteries of ancient Egypt. While no one may ever uncover all the secrets behind the...

Published in the year 2006, Lost Pharaohs is a valuable contrubution to the field of History.

When the explorer René Caillié returned to France from Africa in 1828, he published a sketch of the legendary city he had discovered - Timbuctoo. But neither that simple drawing nor his matter-of-fact description gave Caillié's countrymen a sufficiently colorful picture to match their preconceptions of how Africa should look. They turned their backs on the young explorer, ignored his accomplishments, and let him die neglected. Here are the epic adventures of the European explorers who open...

On June 6, 1944, 7,000 ships carrying 160,000 Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy. Here is the dramatic story of that climatic battle and the men who planned and fought in it. The Normandy invasion altered the course of World War II and led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Third Reich. It is a story of courage and fear, tragedy and determination.

Here, from New York Times bestselling author Robert Wernick, is the unforgettable story of the Byzantine Empire, which dominated the world for more than 1,000 years. Here, too, are the stories of the extraordinary emperors and generals who brought the empire into being and ultimately presided over its demise. We witness the glittering city of Constantinople from its rise to greatness through its deadly conclusion. Though Byzantium has faded away, its everlasting contributions to our world ...

Here is the story of America's oldest - and oddest - civilization, the Olmecs of the southern Mexican jungles. Virtually unknown to archaeologists until the early twentieth century, their true importance is only now being realized and shedding new light on how the Indian peoples of the Americas came to be here.

Most of us still know less about Africa's past and peoples than we do about the continent's wild animals. And what we do know is colored by romance - safaris and treks and camel caravans, Solomon's mine and Tutankhamun's curse, the shores of Tripoli and the snows of Kilimanjaro. Yet the ancestor of all humankind may have lived in Africa. The world's longest-lived, literate civilization was African. Through the ages, great civilizations rose and fell in what was once called "darkest" Africa...

Here, from New York Times bestselling historian Vincent Cronin, is the extraordinary story of Italy - from the birth of the Roman Empire to the rise of the city-states through the Renaissance and the making of modern Italy.

Introduction by David McCullough. The first truly comprehensive history of America's most compelling symbol, the Statue of Liberty, is the result of more than three years of research. The authors, Christian Blanchet and Bernard Dard, sought out original sources, interviewed over 1,000 people, and combed through more than 100 museums, collections, and libraries to compile this definitive history. Here is the little-known story of the statue's origins and the people who brought it to complet...